Your Nutrients of This Week¹

Your Wellness Tips This Week²

During your 30th week of pregnancy, you might want to break up exercise into several 10- or even 5-minute sessions. You might find small segments of exercise easiest on your body, and your busy schedule, at this time of your pregnancy.

• Exercise is still best for countering many of those late-pregnancy symptoms and pains, and will help you lose baby weight more quickly.
• Low-impact choices in pilates or yoga might help you stop and relax, which can help mind as well as body! Just be sure to limit the time spent on your back, as this can restrict blood flow to your baby.
• Gentle stretches might be particularly useful in your exercise routine right now. Be sure to take it slow and easy on pregnancy-loosened joints and ligaments.

Your Baby's Development at Week 30^{3, 4}

During this 30th week of pregnancy, your baby continues to steadily add weight and important, insulating layers of fat to his body.

• At 30 weeks of pregnancy, your baby weighs about 1.5 kg and is about 27 cm long from crown to rump, or about the length of a bunch of celery. (His legs and feet increase this measurement by many more centimetres.)
• From this week until week 37 of pregnancy, your baby gains an impressive 0.2 kg a week!
• Your baby might be practicing breathing movements as he rhythmically moves his diaphragm. You even might notice a slight twitching in your abdomen when this happens.
• Your baby’s eyes can open well and he may have hair on his head.
• Your baby’s brain continues to expand and develop, creating additional grooves and folds in the brain’s surface. These wrinkles give your baby’s brain tissue the needed room to expand as he develops and learns throughout his lifetime.
• Your baby’s brain can now regulate his temperature, so he begins to lose the lanugo — fine hair that has been covering his body for warmth.

Your Changing Body at Week 30^{3, 5,6}

By the 30th week of pregnancy, that 2nd-trimester energy already might seem long gone. You might feel tired as your body carries extra baby weight and your ever- expanding uterus places additional pressure on your body’s other organs and systems. Also during your 30th week of pregnancy, you might experience the following:

• Your uterus continues to expand to the bottom of your rib cage.
• Hormones continue to soften and loosen connective tissues in your body as it prepares for childbirth. You might notice hip pain, probably on just one side, as well as lower-back pain from your growing uterus.
• It’s all in the wrist! With swelling and additional baby weight, sometimes the nerves in your wrist might become temporarily compressed.
  • If you notice numbness, tingling, or even pain in your hands, you might have carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects 25% of pregnant women.
  • These effects should disappear after your baby is born.
  • Your doctor might suggest a special wrist splint if your symptoms cause you trouble.

Numbing or Tingling in Places?⁷
When you’re 30 weeks pregnant, your growing uterus might press on nerves connecting to your legs or arms, causing legs, toes, or entire arms to tingle. This is normal for some women and will disappear after your baby’s birth.

Short of Breath?⁸
This is normal for women when you’re 30 weeks pregnant and through the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Your expanding uterus is pushing your diaphragm out of place.

• You might feel as if you can’t get enough air, which can be uncomfortable.
• But, remember, with your body’s progesterone boost, you are breathing deeply and taking in more air with each breath than before you were pregnant.

Tips for Breathing Better at 30 Weeks Pregnant (and beyond).

• Take it slow. When you move slowly your lungs don’t have to work so hard.
• Need some breathing room? Good posture is key. Sitting up straight gives your cramped lungs more room to expand.
• Sleeping propped up also gives your lungs more space.

References:

¹ WebMD. Smart Snacks When You're Pregnant. Available [Online] at: https://www.webmd.com/baby/ss/slideshow-pregnancy-snacks. Accessed on 29 August 2023.
² Healthline. How to Safely Exercise in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/safe-exercise-third-trimester. Accessed on 29 August 2023.
³ Verywellfamily. Week 30 of Your Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/30-weeks-pregnant-4159146. Accessed on 29 August 2023.
⁴ What to expect.30 weeks pregnant. Available [Online] at: https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/week-30.aspx. Accessed on 29 August 2023.
⁵ Physiopedia. Physiological Changes in Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Physiological_Changes_in_Pregnancy. Accessed on 29 August 2023.
⁶ Afshar A et al.The archives of bone and joint surgery.2021; 9(3): 345–349. doi.org/10.22038/abjs.2020.50995.2531.
⁷ Verywellfamily. Coping With Numbness and Tingling in Pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/numbness-and-tingling-in-pregnancy-4690620. Accessed on 28 August 2023.
⁸ MedicalNewsToday. Causes of shortness of breath during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322316. Accessed on 28 August 2023.
* Comparison among all maternal milk in Singapore as of January 2022, as declared on the label.

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