In this article, you can read all about week 32 of pregnancy. You’ll get information about your baby’s development, changes in the mother’s body, and useful tips for this stage of your journey.

Baby: Now the baby is approximately 44 cm long and weighs around 1.8 kg. That’s almost as much as two cartons of milk! 🥛

Development

Now the organs are fully developed! All that’s left are the lungs, which continue to mature right up until your expected delivery date. Of course, the baby also continues to gain weight and puts on subcutaneous fat.

The baby can still lie in different ways in the womb, both with their head or bottom down, across and sideways. Can you feel how your baby is lying? You can feel where little feet are kicking or if something big and soft is bulging out!

Eyes and eye colour

Your baby can now focus and fix their gaze on a certain point! Isn’t it cool that your baby can do this in the womb?

In order to produce the pigments for your baby’s eye colour, the eyes need light. This means that your baby’s true eye colour will not show until around 6-9 months after birth. The eye colour of the foetus depends on which genes it inherits from its parents.

Mother: Are you starting to feel little kicks more clearly? 🥰

Moods

The uterus is approaching its highest point, which you can feel by a pressure against the ribs. Can you also feel the foetus pressing against your ribs or little kicks here and there? It may feel a little uncomfortable, but changing position can ease the pressure.

During pregnancy, blood circulation is affected meaning that some of the increased amount of fluid in the blood vessels leaks out into the body’s tissues. This usually accumulates in the hands, feet and legs. If your legs and feet have started to swell or feel heavy and tight, support socks can be good and they can also help your blood circulation!

Preparing for childbirth

It is now not long until your pregnancy is considered full-term (week 37+0). Even if there are still a few weeks left until your due date (though not THAT many!), it can feel good to be prepared in case your labour begins early. You know best what you need in order to feel prepared. Many people like to attend parenting courses, nest at home, prepare their baby’s wardrobe and shop for things their baby will need. Our checklists have lots of tips on this!

If you haven’t read any prenatal information, now is the time to do so. For example, you can book a course, there are many courses that can prepare you for life with a baby, including breastfeeding and various types of preparatory parenting courses. This may stir up feelings and thoughts in you – if you need support, your midwife can help you!

Birth Plan

It is impossible to know in advance what any given birth will be like, but writing a birth plan is something good to prepare. You yourself decide what should be in the letter and how long it should be.

It is incredibly beneficial for your partner and the birth staff, so they know what you are worried about or want during labour. There is a lot you can tell about yourself that may be good for the staff to know during labour, such as how you like to be stimulated or how you react to pain. You can write your birth plan in the app using our guided questions, so write down everything you think is important to you so that you can have the best possible conditions for your ideal birth. You can then print your maternity letter as a PDF.

Anything can happen when it comes to childbirth, but it’s a good idea to visualise and dream about what you want your birth to look like! If you are a second-time mother, you may have experiences from your previous birth that you want to use for this birth, for example things you really enjoyed last time or things you were not comfortable with.

Maternity allowance from week 26

From week 26, you can apply for maternity allowance. Payments can start anytime between the 11th week before your baby is due and the day after the baby is born. See https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance. You can start by requesting to be reassigned to a less demanding job and if that is not possible, you can apply for maternity allowance from the government. This also applies if you have a hazardous job or work environment that prevents you from working. See for your legal health and safety rights at work https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/pregnant-at-work/.

Partner: Are you counting the days until you get to meet the baby for the first time? Although time may feel like it’s going at a snail’s pace now, it will soon feel like the pregnancy went by rocket speed!

Do you feel educated and prepared for childbirth? It is challenging to support the person giving birth, even if the major responsibility lies with the person giving birth. In order to be the security and support that the pregnant woman needs, you may need to prepare in different ways. Take advantage of information available through meetings, books, podcasts or whatever suits you best.

Your birth plan

Your partner already has written or is possibly in the process of writing a birth plan. Ask her to read this to you so you can talk about the birth together! Your partner can use the birth plan to express their thoughts, concerns and wishes about the birth.

Talk to each other about how she wants you to behave during the birth and what role you should take to be able to support her in the best possible way. Also tell your partner about your own thoughts, wishes or possible fears about the birth. It’s also a good idea to include the thoughts and feelings of your partner in the birth plan so that the staff know about this and can take care of you as well as possible!