Development Week 29

Your baby's head is now in proportion with the rest of his body. Fat is still accumulating under his skin and the brain can now control primitive breathing. The eyes have started to move inside the sockets and can even respond to light and dark.

Leaving You Breathless
Your baby continues to be active and those first few flutters of movement have given way to hard jabs and punches that may take your breath away. If you notice a decrease in movement, do fetal kick counts: your baby should move at least 10 times in an hour. If your baby moves less, talk to your health care provider.

The baby's adrenal glands have begun to produce hormones such as androgen and estrogen. These hormones stimulate the hormone prolactin in your body, causing you to make colostrum, the milk that will feed the baby in the first few days if she chooses to breast-feed.

Increasing Discomfort
It is now during the third trimester when itchy skin, shortness of breath, hemorrhoids, leg cramps, heartburn and indigestion and achy muscles take their toll. These are just temporary difficulties and soon you will be so wrapped up in the pending birth of your baby that you won't even notice these discomforts.

Proper nutrition is always important throughout your pregnancy, whether you are 9 weeks pregnant or 29 weeks pregnant. Because iron deficiency is common during pregnancy, your health care provider may recommend that you receive a blood test to check your iron level. If your iron levels are found to be low, you may be prescribed an iron supplement.

Select a week of development to read detailed information:

Week 1	Week 11	Week 21	Week 31
Week 2	Week 12	Week 22	Week 32
Week 3	Week 13	Week 23	Week 33
Week 4	Week 14	Week 24	Week 34
Week 5	Week 15	Week 25	Week 35
Week 6	Week 16	Week 26	Week 36
Week 7	Week 17	Week 27	Week 37
Week 8	Week 18	Week 28	Week 38
Week 9	Week 19	Week 29	Week 39
Week 10	Week 20	Week 30	Week 40

Have a question about your pregnancy? Visit our forum to get advice from other moms-to-be.