Changes During Pregnancy - Week 34

Mother

Antibodies pass from your body to your baby and strengthen his immune system. If you breast feed your baby after birth, he is provided with more antibodies.

The pressure on the diaphragm is released because of the baby's movement towards the pelvis. When the baby's head enters the birth canal, you find it easy to take deep breaths. If you are expecting for the first time, you may feel this movement at this stage. Mothers with previous deliveries may feel this movement just before labour starts. The process of the baby's head entering the birth canal is called dropping. You may feel some pressure in the vagina after the baby drops. If you find the pressure intense, contact your doctor immediately to check how low the baby's head is.

You may have to increase your intake of calcium because the fetus consumes the minerals it needs for its growth from the mother's body.

Some common pregnancy symptoms at this stage are difficulty in sleeping, body pains, weight gain, and anxiety about labour.

Baby

The brain and nervous system of your baby's brain are fully developed. Fat keeps adding on to his bones. His bones continue hardening due to the calcium intake from the mother. But the bones in his skull are still soft and separated. This makes it easier for the baby to travel through the birth canal. His head begins to move into the pelvis during this week to position himself for delivery.

He keeps his eyes open when he is awake. His finger nails have completed their growth. The vernix coating on his body increases while the lanugo hair is almost completely shed off. After this week, the only significant change in the baby is his weight gain.

Your doctor is most likely to measure the diameter and circumference of your baby's head along with the size of his baby's abdomen to judge how big your baby will be during delivery. Do remember that this size calculation is only approximate.