~~ 32 weeks... Alhamdulillah..

32 weeks pregnant


At 32 weeks pregnant you might have a shock next time you sneeze, and your baby's having pleasant dreams.

By Mother & Baby


At 32 weeks pregnant, you are approaching eight months pregnant which is when your baby's fully formed and has a total length of 42cm (18.9in).

Your body
From 32 weeks pregnant onwards, you'll have an antenatal check-up every fortnight until 36 weeks. If you have one this week, when your midwife checks your growth from your belly button to the top of the uterus, it will measure about 12cm (5in).


Damp pants?
Feeling a bit moist between the thighs when you sneeze, cough or laugh too much? You're experiencing pregnancy incontinence, which is caused by the weight of the baby pressing on your pelvic floor muscles. It will only get worse if you don't take action, so tighten things up by sticking to a regular routine of pelvic floor exercises.


Here's the rub
Want to reduce your risk of tearing or having an episiotomy (a cut in the perineum - the area between the vagina and anus) during labour? Some midwives - and professional mums - swear by massaging the perineum - which has to stretch massively during labour - with sweet almond oil twice a day to make it suppler.



Vision off?

Is everything going blurry behind your contact lenses? Water retention and the extra blood circulating around your body can make your eyeballs change shape, so beware. Your prescription may need changing, or you may prefer to switch to glasses until after the birth, when your eyes go back to normal.



Your baby
Now fully formed, she weighs 1.8kg (almost 4lb), with a crown to rump length of 29cm (over 11.6in) and total length of 42cm (18.9in).



Sweet dreams
By now, your baby has already established a sleep rhythm: she may gradually sleep for longer during each 24-hour period as birth approaches. While she's sleeping, chances are that she's dreaming: research shows that during the last trimester, babies spend around 60 per cent of their time in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, aka dreaming. Besides being a pleasant way to while away the hours, this also boosts brain development!