The 31st week of pregnancy: the time when the baby begins to communicate with you?

In the 31st week of pregnancy, your baby begins to take on the appearance of a newborn. The face is rounded by the filling in of fat cells.

How is your baby developing in your tummy?

Your baby's weight is approximately 1500 g and length is 41 cm.

Your baby is already achieving a newborn appearance.

It has completed most of its major development and is gaining weight rapidly at this time.

The brain continues to develop and improve.

The central nervous system already controls your baby's body temperature.

The lungs are not yet fully developed. Surfactant continues to slowly form and replenish. In the womb, the fetus is trying out breathing movements to practice breathing. If it were born now, it would most likely already be able to breathe on its own.

Bones are strengthened by the deposition of calcium in the bones. Red blood cells are already being formed in the bone marrow.

The baby is beginning to store iron. If it were born now, it would probably still be suffering from iron deficiency anaemia.

The growth of hair on the head continues. The hairs are growing back and the lanugo, the fine hairs of the skin, continue to fall out.

His eyes are open and he closes them only when he sleeps. The iris of his eyes are already taking on a dark blue colour. His pupils are reacting to the light coming through the abdominal wall and the uterus.

Your baby can already use all 5 senses.

He is busy looking around, trying to breathe, listening to his surroundings, holding hands, holding his face, tasting the amniotic fluid.

During the last 2 months of intrauterine life, the fetus memorizes sound and tactile stimuli.

The baby can remember them.

Sing to it, talk to it. It will remember your voice and be able to recognise it after birth. It can respond to your voice and touch with movement.

The baby is starting to run out of room. He's moving a little less, but you can feel his movements more. You can feel him moving his arm, his elbow or gently shifting. If you notice the fetus is too lazy, see a doctor. He'll check to see if the baby is doing well in the womb.

The baby kicks harder, especially when you want to sleep. Still, it has plenty of room in the womb for its kicking and stretching. You move the baby around to rock it to sleep. If you stay still, it wakes up because it's motionless. It starts wriggling and kicking.

The table shows the approximate dimensions of the fetus at 31 weeks, as measured by sonography.

For more information on fetal size, see the article:
What is fetal biometry?

Your baby should already be head down towards the birth canal.

If you are expecting twins, both babies have much less space in the womb. You can almost expect them.

How does a woman feel at 31 weeks

Your hip joints are softening and preparing for labour. This may cause night-time joint pain that will keep you awake. Your gait is becoming wobbly.

Back pain is common in the third trimester. It is also made worse by weight gain. Your spine is more stressed by carrying weight, which has increased in recent months. Walking, standing and sitting upright support your spine and reduce pain. Wearing comfortable shoes is also recommended to relieve back and leg pain.

The uterus is getting larger. This leaves little room for other organs. Constipation, heartburn and shortness of breath may occur. You may also suffer from indigestion and bloating. The uterus is located below the diaphragm, so you may have difficulty breathing when sitting or doing more active activities, such as walking fast.

Your tummy is growing. You may start to have trouble pulling socks up your feet or putting on your shoes. Your partner may be able to help you with these activities.

Swelling of the lower limbs. If your lower limbs swell, put your feet on a pillow and rest. If the swelling persists, tell your doctor. Swelling of the lower limbs and high blood pressure are signs of gestosis.

You may also suffer from hemorrhoids and varicose veins due to the pressure of the growing uterus and pregnancy hormones that weaken the walls of the blood vessels.

Sometimes you may experience dizziness, hot flashes or even headaches.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is manifested by numbness and trembling of the hand. It may help if you lift your hand and start moving your fingers. This technique will promote circulation.

Fatigue is already your daily companion. Every activity you do makes you tired. No wonder. Carrying a backpack with the weight of a fetus on it all the time is hard enough. Plus, you don't get a good night's sleep. Your baby may decide in the middle of the night that he won't let you sleep and wants you to rock him. Also, waking up more often to urinate reduces the quality of your sleep.

They're normal if they last for a short time. Beware if they last longer and the contractions don't stop. They start coming regularly and the time between them gets shorter, sometimes accompanied by pain. If this happens, go to the hospital immediately. You need to get checked out and see if you're going into premature labour.

Preterm labour may not develop in the same way as term labour. Its symptoms may be different.

Sometimes the symptoms are as follows:

• uncomfortable or painful contractions
• your baby remains restless and kicks often
• pains and cramps as with menstruation
• pain in the lower back
• uncomfortable pressure in the pelvis, feeling as if the baby is pushing down
• vaginal discharge is of a different consistency than at other times
• cramps in the abdomen, as if you have diarrhea
• discomfort in the pelvic area
• the woman feels generally unwell
• premature outflow of amniotic fluid

In this case, it is necessary to visit the hospital. If there is really a threat of premature birth, doctors will try to keep the pregnancy as long as possible.

What can you observe?

Your tummy is a lot bigger. It's getting bigger and you feel clumsy. Some tasks are a problem, like putting on socks or putting on shoes.

You can see veins on your breasts and your nipples have darkened. Your breasts may be leaking colostrum.

The brown line from your belly button to your pubic bone is darker.

You may have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

You finally decide to go to sleep after a long day, falling down with fatigue. You lie down, find a suitable position and want to finally fall asleep. At that moment, your baby doesn't feel the movements that rocked him to sleep during the day. He wakes up and demands to be rocked in your tummy. He makes it clear to you with his movements and kicks.

