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Day 243 of 280 · 34 weeks + 5 days

Weekly from 36

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

Thirty-four weeks and five days. In nine days your checkups usually go weekly. Today you put those slots in the calendar before anything else takes them.

Size this week
about the size of a cantaloupe melon
Length this week
around 45 cm from head to heel
A woman with a full bump in a loose shirt at a kitchen table, pen in hand, marking a row of dates on a paper wall calendar while her partner reads them off his phone, morning light.

Thirty-four weeks and five days. The appointments are about to come closer together, and today's job is to make room for them now, while the calendar still has gaps.

Your baby

A single cantaloupe melon on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around now your baby is around 45cm long from head to heel, about the size of a cantaloupe melon (NHS). They're curled up with their legs bent up toward their chest, and space is getting limited, though you may still notice plenty of movement and changes in the shape of your bump (NHS). A lot of what happens at the next visits is about where that curled-up baby is lying.

Your body

In the third trimester, prenatal visits usually come every 2 weeks until week 36, then every week (MedlinePlus). The Office on Women's Health gives the same rhythm, twice a month from 28 to 36 weeks and weekly from 36 until birth, and notes that high-risk pregnancies are seen more often (OWH).

The visits are short and practical. Expect your weight, a measurement of your abdomen, your blood pressure, a talk about delivery timing, and a check of the baby's position (MedlinePlus). A group B strep test is done a few weeks before your due date, and MedlinePlus says no other routine labs or ultrasounds are standard for everyone in this trimester (MedlinePlus). If your provider orders more, ask what each one is for.

Try today

  1. The weekly-visit calendar

    Time: 15 minutes

    1. Count forward to 36 weeks, nine days from today, and mark it. From there, visits usually go weekly (MedlinePlus).

    2. Block one slot a week from that date through your due date, at a time you could actually make, and ask the office to book them at your next visit.

    3. Put the same slots in your partner's calendar, or whoever might drive you.

    4. Open a note on your phone called "visit questions" and add the first one now.

    Make it work:

    Add a line to the note for any new medicine, vitamin, or herb you're thinking of starting; MedlinePlus says to check with your provider first (MedlinePlus). The weekly visit is the easy place to ask.

Watch for

  • Normal

    heartburn and low back pain, which are common now because digestion slows and the extra weight strains your muscles and joints (MedlinePlus).

    Call 911

    or go to an emergency room for severe chest pain or shortness of breath that does not go away (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    some puffiness in your feet by evening; resting with your feet raised can help (OWH).

    Call your provider

    for sudden swelling in your hands or feet, or rapid weight gain, which may be a sign of preeclampsia (OWH). Don't wait for the next weekly slot.

  • Normal

    feeling hot, which is on the NHS's list for late pregnancy (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for fever or chills (MedlinePlus); the CDC's threshold is 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC).

For you

Visits getting closer together is the ordinary schedule, not a sign that something's wrong (OWH). It's also a lot of hours. If your work makes that hard, the slots in your calendar are your case for the time off.

If you're the partner: pick one of the weekly visits and come. You'll hear the plan for the birth in the provider's words instead of secondhand, and you can ask your own questions.

Sources

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.

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