30 Weeks Pregnant: Baby Development, Symptoms and Tips

Short Answer: At 30 week pregnancy, your baby is about 40 cm from head to heel, roughly the size of a cabbage, and weighs around 1.3 kg. The brain is growing deep folds, the bone marrow is taking over blood cell production, the eyes track light, the lungs are still maturing and your baby has regular sleep cycles. The top of your womb is about 9 to 10 cm above your navel. You may have backache, heartburn, swollen feet, breathlessness, tiredness and trouble sleeping. This week, keep tracking your baby’s movements, check your hemoglobin and blood pressure, learn the stages of labour, look at pain relief choices and make sure your hospital, transport and blood plan are in place. Call a doctor the same day for any change in your baby’s movements, and for bleeding, severe pain, fever, fluid leaking, regular tightenings or a severe headache with blurred vision.

Pregnancy weeks are counted from the first day of your last period, not from conception. Thirty weeks pregnant means about twenty-eight weeks since conception. You are in your seventh month, with about 10 weeks to go. Many doctors consider this the fifth of eight recommended prenatal contacts, so keep your appointment.

For the week before, read our guide to 35 weeks pregnant, and to follow the whole journey see our pregnancy guidelines week by week.

37 Weeks Pregnant: Baby Development, Symptoms and Tips

Week 30 at a glance

Sizes differ a little between guides, because they use averages from different groups of babies. Your own scan results and your doctor’s measurements matter more than a chart.

Your baby at 30 weeks

Growth. Your baby gains about 200 grams a week, mostly as fat. The body is plumper and the skin is smoother, though still red and slightly wrinkled. The head is now in better proportion with the body.

Brain. The brain is growing quickly, and its surface is forming deep folds and grooves, which give it more area for thinking, memory and control. Millions of nerve connections form every day. Good food, sleep, avoiding alcohol and tobacco and treating infections quickly all support this.

Blood. Until now, the liver and spleen made your baby’s blood cells. By about now the bone marrow has become the main source, as it will be for life. Your baby also stores iron from you, which lasts the first months after birth. This is one reason anaemia in the mother matters.

Eyes. The eyes open and close, and the pupils change size in response to light. Your baby can sense bright light through your belly and may turn toward it. Newborns see best at about 20 to 30 cm, the distance to your face when you feed them. Eyelashes are fully grown.

Hearing and voice. Your baby hears your heartbeat, your voice, your stomach and loud outside sounds, all muffled. Newborns recognise their mother’s voice and prefer it. Talking, reading and singing to your baby is a nice habit.

Lungs. The air sacs keep multiplying, and surfactant is increasing. The lungs are not fully mature until about 36 weeks, and some babies need longer. Your baby practises breathing movements, which may feel like rhythmic jumps similar to hiccups.

Skin and hair. Vernix and lanugo still cover the skin, though the lanugo begins to shed. Hair on the head is growing and thickening. Nails are growing, and may reach the fingertips.

Sleep and movement. Your baby sleeps most of the day in cycles of deep sleep, dream-like sleep with rapid eye movements and wakefulness. Movements are strong, with kicks, rolls, stretches and hiccups. As space gets tighter, big kicks may give way to rolls and stretches, but the total amount of movement should stay about the same.

Amniotic fluid. The volume of fluid around your baby keeps rising and peaks at about 34 to 36 weeks. Your baby swallows and passes urine into it.

Position. Many babies turn head down around now, though many are still head up or sideways. About 3 to 4 in 100 are still breech at 36 weeks.

Chances at birth. Babies born at 30 weeks have a very good chance of survival in hospitals with good newborn intensive care, more than nine in ten, though most need weeks of care for breathing, feeding and temperature. In places where newborn care is limited, the chances are lower. Steroid injections given to the mother before preterm birth help the baby’s lungs and work best one to seven days before birth. If you have signs of preterm labour, go to a hospital with a newborn unit early.

Your body at 30 weeks

Womb. The top of your womb is about 9 to 10 cm above your navel, and a tape measure from the pubic bone reads about 30 cm. Your doctor measures this at visits as a quick check of growth. A difference of up to 2 cm either way is normal. A measurement that is far off, or that stops growing, may lead to a growth scan.

