Pregnancy Care Guide: Weeks 26

Pregnancy Care Guide

Pregnancy: Weeks 26 – 30

Changes in fetus • Over 10 inches in length from crown to rump • Roughly 2½ pounds in weight • Moving regularly within womb • Vernix covers and insulates entire body • Brain grows much larger during this time • Hair is usually present all over the head • Body now in proportion to size of head • Lungs have developed most airways and air sacs

Changes in you • Stronger, more frequent fetal activity • Increasingly heavy vaginal discharge • Lower-abdominal achiness • Scattered Braxton Hicks contractions • Increasing clumsiness • Shortness of breath • Difficulty sleeping • Possible bleeding gums

Suggested reading for mother: Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World, by H. Stephen Glenn, Ph.D., and Jane Nelsen Suggested reading for partner: The New Father's Panic Book, by Gene B. Williams Suggested website for both: www.pregnancytoday.com
What to expect at your next office visit: Weight and blood pressure check Complete blood count Urine test for sugar and protein Fetal heartbeat Size and shape of uterus (determined by external palpation to see how it correlates to estimated due date) Height of fundus (top of the uterus) Discussion of symptoms you have been experiencing (particularly any unusual ones) Repeat antibody screen for Rh-negative patients RhoGAM for Rh-negative patients Repeat hematocrit and one-hour glucola tests for all patients Increase in number of office visits
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