Eek, you're 30 weeks pregnant, and your due date is rapidly approaching! At thirty weeks pregnant, you're in month seven of your pregnancy and your baby’s more proportional than ever, your dreams are getting weirdand there are many other bodily changes taking place for both mum and baby.
Find out more about what else is happening to you and your baby in week 30 of your pregnancy.
How big is my baby at 30 weeks?
At 30 weeks pregnant, your baby’s the size of a cabbage, weighing in at three pounds and measuring nearly 16 inches long.
They'll be going through weight gain, at a rate of half a pound a week, for the next seven weeks.
30 weeks pregnant symptoms to look out for:
1 of 91) Tiredness
That energy you may have enjoyed during your second trimester has sadly departed by now, and your growing baby and changing body may be leaving you exhausted.
Rope in friends, family and your partner for assistance with chores that leave you fatigued - it’s good to start practising asking for help now, as you’ll need plenty more when the baby arrives!
2 of 92) Trouble sleeping
Tiredness and trouble sleeping go hand in hand.
You're bigger than you've ever been and sleeping can be really uncomfortable.
Your pregnancy hormones are off the scale and your nerves about the impending labour all contribute to trouble sleeping.
Try properly winding down before bed, no phones or laptops and read a good book or drink a nighttime tea.
3 of 93) Weird dreams
Another sleep related symptom! No need to freak out though, strange dreams are completely normal.
Nobody’s totally sure what causes them but they could be related to your hormones.
But these dreams are simply a way of working through any thoughts and anxieties about your baby’s approaching birth and motherhood.
Talking about it could also help you work through any issues that you have, plus you may discover your partner is having strange dreams, too.
Your baby’s sleep patterns also show signs of rapid eye movement, the dreaming stage of sleep, so they may be having weird dreams too.
4 of 94) General discomfort
Your lungs and chest continue to get more crowded as your baby grows and remains high up near your ribs.
Soon your baby will drop down lower, closer to your pelvis - at around 33 or 34 weeks pregnant.
You'll probably notice once it happens because breathing will get a whole lot easier!
5 of 95) Discharge and itchiness
As we've seen before, there is an increase in vaginal discharge during pregnancy.
It is totally normal and nothing to worry about although we know it is unpleasant. If the discharge is excessive or changes, you have may have thrush, which is common in pregnancy and very treatable.
This means you may also feel itchy down there too.
Luckily, thrush can be treated with over-the-counter medicines – usually a cream or pessary. However, it’s important that you tell your pharmacist that you’re pregnant before asking for it.
6 of 96) Swelling
Yep, you're still puffed up and swollen. Especially your feet and legs.
Keep your feet up when possible and make sure the swelling doesn't become severe because that can be a symptom of something more serious (like pre-eclampsia).
7 of 97) Heartburn
And the winner of the most consistent and irritating pregnancy symptom is...HEARTBURN! It just won't go away.
You need your pelvic muscles to relax so that you can give birth to your beautiful baby, but unfortunately, the same hormones that relax those muscles also relax the muscles that separate your stomach and oesophagus.
This is why you experience heartburn, as the food and digestive juices from your tummy head upwards into your chest and throat.
Avoid agitating foods like spicy, fried or fatty dishes, try to eat smaller meals, and don’t eat while lying down.
This won’t last forever - there are only about ten weeks to go until you pop, and the symptoms will disappear once you give birth.
8 of 98) Clumsiness
We hope you’ve put away the high heels and invested in a pair of sensible flats, as you may be feeling a little clumsy these days.
Not only are you heavier, but your centre of gravity will also shift thanks to the concentration of weight in your belly.
And if that wasn’t enough to throw you off balance, your ligaments are also more relaxed thanks to pregnancy hormones, meaning your joints are looser, and you might lose balance more than usual.
9 of 99) Feeling blue
A tenth of pregnant women battle depression in pregnancy, and while it’s normal to worry about labour or becoming a parent.
Mood swings are normal but if you feel down a lot of the time, or feel agitated, anxious, nervous or irritable, talk to your doctor before those blue feelings become all-consuming.
What’s my baby doing at 30 weeks pregnant?
By now your baby’s body parts will start to look more proportional. The only exception is their head, which will still be quite large compared to the rest of their body.
Their fingernails will be fully developed and will continue to grow in the womb, meaning that when your baby is born, they could be quite long and need cutting to prevent them from scratching themselves.
Your baby is currently surrounded by a pint and a half of amniotic fluid, but as they get bigger and take up more room in your uterus, that volume will shrink. As they grow, the space in your womb gets more cramped, so you may feel fewer hard kicks than you used to a few weeks ago.
Their brain is changing too, not just growing, but changing in appearance, too. Once smooth, the vital organ is now maturing and developing those grooves and indentations you’d normally recognise in a brain. These changes will allow more brain tissue to develop.
Thanks to your [baby’s developing brain]{href='https://www.motherandbaby.com/baby-and-toddler/baby/baby-development-and-milestones/revealed-what-s-really-going-on-inside-your-newborn-baby-s-brain' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} and new fat cells regulating their body temperature your baby’s lanugo (the soft hair covering their body) will start to disappear, too.
There’s another change, too: your baby’s bone marrow has taken over from the tissue groups and spleen in producing red blood cells, another important step towards independence once they are born.
What is my body doing?
It’s not the kind of thing you want to be overheard talking about on the bus to work, but during pregnancy, the amount of dischargeproduced can increase. It should still look and smell the same as before. If it changes and becomes thick, smelly, profuse or changes colour, see your doctor to check if you have thrush or an infection. It’s important you get this checked out as some infections can increase the risk of premature labour.
Prevention methods? Wear breathable cotton underwear and avoid strong soaps or feminine washes as they disrupt the natural pH and growth of healthy bacteria in the vagina.
There might be some more unpleasant pregnancy symptoms, too, especially the ones you thought you’d left behind in early pregnancy, such as needing to pee constantly, tender breasts and heartburn.
What to do this week:
Although it may not be at the top of your list, keeping active while pregnantcan help you to have a shorter labour and even experience fewer complications. It's recommended that pregnant women do 150 minutes of exercise throughout the week. There are lots of different exercises you could try including pilates, aqua yoga, cycling and of course walking. Just be sure to talk to your midwife or doctor before trying something new.
If you haven't already, you should also start researching and even buying your baby's car seat, pushchair and any other baby gear you will need in the first few weeks of your newborn's life. We recommend spending some time getting to know these products and fitting the car seat in your car so you can feel confident using them.
If this is your first baby, next week you should have another appointment with your midwife where they will measure your blood pressure, the size of your uterus and test your urine for protein. It's also worth pulling together any questions you might have ready for this appointment.