Weight. A person of normal weight usually gains about 0.4 to 0.5 kg a week. By now most people have gained about 9 to 13 kg in total, though it varies. Sudden rapid weight gain, especially with swelling, needs a check for pre-eclampsia.

Blood and heart. Your blood volume is at or near its peak, up to 40 to 50 percent above normal. You may feel warm, sweat more, have a faster pulse and notice veins on your legs and breasts.

Breathing. The womb presses up on the diaphragm, so you may feel breathless on stairs or when lying flat. Sit upright, rest and avoid rushing. Call your doctor if breathlessness is sudden, severe or comes with chest pain, a fast heartbeat or a cough with blood.

Skin and hair. A glow is common, but so are acne, dry skin, dark patches on the face (melasma) and a dark line down the belly (linea nigra). Stretch marks can appear on the belly, breasts, hips and thighs. Genetics matters more than any cream.

Breasts. They are larger and heavier. Colostrum, the thick yellow first milk, may leak. A supportive nursing bra and breast pads help.

Hands, feet and legs. Mild swelling is common, especially in hot weather. Tingling in the hands from carpal tunnel syndrome is common too. Varicose veins and piles can appear or get worse.

Fatigue. Tiredness is common, because of the weight you carry, poor sleep and the load on your heart and lungs. Rest when you can, and ask for help.

Nesting. Many people feel a sudden urge to clean and organise. It is fine, but do not climb, lift heavy things or breathe in strong cleaning fumes.

Common symptoms and what helps

Do not take any medicine, including painkillers and herbal products, without asking a doctor or pharmacist. Paracetamol at the recommended dose is generally considered safe. Avoid ibuprofen, aspirin and diclofenac unless your doctor prescribes them.

When to call a doctor

Bleeding. Any bleeding in the third trimester needs urgent care, even if it is painless. Painless bright red bleeding can be a sign of a low-lying placenta, and bleeding with pain and a hard belly can be a placental abruption. Both are emergencies. Do not examine yourself internally, and go to hospital at once.

Pre-eclampsia. A serious blood pressure condition. Signs include a severe headache that will not go away, blurred vision or flashing lights, sudden swelling of the face and hands, pain under the ribs on the right side, vomiting and rapid weight gain. It needs urgent care.

Preterm labour. Call straight away if you have regular tightenings, more than four in an hour, a steady low backache, pelvic pressure, a change in vaginal discharge, bleeding or fluid leaking before 37 weeks. Lie on your left side and drink water, and go to hospital if the signs continue for an hour, or at once for bleeding or fluid leaking. Call 999 if you need help getting there.

Fever. In Bangladesh a fever can also mean dengue, so do not treat it at home. See a doctor straight away.

If you feel sad, anxious or hopeless for more than two weeks, tell your doctor. If you ever have thoughts of harming yourself, seek help right away.

Growth: is your baby the right size?

At each visit, your doctor measures the height of your womb from the pubic bone to the top, which should be close to your weeks of pregnancy in centimetres, give or take 2 cm. It is a simple way to check growth, though it is not exact. A tape that reads well above or below the expected number may lead to a growth scan.

A smaller than expected baby. Causes include high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, smoking, poor nutrition, infections, placental problems, twins or simply a small but healthy baby. A growth scan measures the head, belly and thigh bone, checks the fluid and may use Doppler to look at blood flow in the cord. Your doctor may advise extra scans and a plan for timing the birth. Rest, good food, stopping tobacco and taking iron and calcium as advised all help.

A larger than expected baby. Causes include gestational diabetes, a large mother or father, a past large baby, post-dates and too much fluid. A very large baby raises the risk of a difficult birth, so your doctor may check your blood sugar and advise a plan.

Ultrasound weight estimates can be off by 10 to 15 percent in either direction, particularly late in pregnancy. Do not rely on one measurement. Discuss the trend with your doctor, and ask what it means for your birth plan.

What you can do:

• Go to every visit, so your doctor can track growth
• Take iron, folic acid and calcium as prescribed
• Eat a balanced diet, and avoid skipping meals
• Stay away from tobacco, including zarda and jorda, and smoke from others
• Keep blood sugar and blood pressure in check if you have diabetes or hypertension
• Track your baby’s movements, and report any change the same day

Clean water, cooking smoke and heat

These three everyday risks matter in Bangladesh, and are often overlooked in pregnancy.

