Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Your Baby in Week 30 of Pregnancy

• By week 30 of pregnancy your baby is probably close to 16” long from head to toe. In fact, he or she is almost done growing…at least length-wise! On average, your baby will grow between three and five more inches.
  

• Boys and girls grow in length at about the same rate as each other. Length is more determined by the parents and the gene pool than by the gender of the baby.
  

• The bone marrow is producing red blood cells around week 30 of pregnancy. Your baby’s marrow had already begun producing the white blood cells needed to fend off infections, and this week it does both red and white cells. The red cells are what carry nutrients, oxygen and other proteins throughout your baby’s system.
  
  Fact: The bone marrow will keep the blood level constant for the duration of your child’s life. The human body has ten pints of blood in its system on average and the bone marrow is constantly producing new red blood cells to replace old ones.
  

• The lanugo is thinning and falling off at week 30 of pregnancy. Since the fat is thick enough and abundant throughout most of the body, the lanugo isn’t needed for temperature regulation any longer. As the lanugo falls off, it will end up in the meconium which is stored in the bowels until after delivery. That’s when you get to deal with that tarry, blackish goo called the first dirty diaper! By the time of the delivery, most or all of the lanugo will be gone if your baby is carried to full term.
  

• The eyelids can fully open and close around week 30 of pregnancy. Your baby’s eyes will remain open for longer stretches throughout the day, too. While they don’t really have a lot to look at in there, they will still begin to work on their vision. Their eyesight will be really poor at this point, but it will improve slightly before birth by what they practice looking at in your uterus. They can look at the umbilical cord, maybe your bladder if they are upside down, or even a rib!
  
  They will see black and white where objects are, but have no focus or clarity with their eyesight yet. The eyelids will close and the eyes will rest, even if the baby isn’t sleeping all the time. If you have a 3D/4D ultrasound, you may catch your baby opening and closing his or her eyes.
  

• Your baby can produce tears during week 30 of pregnancy and because they can even cry while in the uterus, those crocodile tears could flow! There probably won’t be much to make them cry, however, since they have constant nourishment, don’t yet require a diaper change and can sleep whenever they want. What a life! Who wouldn’t want to be treated like that? What a wakeup to have to come out into the real world!
  
  The tear ducts may practice a few times and actually squeeze a few tears out for practice runs by week 30 of pregnancy. However, when they are born, they won’t produce tears for at least three to six weeks. No worries – the first time you see real tears it will probably break your heart – no matter what the reason is.
  

• The head has probably turned by week 30 of pregnancy! This is very exciting – it means your baby is getting ready for delivery. The baby, who has up to now normally been seated with his or her head upright, has now turned down. When they have turned and the head is down, it is preparing to enter the birth canal. And by this point – we can guess what that means! Delivery is getting closer every day. Even though there are 10 weeks left at 30 weeks of pregnancy, give or take a few days, you are in the final quarter of your pregnancy. Enjoy the final weeks, get plenty of rest and keep a journal documenting all of your emotions, symptoms and feelings!
  

• The skin is growing much thicker all over your baby’s body at week 30 of pregnancy. There are several layers protecting all that is inside, including the epidermis and the internal layers. The follicles for where their body hair will grow are developing, but don’t have hair in them yet. The lanugo that used to be in place is a different type of hair, and has mostly fallen off at this point. The body hair will be very fine, thin and grow in once your baby is born.
  

• The wrinkles making your baby look like an old man are now fading in week 30 of pregnancy  as the fat continues to build a solid layer under the skin. The fat, which is still white, is also making the skin appear even less red and more pink than it was a week or two ago. True fat rolls don’t usually develop until after a baby has had a good taste of breast milk or formula.
  
  Fact: Girls usually get more fat rolls than boys will, making them on average rolier and polier than most boys.
  

• The toenails are growing in week 30 of pregnancy and they may reach the end of those toes and possibly be ready for trimming soon after birth. The toenails will have the capability to scratch just as the fingernails can, but they are usually covered by a sleeper and aren’t up by the face anyhow. They can’t do quite as much damage as flailing arms can, but keep them trimmed anyway. The toenails are soft and flexible, but able to scratch any skin on the arms or legs.