Pregnancy week 32

You

Only eight weeks to go!

You may have noticed considerable changes in your breasts, with the nipples becoming even larger and darker. This is to make it easier for your baby to find them. Because your uterus takes up nearly all the available space in your abdomen, your bump has shifted upwards and now starts to slope from beneath your breasts.

You may need to rest often, with your legs up, as you may have gained up to 20lbs. This puts extra weight onto your pelvis and legs. Your ankles and feet may begin to swell as extra fluid swamps your tissues. Your metabolic rate has risen by 20 per cent during pregnancy so you may feel hot and sweaty whatever the weather.

Your body may start rehearsing for the birth with Braxton Hicks contractions. These last about 30 seconds a few times a day. This tightening of the tummy may have started as early as week 20, getting progressively stronger. Do not be misled as they are nothing like the real thing!

You will probably be aware of your baby having a pattern of sleeping and waking in a cycle of between 30 and 50 minutes. If you have decided to use a TENS machine in labour, make sure you order one in plenty of time. Friendships made at antenatal classes offer support that can be vital after your baby is born.

Your baby

Your baby now measures the length of a sheet of A4 paper. As more fat is deposited in preparation for birth and beyond your baby's skin becomes less transparent and she looks increasingly like a newborn. She is growing bigger and stronger, ready for birth.

Your baby is fully formed with her brain and nervous system now well developed, but if she were born now their sucking action would be weak. Your baby will probably settle in a head-down position ready for the birth, although babies can change position right until the birth itself.