Arsenic in water. In many areas, groundwater from tube wells contains arsenic, which is harmful in pregnancy. Long-term exposure is linked to miscarriage, low birth weight and health problems for the child. Drink water from tube wells that have been tested and marked safe, usually painted green, and avoid those marked red. If you are not sure, ask your local health office or community clinic about testing, or use filtered, deep-tube-well or rainwater that has been treated. Boiling does not remove arsenic. Safe water is also needed for cooking rice, since rice can absorb arsenic from contaminated water.

Boiled or filtered water for germs. Even safe-from-arsenic water may carry bacteria. Boil your drinking water for at least a minute, or use a trusted filter, and store it in a clean, covered container.

Cooking smoke. Cooking over wood, dung, crop waste or kerosene gives off smoke that harms your lungs and can lead to low birth weight and preterm birth. If you can, cook outdoors or in a space with good ventilation and a chimney, use a cleaner stove or gas, keep the baby and other children away from smoke and take breaks from the kitchen. Ask your local health worker whether a cleaner stove programme is available. Do not sit by the fire with your belly close to the heat.

Heat. Hot, humid weather raises the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion and swollen feet. Drink water through the day and add a pinch of salt and sugar, or oral rehydration salts, if you are sweating a lot. Wear loose cotton clothes, stay in the shade or indoors during the hottest hours, take cool showers, rest with your feet up and avoid heavy work in the sun. Signs of heat illness include dizziness, headache, nausea, very hot skin, a fast heartbeat, fainting and little urine. Move to a cool place, drink water and see a doctor.

Dengue. Remove standing water around your home, use a mosquito net and a pregnancy-safe repellent, and see a doctor straight away for any fever.

Understanding labour

Knowing what to expect makes labour less frightening. Every labour is different, and the times below are rough.

Signs that labour is starting:

• Regular tightenings that get stronger, longer and closer together
• A show, a pink or blood-streaked mucus plug
• Your waters breaking, as a gush or a steady trickle
• A steady backache or period-like cramps

When to go to hospital. Go if your contractions are regular and strong, about every five minutes for an hour, your waters break, you have bleeding, your baby moves less, you feel something is wrong, or labour starts before 37 weeks. If you live far from the hospital, leave earlier. If your waters break and the fluid is green or brown, or you can see or feel the cord, go at once.

What helps in early labour at home: rest and sleep if you can, eat light food and drink water, take a warm shower, walk slowly, lean on a pillow or a person and breathe slowly. Time your contractions.

Pushing. Follow your doctor’s or midwife’s guidance. You will usually push with each contraction, with your chin down and your knees apart. Many hospitals let you choose positions, such as on your side or semi-sitting.

Episiotomy. This is a small cut near the vagina during pushing, done in some hospitals. It is not needed for most births, so ask your doctor in advance when they do one and why.

Skin-to-skin and the first feed. If you and your baby are well, ask for your baby to be placed on your chest straight after birth, dried and covered, and for breastfeeding within the first hour. Delay cord clamping by one to three minutes if your baby is well, unless there is a reason not to.

Respectful care. You have the right to be treated with respect, to have privacy, to understand and agree to what is done and to have a companion. Ask your hospital about its policy ahead of time.

Pain relief options

Labour is painful for most people, but there are ways to manage it. Availability depends on your hospital, so ask ahead.

Ask your hospital which options it offers, what each costs and whether an anaesthetist is on call at night. You can change your mind during labour. A written plan helps, but stay flexible.

Sleep and rest before labour. Many labours begin at night. Rest when you can now.

Tests and visits

Visits. Many doctors see you every two weeks from 28 to 36 weeks, then weekly. Keep every appointment, even if you feel well, and bring your prenatal card.

Vaccines. If you have not had the whooping cough or tetanus-diphtheria vaccines, ask your doctor this week. The whooping cough vaccine is best from 27 to 36 weeks, and protects your newborn in the first months.

Anaemia. Ask for a hemoglobin test if it has not been done in the last month. The World Health Organization defines anaemia in the third trimester as hemoglobin below 11 g/dL. If it is low, your doctor may increase your iron dose or change the type.

