Your Baby is Due
October 16, 2023

You're approaching the third trimester. Your third trimester starts when you've completed 27 weeks of pregnancy.

Your baby should be having regular periods of rest and activity, its patterns of movement are becoming more familiar to you. Some women find their baby is active in the middle of the night, enough to wake them up. The sound of your partner's voice or sudden noises can also prompt movements as well.

Your baby is able to respond to sound more and more as each week passes. As brain cells mature, she starts learning and remembering. Your baby can hear your voice and will start to move in rhythm to your speech. Music that is played regularly may also be remembered after birth. Your baby can also distinguish your partner's voice if he talks to the baby. This means that she will also be able to recognize his voice and distinguish it from others after birth.

The blink-startle response begins around 28 weeks, girls before boys.

Pregnancy brains and clumsiness. Has "pregnancy brain" caused you to forget things lately? While this decrease in memory is temporary and totally normal, try writing key things down to help you stay organized for the rest of your pregnancy. The clumsiness is a result of your shifted center of gravity, extra weight and loosened joints and is also temporary. Just make sure you're extra careful for now.

It's a good idea to make a birth plan, but keep it flexible, because it's impossible to predict what may happen during labor and birth. Discuss your plan with your partner and ask your midwife and antenatal class teacher for their advice, too. It's also a good idea for your partner to plan he paternity leave too.