29 Weeks Pregnant!

Size = 15 inches
Weight= 3lbs

As your baby continues to grow during week 29 of pregnancy, his or her movements will become more frequent and vigorous. Some of the movements may even take your breath away! If you notice a decrease in movement from your baby, you should do a fetal kick count by counting the number of times that your baby moves in one hour. By the time you are 29 weeks pregnant, your baby should move at least 10 times in one hour. If your baby moves less than 10 times, talk to your healthcare provider.

When you are 29 weeks pregnant, your baby has also learned to use its brain to control primitive breathing. This means that if your baby is born now, he or she could probably breathe independently. He or she is also a lot better at controlling body temperature at this point in your pregnancy.

Other fetal development that is occurring around week 29 of pregnancy includes the following:

• The baby will be able to turn his or her head to find the source of a bright light. Your baby is continuing to become more sensitive to sounds, tastes, and smells.
• The fat layers will continue to form.
• The head is in proportion to the rest of the body.
• The eyes can move in the sockets.
• The bones are fully developed, but they are still soft and pliable.
• The baby will begin to store iron, calcium, and phosphorus.

During week 29 of pregnancy, your baby's adrenal glands (glands right above the kidneys) will begin to produce hormones such as androgen. These hormones will travel to the placenta and stimulate it to make estrogen. This estrogen will stimulate your body to form the hormone prolactin.

Prolactin is a hormone that will cause you to make colostrum, which is the milk that will feed your baby in the first few days after birth, if you choose to breastfeed. Colostrum is richer in protein and lower in fat and milk sugar than the breast milk that comes a few days after delivery. It also contains antibodies that may help protect your baby from disease.

29 Weeks Pregnant

Odds of a Premature Baby's Survival by Length of Pregnancy

Length of Pregnancy	Likelihood of Survival
23 weeks	17%
24 weeks	39%
25 weeks	50%
26 weeks	80%
27 weeks	90%
28-31 weeks	90-95%
32-33 weeks	95%
34+ weeks	Almost as likely as a full-term baby
Sources: March of Dimes, Quint Boenker Preemie Survival Foundation