Keep your records. Carry your prenatal card and test results to every visit and to the hospital.

Food and supplements

Iron. Keep taking iron-folic acid tablets as prescribed. Take iron away from tea, coffee and milk, and with something sour such as lemon. Dark stools are normal on iron.

Calcium. Take calcium as prescribed, at a different time from iron.

Iodine. Use iodised salt in your cooking. Iodine supports your baby’s brain development.

Eat more of:

• Protein: eggs, well-cooked fish, chicken, lentils (dal), beans and milk
• Iron-rich foods: leafy greens (shak), lean meat and lentils, with lemon or guava for vitamin C
• Calcium-rich foods: milk, yogurt, and small fish such as mola eaten with the bones
• Fruit and vegetables: a variety of colours every day
• Whole grains and fibre: brown rice, whole wheat roti and oats
• Healthy fats: well-cooked oily fish, nuts and seeds
• Water: about 8 to 10 glasses across the day, more in hot weather

Calories. Your needs rise by about 450 calories a day in the third trimester, such as a glass of milk, a boiled egg, a banana and a handful of nuts. You do not need to eat for two.

Limit: caffeine to about 200 mg a day, which is one or two cups of tea or a single small coffee. Limit sweets, sugary drinks, juice and fried snacks. Large portions of white rice and bread push blood sugar up, so pair carbohydrates with protein and vegetables.

Avoid: alcohol, all tobacco (including zarda and jorda), raw or undercooked meat, fish and eggs, unpasteurized milk and cheese, unwashed produce, large predatory fish such as shark and swordfish, high-dose vitamin A supplements and herbal tonics your doctor has not approved.

Smaller, more frequent meals help with heartburn and breathlessness as your belly grows. Eat slowly, and avoid lying down for an hour after eating.

Weight gain. Total gain over the whole pregnancy depends on your weight before pregnancy, and Asian-specific BMI ranges may apply, so ask your doctor.

Exercise, sleep and posture

Exercise. The standard advice for healthy pregnancies is about 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking on most days. Walking after meals helps blood sugar. Swimming, prenatal yoga, stationary cycling and pelvic floor exercises are good choices. You should be able to talk while you exercise. Avoid hot yoga, lying flat on your back during exercise, contact sports, heavy lifting and anything with a risk of falls. Stop and call your doctor if you have pain, bleeding, dizziness, trouble breathing, regular tightenings or fluid leaking.

Pelvic floor. Squeeze and lift the muscles you use to stop urine flow, hold for a few seconds and release. Do a few sets a day. Strong pelvic floor muscles help with bladder control and with healing after birth.

Sleep. Sleep on your side, either side, with a pillow between your knees and another under your belly. Sleeping on your back in the third trimester is linked to a higher risk of stillbirth. If you wake on your back, turn onto your side. Do the same for naps. A long body pillow helps. Keep a regular bedtime and avoid screens at night. Hot, humid nights and power cuts can disturb sleep, so use a fan, wear loose cotton clothes and keep water by your bed.

Posture. As your belly grows, your centre of gravity shifts forward. Stand tall, keep your shoulders back, avoid high heels and use a chair that supports your lower back. Lift by bending your knees. A support belt can ease back pain, so ask your doctor.

Movement tracking. Keep tracking your baby’s movements. Learn the usual pattern, and if you want a method, count distinct movements until you reach ten, which usually takes under two hours. If you notice a clear drop or change, call your doctor the same day, and do not wait until the next day or rely on a home Doppler.

Your mood in the third trimester

Many people feel more anxious in the last months. Common worries include the pain of labour, whether the baby will be healthy, money, work, a changing relationship and whether you will cope as a parent. Hormones, poor sleep and tiredness make worries feel bigger.

What helps:

• Talk about your fears with your partner, a friend or your doctor
• Learn about labour and newborn care, since knowledge reduces fear
• Join an antenatal class, or talk to mothers you trust
• Keep a routine, with daylight, a short walk and regular meals
• Limit frightening stories and social media if they make you anxious
• Plan help for after the birth
• Rest, and do not take on too much

When to get help. Feeling sad, hopeless, empty or very anxious for two weeks or more, losing interest in things, being unable to sleep beyond the usual discomforts or having thoughts of harming yourself needs attention. Tell your doctor, and do not wait. Depression and anxiety in pregnancy are common and treatable, and they raise the risk of postnatal depression if untreated. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, go to the nearest hospital or call 999.