Eventually, he finally calms down and decides to let you go back to sleep. But in doing so, he pushes on your bladder and you start to pee. This makes you get out of bed and go to the toilet again.

This makes your sleep poor quality. Even during sleep, you are woken up by joint pain or a full bladder. This also contributes to daytime fatigue.

Mood swings and anxiety are also not uncommon. This is due to hormones, discomfort and poor quality sleep.

What kind of tests are waiting for you in the 31st week?

You do not have any tests scheduled in the 31st week.

But if for some reason they didn't do a large ultrasound at 30 weeks, they will do one now. This is the third ultrasound scan, which looks at the position of the baby and placenta, the amount of amniotic fluid, and measures the size of the head, tummy and limbs. This is used to calculate approximate weight and determine if development is normal. Flow measurements are taken, placental function is assessed and cervical capping is monitored.

If you are also booked for an appointment at 31 weeks, only basic tests and monitoring of fetal flow will be done.

What if the baby is born prematurely?

If you are at risk of premature birth, doctors try to keep the pregnancy going as long as possible so that your baby can continue to develop properly in the womb without subsequent complications. Up to the 35th week of pregnancy, corticosteroids are given to the mother to speed up the maturation of the fetal lungs. They also have a positive effect on the digestive system, kidneys and other vital organs of premature babies.

According to the World Health Organization, a premature baby is any baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Such an immature newborn is not yet fully prepared for life outside the womb and requires special care.

There are many health risks with premature babies. With today's equipment and ever-developing resilience, these babies have a great chance of being saved and developing healthily in life without complications. Premature babies are constantly monitored until they are five years old.

A baby born between the 28th and 31st gestational week is considered a very immature newborn. Its weight ranges from 1000-1499 g, which is a very low birth weight.

What happens after the birth of a premature newborn?

Your baby is immediately transferred to the premature baby unit where he is cared for by a team of healthcare professionals. They will provide him with breathing support. If he is unable to breathe on his own, they will ensure that his lungs are properly ventilated so that his body and brain are adequately oxygenated.

His heart rate and oxygenation are monitored. The newborn is warmed up to prevent hypothermia. His thermoregulation is not sufficiently developed. Surfactant is administered and then the baby is transferred to an incubator. In the incubator, he is monitored and further treatment is given depending on his condition.

Up to 95% of such immature newborns can be saved. Every 100 grams added to the baby's weight increases the chance of survival.

The earlier the baby is born and the smaller it is, the higher the risk of further complications.

Babies born prematurely are most often at risk of respiratory distress syndrome. They are also at risk of many other complications, such as visual and hearing impairment, attention deficit disorder and mental illness. The risk depends, of course, on the gestational age at which the baby is born and its biological development.

Thanks to advances in medicine, it is very often possible to save premature babies without subsequent complications. Babies can live full and healthy lives.

What do we recommend?

• Watch the baby's movements. Excessive laziness requires an examination by a gynaecologist and reassurance that all is well.
• Increase your intake of fibre and fluids to keep you and your baby adequately hydrated. This will prevent constipation and uncomfortable haemorrhoids.
• Ensure sufficient calcium intake to strengthen the fetal bones and sufficient iron intake. Your baby stores iron from this week onwards. You can find iron in leafy greens, lentils, Brussels sprouts, peas, raisins, pumpkin seeds or brown rice.
• Massaging your tummy regularly will reduce stretch marks. This will also help you avoid dry and itchy skin.
• Give yourself plenty of rest, don't overwork, don't do strenuous tasks and keep up with plenty of exercise, go for walks. Make sure you get enough sleep.
• Watch your diet, limit sugary drinks, sweets and replace them with fruit.

Go through the list for the delivery room and slowly start preparing.

You will soon be in labour. So start looking into the paediatrician you will be seeing with your baby now. Soon you won't have enough time to worry about it.

You may not be able to decide in which maternity hospital you want to bring your baby into the world. Some hospitals will allow you to tour the ward and you can decide based on that.

Start slowly preparing things for the baby and yourself according to the list. Keep them ready and avoid unnecessary stress.

If you do not have a list of things for the delivery room, here is a basic list of what you will need. Each list may vary slightly, but it depends on the particular hospital. Each hospital can supply you with a list of things for the delivery room.

Documents needed:

• Insurance card
• ID card
• Pregnancy booklet, results of special and recent examinations
• For married couples, original marriage certificate

Personal belongings for the mother:

• Toiletries
• Nightgown with front button (at least 2 pieces)
• Baby bra (at least 2 pieces)
• Bathrobe
• Towels, bath towel
• Bra pads
• Sanitary napkins, plain, without foil
• Cotton panties or disposable panties
• Household shoes, shower slippers
• Unsaturated mineral water
• If you have retracted nipples, pack a silicone nipple cap to be safe

Things for newborns:

• Disposable diapers
• Cotton diapers (5-10 pcs)
• Moist wipes, preferably unscented
• Cap
• Gloves
• Socks
• Blanket
• Pacifier

Equipment for the day of leaving the hospital:

• Cotton diapers (2 pcs)
• Shirt, sweater, onesie, cap, socks
• Wrap
• Blanket according to the current weather, stuffed animal
• Car seat

For more information on the next weeks of pregnancy, read the summary article, Pregnancy by the week: How is pregnancy and fetal development?