# Day 230: Names

> Thirty-two weeks and six days. Your baby is starting to recognise voices. Tonight the two of you each bring three names, and nobody vetoes anything.

- Series: Your eighth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-8), day 230 of 280, 32 weeks + 6 days
- Your baby this week: about the length of a bunch of celery; around 42.4 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-8/day-230
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 230: Names." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-8/day-230

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Thirty-two weeks and six days, the last day of week 32. Some people have had a name ready for years. Some will still be arguing in the delivery room. Either way, tonight is a gentle round of it, with one rule.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is probably lying head down, and it's fine if they aren't yet ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/)). They're around 42.4cm long from head to heel ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/)). From around last week, the NHS says, babies start recognising voices from outside the womb ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-31/)). Whatever names you say out loud tonight, they're hearing the voices that say them.

## Your body

Earlier symptoms can come back in the third trimester, and pelvic pain is one of them ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/)). For backache, MedlinePlus suggests sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs, and bending your knees rather than your waist when you pick things up ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm)).

The NHS's week 32 page also says plainly that bleeding needs medical advice ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/)). About 1 in 10 women have some vaginal bleeding in the third trimester, and MedlinePlus's rule for late pregnancy is to always report it to your provider right away ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000627.htm)). It's in the Watch for list below, too.

## Try today

### The names conversation

- **Time:** 30 minutes

1. Separately, each of you writes three names you'd be happy to say every day for the next eighteen years.
2. Swap. Read each name on the other list out loud, with the surname after it.
3. The rule: no vetoes tonight. For each name, say one thing you like about it, even if it's only the initials.
4. Keep both lists somewhere safe, and come back to them next week with fresh ears.

**Make it work:** If you're on your own, do it with a friend or your mother. Saying names out loud to someone else is what shows you which ones you actually want.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** a little spotting after sex or an internal exam ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000627.htm)). **Call your provider** right away for any other bleeding; **Call 911** for heavy bleeding, a stiff and painful belly, or strong, frequent contractions ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000627.htm)).
- **Normal:** pelvic pain coming back, which the NHS lists among the earlier symptoms that can return ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/)). **Call your provider** right away for constant, severe belly pain, or pain that comes with bleeding or fever ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm)).
- **Normal:** rings feeling snug by evening. **Call your provider** right away for extreme swelling of your hands or face ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).

## For you

A name can carry a lot: family, faith, a person you've lost, a promise. If one name on a list matters more than it looks, say why. That's a better conversation than whether it sounds nice.

And no name has to be decided before the birth. The baby will still be yours while you take your time. If the talk gets heavy rather than fun, that's worth noticing as well; the NHS asks you to talk to your midwife or doctor if you're feeling anxious or low at this stage ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/)).

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 32." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-32/
- NHS. "Week 31." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-31/
- MedlinePlus. "Aches and pains during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Vaginal bleeding in late pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000627.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html