When you are 34 weeks pregnant, you are nearing your due date and you will soon be able to hold your baby in your arms. At this time, your baby will be around 18 inches or so. The fetal development by week 34 is such that your baby’s organs are fully developed at this time but the baby continues to grow and gain weight. As a part of fetal development in week 34, the baby gains as much fat as possible so that when he leaves the warmth of your womb he will continue to be protected in the outside world. It will also help to regulate the baby’s body temperature when he is born. Moreover, the fat that is being formed...
...will be able to fill out your baby’s skin and get rid of the wrinkles and creases on his skin. By now your baby will be looking and behaving like a new born baby. As the different organs continue to develop, the bones continue to harden but will remain flexible to enable his passage through the birth canal.
The baby’s lungs are more or less developed by now and are ready to breathe in air. That is why doctors say that even if the baby is born at 34 weeks the chances of its survival are high because he will be able to breathe by this time. The baby’s immune system is still developing so that he would be able to fight any kind of infection. The eyes will be completely developed as part of the fetal development in week 34 and he will be able to close them while he sleeps and keep them open otherwise. His sleeping patterns are pretty much set by now. The ears are fully formed and by now he has become sensitive to all the sounds outside the womb. Doctors believe that your baby will be able to recognize your voice very well by now and is often comforted when he hears it. Therefore most doctors encourage the mothers to start talking to their babies.
At this point your baby’s head is most likely down and he may be preparing to enter the birth canal. Sometimes the pressure of the baby’s head in your pelvic region can be easily felt. By now your baby would have grown so much that the womb would become a smaller place for him and so it is quite possible that you will feel the baby pushing within you. The kicking that you felt in the previous weeks might subside and be replaced with this kind of pushing.
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