At week 29, you have officially entered the third and last trimester of your pregnancy. Welcome! A wonderful time to delve into your baby’s development. Download our app about the 10 leaps in your baby’s mental development. While you probably had less discomfort during the second trimester, the third trimester can be uncomfortable in various ways. Your growing belly can cause not only back pain, but also rib pain because your baby needs more space. You may also start experiencing nausea again because your growing baby takes up a lot of space, leaving little room for your stomach. Your belly will also start to really get in the way and your nesting urges will kick in!
During the third trimester of pregnancy, other hormones peak than during the first and second trimesters. The hormone oestradiol causes you to enter the well-known nesting phase. Because your brain is very preoccupied with (the arrival of) your baby, you can suffer from brain fog and forgetfulness, which is also referred to as ‘pregnancy dementia’ or simply ‘baby brain’.
Your body starts to gradually prepare for delivery and a number of different hormones are involved in this. Together with the hormone estrogen, relaxin loosens and relaxes the ligaments that hold the bones of your pelvis together, creating more room. This ensures that the baby can drop and pass through the pelvis during delivery.
The hormones estrogen and prolactin facilitate milk production. This means that you may experience leaky breasts during pregnancy. At the end of pregnancy, estrogen and prostaglandin take over and prepare your uterus for contractions.
The postpartum period is also called the fourth trimester. This transitional stage is a time for recovery and adjusting to your new situation. The first three months after giving birth can be quite tough, especially if this is your first child and you still need to get completely used to parenthood.
You will encounter all sorts of challenges and need to figure out what works best for you, your partner and your child. And that is no small task! Take the time to find your balance and ask for help when you need it.
At the start of the third trimester, your baby will open its eyes and before long, it will start blinking. Your baby will start to act more and more like a ‘real’ baby: funny faces, hiccupping, arms and legs in all directions and finger sucking. Your baby is active and you can feel it! Just when you thought you were going to relax on the sofa, your baby starts moving around.
Your baby’s senses are now functioning properly and his or her brain is developing rapidly. A baby’s brain also continues to develop after birth. By the end of the third trimester, your baby’s liver and kidneys are fully developed and the lungs are prepared to breathe air.
At the end of pregnancy, there is little room left in the uterus, which is starting to become a little too small for your baby. Your baby will then find the position that is most comfortable. For most babies, this is with the head downwards, which is also an important position for delivery. But, of course, there are always babies who do things differently and keep their head upwards or even lie horizontally in the uterus.
You may also experience different discomforts during the third trimester. The severity of these symptoms is different for every woman. The most common discomforts during the third trimester are:
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