With the 28th week of pregnancy, the 7th month of pregnancy comes to an end. Your baby is making important developmental strides this week that prepare them more and more for life outside your body. Read on to learn what’s happening now and how you can take good care of yourself this week.

How big is your baby in the 28th week of pregnancy?

Your baby measures about 25 centimeters from crown to rump this week—roughly the size of a head of lettuce. The crown-to-heel length is approximately 36 centimeters.

28th week of pregnancy: What's changing for you

The fundus of your uterus, which indicates how much it has already expanded, is located between your navel and your rib cage in the 28th week of pregnancy. During this week, the shape of the uterus also begins to change. It is now thicker at the top, more elongated, and thinner at the bottom. As space for your baby becomes increasingly limited, this shape makes it easier for them to turn head-down into the birth position in the coming weeks. Until week 36, your baby can still change their position in this way.

Perhaps you’ll occasionally notice some fluid in your bra. This is colostrum, the nourishing pre-milk your baby will drink in the first days after birth and that your breasts are already producing.

Your belly continues to grow, which puts a lot of strain on the skin in this area. Your breasts, hips, and thighs may stretch as well. Many pregnant women develop stretch marks as a result. Regularly applying moisturizer keeps your skin supple and can help prevent stretch marks. With valuable rosehip oil and regenerating algae extract, the soothes your skin, protects it from drying out, and supports its elasticity. Whether you actually develop stretch marks, however, depends on several factors and is mostly a matter of predisposition. You can learn more about the causes of stretch marks and what else you can do to prevent them besides skincare in the article „ “.

28th week of pregnancy: Development of your baby

Your baby’s sleep-wake rhythm is becoming more regular. When they are awake, they can now open their eyes; when they sleep, their eyes are closed. However, they still can’t see sharply, and it will take some more time before they can. In the first few weeks after birth, your child will initially only be able to perceive faces and objects clearly from a short distance of up to 20 centimeters. The complete development of their eyes isn’t finished until around the end of their second year of life.

This week, an important development is taking place inside your child’s body in preparation for life outside your womb. The production of Surfactant begins in their lungs—a gel-like substance that coats the surface of the lungs and prevents the alveoli from sticking together. This increases the survival chances of premature babies with medical support week by week. However, it takes until approximately the 35th week of pregnancy for enough surfactant to be present so that your baby can breathe independently after birth.

The branching of the bronchial system becomes more refined, and the blood vessels in the lungs continue to develop. Additionally, your child’s immune system begins to activate. From this week on, they absorb antibodies from your blood through the placenta, which prompts their body to start producing its own defense substances.

Taste development in babies

The first taste buds on your child’s tongue have already formed in the early weeks of pregnancy. Just a few weeks later, your child perceived their first taste impressions. By now, their sense of taste is developed enough to notice changes in the flavor of the amniotic fluid. The taste of the amniotic fluid is influenced by what you eat—so you can already shape your child’s future taste preferences. Studies show that children tend to prefer foods their mother consumed frequently during pregnancy over those she has not yet “tried.” This is another reason to eat a varied diet during pregnancy. Even during breastfeeding, your own preferences influence your child’s later likes and dislikes, because your baby also absorbs flavors from your food through breast milk.

This is now important

• Your caloric needs are now approximately 500 calories higher than before your pregnancy. A healthy energy boost in between is a fresh smoothie. On our YouTube channel, you’ll find the recipe for the perfect smoothie by nutrition expert Ann-Kathrin.

• If you haven’t yet chosen your desired birthplace , now is the right time to explore your options. Many clinics and birth centers offer special information evenings where you and your
  partner can get a feel for the facilities and services at each location and ask questions. Final registration should then be completed no later than between the 33rd and 36th week of pregnancy.

• Your growing baby bump and increasing weight may cause discomfort such as heartburn to become even more intense. With the right sleeping position, you can help prevent the burning sensation in your esophagus: lie with your upper body slightly elevated and preferably on your left side. This not only helps move food more quickly from the stomach, as the stomach is located on the left side of the body, but also makes it more difficult for food and stomach acid to flow back into your esophagus.

With our pregnancy calendar, we want to accompany you through this exciting time and provide you with relevant information, also in exchange with our