Baby by Week
Week 28

Your week 28 guide

The third trimester begins with mature-looking movements, REM sleep, and continued lung and brain growth.
Trimester

3

Month

7

Weeks left

12

Size at a glance

Comparison
Eggplant
Length
41 cm
Weight
2.3 lb
Measurements are approximate. Healthy babies grow at different rates.

Baby development

The fetus can blink, cough, suck, and hiccup.
REM sleep suggests increasingly complex sleep cycles.
Many babies begin turning toward a head-down position, though there is still time to move.

Your body

Aches, sleep difficulty, swelling, heartburn, colostrum leakage, and sciatica can increase.
Gestational-diabetes testing may be completed around this time.
Movement becomes an important daily sign of wellbeing.

This week's checklist

Learn your baby's usual movement pattern and use your clinician's counting advice.
Schedule the next prenatal visit.
Finish travel only within the guidance for your pregnancy and destination.

Call your care team

Contact your maternity team immediately for reduced or changed movement, bleeding, leaking fluid, or regular painful contractions.
Seek urgent help for severe headache with vision changes, sudden swelling, chest pain, fainting, or major breathing difficulty.

Medical information, not medical advice

Every pregnancy is different. Use this guide for general education and follow the advice of your own maternity care team. Do not delay urgent care because of something you read here.