Week 28: Welcome to the Third Trimester

Your baby's eyes can now open and close, and there's some evidence babies can blink in response to bright light shone on the belly at this stage. Eyelashes have fully formed too.

Your baby's brain continues developing rapidly, and the lungs, while not fully mature, are developed enough that a baby born now would have a significantly better chance of breathing with medical support compared to earlier weeks.

Weight gain is accelerating — your baby has now crossed the one-kilogram mark for many typical pregnancies.

Welcome to the third trimester. Your uterus continues expanding upward and outward, and many women notice breathing becoming a bit more effortful as the uterus presses against the lower lungs.

From this point, your prenatal visits will likely increase to every 2-3 weeks.

At 28 weeks, you might notice:

• Increasing fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Backaches
• Braxton Hicks contractions
• Swelling in feet and hands
• Difficulty finding comfortable sleep positions
• Frequent urination returning as the uterus presses on the bladder again

Your baby's growth rate is now at its fastest. Continue prioritizing protein, healthy fats, calcium, and iron, along with adequate hydration to support increasing blood volume.

If your doctor cleared you for a RhoGAM injection (for Rh-negative mothers), this is typically given around now. Continue gentle, regular movement as comfort allows.

Entering the third trimester:

• Discuss your birth plan in more detail with your provider
• Finalize your hospital bag checklist
• Ask about your RhoGAM shot timing if Rh-negative
• Start counting kicks daily if your doctor recommends it

Your doctor may introduce daily fetal kick counting as a simple way to monitor your baby's wellbeing — generally looking for a consistent pattern of movement you come to recognize as normal for your baby.