Pregnancy & Baby 

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Pregnancy week 31

A week by week guide to what’s happening to you and your baby

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOU

At this point you may be eager for your pregnancy to end and your baby to be born. Aches and pains, along with feelings of anxiety, may increase at this time. Some women may become frightened by their own lack of maternal feelings. This is a common and natural emotion that many pregnant women experience. For some women, bonding won't occur until birth - or even later. The final weeks may begin to drag.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY

Visually, your baby may track moving objects with the eyes. When he or she blinks, the eye's iris responds to light and dark. The lungs and digestive track are nearly mature, although the last few weeks in-utero are still important for lung development. Your baby is now around 14-1/2 inches head to toe, and weighs almost three pounds, five ounces.

HEALTHY EATING

Here are some quick dessert ideas which will satisfy cravings but won't fill you up:

Enjoy an occasional full-fat, fruit yoghurt. It tastes great and it can be more satisfying and healthy than ice cream.
Freeze natural fruit juice into lollies to satisfy sudden cravings for sweets.
Put some grapes into the freezer, wait a while then eat them.
Reduce the amount of sugar in recipes by substituting concentrated fruit juices and reducing the amount of other liquids added.
Invest in a juicer. Try a combination of carrot and apple juice.

FACT OF THE WEEK

Breastfeeding is best. It can be especially important to babies born prematurely. The breast milk produced by mothers of premature infants has an extra-high concentration of sodium, chloride and protein. These small babies more easily digest their mother's milk than breast milk from a full-term mother or formula. Premature infants that are fed formula are more susceptible to infection, and cannot benefit from the mother's antibodies. It is strongly recommended that all mothers consider breastfeeding their premature infants.

Find out what to expect in week 32 of your pregnancy.

For a list of all the pregnancy week by week articles click here

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