In this article you will be able to read about everything related to being pregnant in week 27. You will find information about the baby's development, how the mother's body is changing and tips you may need along the way. At 27 weeks pregnant, the fetus is the size of a cabbage.

Baby: Holding a flashlight to your stomach?

The fetus is about 37 cm long and weighs around 980 grams - almost 1 kg!

Developments in week 27

While the eyes have been closed, the fetus has been developing its retina to react to light and dark. Therefore, a tip to elicit a reaction is to hold a flashlight to your stomach. Do you see or feel any movement?

The lungs continue to develop and the fetus practices breathing on its own after birth. The breathing exercises that the baby is doing now will continue throughout pregnancy until birth. Although the baby is currently receiving oxygen from the umbilical cord, the baby is gradually getting ready to breathe on its own after birth.

Mom: Pregnant in week 27

Your baby weighs 1 kg! Does it show on your belly? ☺️

Varicose veins

During pregnancy, it is common to have dilated and more visible veins on the legs or in the abdomen, known as varicose veins. One of the reasons for varicose veins is that pregnancy hormones make the vessel walls more lax. If you get varicose veins in your lower abdomen, you may feel a downward pressure and your labia may feel swollen. Slack vessel walls increase blood flow through the vessels and can also give you hemorrhoids.

Varicose veins on the legs or in the lower abdomen can be relieved by wearing support stockings. Elevating your legs, for example on a chair, can also help if you can take a break during the day.

Varicose veins are not something that will affect your delivery and usually disappear after the birth. Sometimes it may take a week or more before you notice that they have reduced.

Hemorrhoids

Many pregnant women experience hemorrhoids and the symptoms can be aggravated if you are sluggish or constipated. You can avoid this by drinking plenty of water and eating a varied diet rich in fiber. If this does not help, you may need to take supplements of bowel regulators to help with sluggishness and constipation. These can be found over the counter in pharmacies. If you are unsure, you can always talk to your midwife, and pharmacies also sell ointments that you can use to relieve symptoms more locally.

Here you can read about week 26.

You can read about week 28 here.