34 weeks of pregnancy is the period when a woman can no longer worry about premature birth. Babies born at 34 weeks are considered premature, but not premature. In this case, of course, it will be better if the woman departs the prescribed 9 months. Despite the fact that the child is already able to breathe outside the mother’s belly, he is still very weak and not fully ready for an independent life.
The 34th week of pregnancy is the last week in the eighth obstetric month, since each of them consists of exactly 4 weeks or 28 days. Pregnancy, according to such calculations, will last not 9, but 10 months.
Fetal development
The baby continues to develop rapidly and gain weight. This week, his height can reach 45 cm, and body weight – 2 kg. If a woman is expecting twins, then each child will weigh less than normal.
At this time, the baby acquires its own unique facial features. The original fluff gradually disappears, along with it the original lubricant disappears. The hair on the head continues to grow, and the more active this process, the thicker the baby’s hair will be at birth. The skin of the child becomes pinkish, the folds are smoothed out, subcutaneous fat is gaining. Its content is about 8% of the total body weight. Every day the baby is getting prettier.
In the womb, a child can suck his thumb for a long time. Thus, it improves the sucking reflex and prepares the facial muscles for the upcoming feeding process. During the sucking movements, the baby swallows amniotic fluid. They, passing through the body, prepare its digestive organs for the upcoming work. At the same time, kidney function improves. Every day they return about 500 ml of clear urine into the amniotic fluid.
The baby at 34 weeks takes the position of the body in which he will be born. Normally, he should lie with his head down and buttocks up. Sometimes the child lies down radically differently. At 34 weeks, you can still try to change the position of the child. To do this, doctors perform special manipulations, the question of the need for which is decided on an individual basis.
The bones of the child’s skull remain soft and mobile. This is possible due to the fontanelles, which will gradually close when the child is born. Nature itself provides for such a structure of the skull of a newborn in order to provide him with the easiest passage through the birth canal.
Other bones gradually harden, cartilage thickens, nails continue to grow. All this requires a lot of calcium, which the fetus will take from the mother’s body. Therefore, a woman needs to take care of a sufficient intake of all vitamins and microelements with food.
In the third trimester of pregnancy, the baby’s heart and blood vessels develop very actively. His heart rate is currently twice that of an adult. If the mother knows what position her child is in, with the help of a stethoscope she can independently listen to the rhythm of his heart.
The nervous system of the fetus continues to improve. At this time, periods of sleep and wakefulness are established, which largely depends on the mother.
Inside the abdomen, the baby is able to distinguish sounds and respond to light. In bright light, he closes his eyes.
At a period of 34 weeks, the endocrine system is already functioning in the child, which produces growth hormone. The work of the thyroid and pancreas, the adrenal cortex is also honed.
Interestingly, the child can already distinguish the taste, since the papillae on his tongue are well formed by the 34th week.
Thanks to the developed hearing aid, the baby is already able to respond to sounds. Therefore, a woman needs to listen to pleasant music, sing lullabies to a child and read fairy tales aloud. It’s good to just talk to the baby in an even and calm voice.