Pregnancy Week 32: Your 31–34 Week Appointment and Baby's Practice Breathing

Quick answer: At 32 weeks your baby is around 42.4cm and 1.7kg, with lungs maturing and practice breathing movements for several hours a day. You'll have a midwife appointment between 31 and 34 weeks to check blood pressure, urine, fundal height and baby's position, and at 34 weeks you'll be offered the whooping cough vaccination. From 28 weeks, go to sleep on your side.

What parents need to know

Week 32 is an important week in the final stretch of your pregnancy. You're likely to have a midwife appointment around this time, and your baby is now well-developed enough that if born now, they would have very good chances with medical support. Let's look at what your baby is doing this week and what to expect from your antenatal care.

How big is your baby at 32 weeks?

Your baby now measures approximately 42.4cm from crown to heel and weighs around 1.7 kilograms — roughly the weight of a large pineapple. They're filling out with fat and looking increasingly like the newborn you'll hold in just a few weeks.

What's happening with your baby?

Your baby's fingernails and toenails have now grown to the ends of their fingers and toes — some babies are even born needing a nail trim! Their lungs are maturing rapidly, and they're practising breathing movements for several hours each day. Babies born at 32 weeks have an excellent chance of survival with specialist neonatal care, and most go on to develop without significant long-term complications. The lanugo (fine downy hair) is mostly gone by now, replaced by the vernix caseosa — the white, creamy substance that protects the skin in the amniotic fluid.

Your 31–34 week antenatal appointments

Around this time, you'll have a midwife appointment at which your midwife will check your blood pressure and urine, measure your fundal height, and feel your baby's position. At 34 weeks, you'll be offered a whooping cough (pertussis) vaccination if you haven't already had it. This is important because whooping cough can be very serious, even life-threatening, for very young babies who are too young to be vaccinated themselves. The vaccine you receive passes antibodies to your baby through the placenta, protecting them in the first weeks of life until they can receive their own vaccinations at 8 weeks.

Sleep position in the third trimester

Research from the Tommy's charity and others has shown that sleeping on your back in the third trimester (from 28 weeks) is associated with a small but significant increased risk of stillbirth. NHS and Tommy's guidance recommends that pregnant women try to go to sleep on their side (either left or right) from 28 weeks. This applies specifically to going to sleep — don't worry if you wake up on your back; simply roll back onto your side. Using a pillow behind your back can help you stay on your side during the night. If you wake in the night on your back, try not to be alarmed — simply roll onto your side and go back to sleep.

What's happening in your body?

Braxton Hicks contractions may be becoming more frequent and noticeable. These practice contractions help tone the uterus but should not be painful or regular. Stretch marks may be appearing on your bump, hips, and breasts as your skin stretches. While moisturising regularly can help keep skin comfortable, unfortunately no cream has been proven to prevent stretch marks — they are largely determined by genetics.

Your week 32 checklist

This week:

• Ensure you are sleeping on your side.
• Ask about the whooping cough vaccination if you haven't had it.
• Continue assembling your hospital bag.
• Attend your antenatal appointment.
• Celebrate how far you've come.