30 weeks pregnant

Your baby at 30 weeks

Thirty weeks puts you three-quarters of the way along a 40-week pregnancy, with 10 weeks still to go. Your baby is compared to a large cucumber and measures about 39.9 cm crown to heel. The estimated weight is 1,523 g at the middle of the WHO fetal growth chart, and 8 in 10 babies fall between 1,313 g and 1,753 g. The middle head circumference is 281 mm.

Those numbers are scan-based estimates. A sonographer measures the head, abdomen and thigh bone and applies a formula. A single scan figure is a rough guide, and your team will usually compare it with earlier scans and with how your bump has been measured at appointments.

ACOG's guide lists what is going on during weeks 29 to 32. Your baby can stretch, kick and grasp, and the eyes now respond to changes in light. Bone marrow, the soft tissue inside bones, has begun forming red blood cells. The head may have some hair, and the lanugo that covered the body in the middle of pregnancy begins to disappear. If you are carrying a boy, the testicles have started to move down from the abdomen into the scrotum.

Week 30 has no single milestone. What sets this stretch apart is weight: on the WHO chart the middle estimate keeps climbing week after week as your baby fills out.

Your body at 30 weeks

Everything is getting heavier. The NHS says your growing baby presses on your stomach, which feeds heartburn, and many people find they walk more slowly, pause on the stairs and struggle to get comfortable.

The NHS schedule has a visit at 31 weeks for a first baby and at 34 weeks for everyone. The 31-week visit centers on preparing for the birth, your preferences, and knowing when you are in labor. Your blood pressure and urine are checked and your bump is measured. If you are not due a visit this week, you can still phone your midwife with questions.

Staying active still helps. The NHS notes that regular activity helps to prepare your body for labor and may lower the chance of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, and that you should adjust the type of exercise as pregnancy goes on, for example switching from running to brisk walking.

Common symptoms around 30 weeks

• Pelvic girdle pain. The NHS describes stiff pelvic joints, or joints that move unevenly, causing pain over the pubic bone, in the lower back or in the thighs, sometimes with clicking. It can get worse on stairs, standing on one leg and rolling over in bed. Rest often, put a pillow between your legs at night, and ask for a physiotherapy referral.
• Heartburn. The NHS lists hormones, pressure on the stomach and a relaxed valve between stomach and gullet as causes. Raise your head and shoulders with pillows at night, stop eating 3 hours before bed, and keep meals small, sitting upright afterwards.
• Heavy, wakeful nights. Extra weight and bathroom trips can wear sleep thin. Lying on your side with a pillow under the bump is the NHS-recommended position.
• Practice tightenings. Your belly may go firm for a short time. If tightenings turn regular or frequent, that is a preterm-labor warning sign in ACOG's list, so call.

Tips for this week

• Pack a first version of the hospital bag. Include your notes, a phone charger, comfortable clothes and the first outfits for your baby, and put it near the door.
• Finish the baby's space. A crib or bassinet, a car seat that has been fitted, and a safe place to change diapers matter more than decor.
• Book the whooping cough vaccine if you have not had it. The CDC window runs from 27 to 36 weeks, and the NHS advises having it before 32 weeks for the best protection.
• Practice pelvic-friendly habits. Take small steps when you turn, sit to get dressed and avoid carrying heavy items on one side.
• Ask about the birth. Write down who you want with you, how you will get to the hospital and who will look after other children.

When to call your doctor or midwife

These are reasons to call now, not to wait for your next appointment. If you cannot reach your maternity unit or clinic, call your local emergency number.

• Call now for any vaginal bleeding. Call your emergency number if bleeding is heavy or comes with severe belly pain, shoulder pain, or feeling faint or dizzy.
• Call now if you notice regular tightening of your belly, mild cramps, a dull backache that will not go away, low pelvic pressure, or a change in your discharge. ACOG says these can be signs of preterm labor, meaning labor before 37 weeks, and that you should not wait.
• Call now if fluid gushes or trickles from your vagina.
• Call now if peeing is painful or burns, particularly with a fever or pain in your side.
• Call now if your baby's movements slow, stop or change from the usual pattern. The NHS says to call your midwife or maternity unit straight away, day or night, and not to wait until tomorrow.
• Call now if you have a severe headache, flashing lights or blurred vision, pain below the ribs, vomiting, or sudden swelling of the face, hands or feet. The NHS says these can be signs of pre-eclampsia and need checking straight away.