pregnancy week 28
28 weeks pregnant.
Your baby weighs about a kilogram now. They blink, dream, and respond to your voice with movement.
Updated 29 July 2026 · Sources: NHS and ACOG
Your baby this week
Plumper now with fat-padded cheeks and limbs. The baby can blink and open the eyes wider when awake.
- Crosses the 1 kg mark
- Blinking begins
- Dreams (REM sleep) start
- Reacts to voices
What may be changing in your body
Belly is rounded and high. Sleep may be hard — find a comfortable side-sleeping setup. Watch for swelling.
Changing movement patterns
By now your baby has a recognisable daily rhythm of active and quiet spells. Get to know it — if movements ever slow down or stop, contact your maternity unit immediately, at any hour. Never wait until the next day.
Sciatica
Pressure on the sciatic nerve can send shooting pain from the buttock down the leg. Warmth, gentle stretches, and avoiding long sitting help; persistent pain merits a physiotherapy referral.
Breathlessness climbing stairs
The uterus sits high against the diaphragm now. Take stairs at your own pace and rest at the top — this eases once the baby drops later on.
Leaky bladder with sneezes
Pressure on the pelvic floor makes small leaks with coughing or laughing common. Daily pelvic floor exercises now genuinely improve both late pregnancy and recovery.
Trouble sleeping
Between bathroom trips, a busy baby, and finding a comfortable position, broken sleep becomes the norm. A pillow between the knees and one under the bump helps more than most gadgets.
Swelling and headaches — stay alert
Third-trimester pre-eclampsia risk means sudden swelling, severe headache, vision changes, or pain under the ribs are same-day calls to your midwife or doctor.
Your week 28 checklist
- Start paying deliberate daily attention to your baby's movements — know their normal pattern from today.
- Attend your 28-week appointment; blood tests here often check iron, and anti-D is offered if you are rhesus negative.
- Save your maternity unit's triage phone number in your phone favourites, and your partner's.
- Book any remaining antenatal classes now so they finish before week 36.
A useful partner move this week
Save the maternity triage number in your own phone this week and agree together on the rule: reduced movements means calling the unit immediately, day or night, no talking each other out of it. Being the calm one who says 'let's just call' is one of the most valuable things you can do from here on.
What comes next
The next month brings rapid weight gain. Movements become very visible and the baby will start positioning head-down soon.
Common questions
How many kicks per hour should I feel at 28 weeks?
There is no universal magic number — modern guidance has moved away from fixed kick counts because every baby has an individual pattern of movement. What matters is knowing your baby's normal rhythm and acting on any change: if movements slow, weaken, or stop, contact your maternity unit immediately, whatever the hour. Do not use a home doppler for reassurance or wait to see if things pick up.
What actually happens if I report reduced movements?
The maternity unit will usually ask you to come in for monitoring, typically listening to the baby's heartbeat and running a CTG trace, sometimes followed by a scan. Most of the time everything is fine and you will be home within hours — and staff genuinely prefer checking a hundred healthy babies to missing one who needs help. Never feel you are wasting anyone's time; this is exactly what the service is for.
What is the anti-D injection and do I need it?
If your blood group is rhesus negative, small amounts of a rhesus-positive baby's blood entering your circulation could cause your body to make antibodies that affect future pregnancies. The anti-D injection, routinely offered around week 28, prevents this sensitisation and is very safe. Your midwife will only offer it if your blood tests show you are rhesus negative, and it is worth accepting.
How many months is 28 weeks pregnant?
Pregnancy months do not divide evenly into weeks, so clinicians date pregnancy in weeks. At 28 weeks, you are in trimester three.