If you feel unsafe at home, tell your doctor or a trusted person. In Bangladesh you can call the national helpline 109 for support with violence against women and children. It is free.

Work, leave and money

• Notice. Give your employer written notice of your pregnancy and your expected delivery date, if you have not already.
• Maternity leave. Under Bangladesh’s labour law, working mothers in the private sector are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, eight weeks before and eight weeks after the birth. Government employees receive six months. Leave before birth can start about eight weeks before your due date, which is around week 32. Check your own contract and your employer’s policy.
• Work. Most people can keep working. Take breaks to sit, eat and drink, avoid heavy lifting and long standing and tell your doctor about night shifts or hazards. Stop work and call your doctor if you have regular tightenings, bleeding, fluid leaking or severe headaches.
• Money. Budget for delivery, newborn care, a possible hospital stay and emergencies. Ask the hospital for a written estimate that includes tests, delivery and complications.
• Hospital. Choose a hospital with a qualified doctor, a way to handle emergencies, a blood supply and a newborn care unit. Visit it if you can, and ask about visiting hours, who can stay with you and what you need to bring.
• Emergency plan. Know your blood group, arrange transport and blood donors, keep money and documents ready and agree with your family to go to hospital at once if there is a danger sign.
• Birth registration. Register your baby’s birth with the local authority after the birth. It is free within 45 days.

Checklist for this week

• Keep your visit this week, and check your blood pressure, weight, womb size and hemoglobin
• Take iron-folic acid and calcium as prescribed, at different times, and use iodised salt
• Check your blood group, and get anti-D if you are Rh negative
• Ask about the whooping cough, tetanus-diphtheria and flu vaccines
• Keep tracking your baby’s movements, and call the same day if the pattern changes
• Sleep on your side every night, including naps
• Drink safe water, avoid cooking smoke and stay cool and hydrated
• Learn the signs and stages of labour, and the danger signs
• Ask your hospital about pain relief options and costs
• Review your emergency plan: hospital, transport, blood donors, money and who decides
• Join an antenatal and breastfeeding class, and keep working on your hospital bag and birth plan
• Tell someone if you feel low or anxious
• Save your doctor’s number and the nearest hospital’s emergency number

FAQ

How big is the baby at 30 weeks?
About 40 cm from head to heel and 1.3 kg, roughly the size of a cabbage. Sizes vary a little between guides and between babies.

Can a baby survive if born at 30 weeks?
Most babies born at 30 weeks survive in hospitals with good newborn intensive care, though they need weeks of care. Chances are lower where newborn care is limited. Go to hospital early if you have signs of preterm labour.

How do I know if my baby is the right size?
Your doctor measures the height of your womb at each visit, and uses a growth scan if the measurement is too big or too small. Ultrasound estimates can be off by 10 to 15 percent, so do not rely on one result.

Is it safe to drink tube-well water in pregnancy?
Only from tube wells that have been tested and marked safe from arsenic, usually painted green. Boil or filter it for germs, and avoid tube wells marked red.

Is cooking smoke harmful in pregnancy?
Yes. Smoke from wood, dung, crop waste and kerosene can harm your lungs and your baby. Cook outdoors or with good ventilation, use a cleaner stove if you can and take breaks.

How do I know labour has started?
Regular tightenings that get stronger and closer together, a show, your waters breaking or a steady backache. Go to hospital if contractions come about every five minutes for an hour, your waters break, you have bleeding or your baby moves less.

What pain relief is available in labour?
Support and breathing, a warm shower, massage and heat are widely available. Injections and epidurals depend on your hospital, so ask ahead.

Is it normal to feel anxious at 30 weeks?
Yes. If it lasts two weeks or more, or you have thoughts of harming yourself, tell your doctor or seek help at once.

Note: This article gives general information and does not replace advice from your doctor or midwife. Every pregnancy is different. Call your doctor or go to a hospital if you have bleeding, severe pain, fever, fainting, a change in your baby’s movements or any symptom that worries you.