29 weeks pregnant: the third trimester and your confinement plans

At 29 weeks pregnant, KKH's planner welcomes you to the third trimester, the final stretch. Your baby's bones are fully developed this week, though still soft, HealthXchange says, and your baby is storing fat and minerals such as calcium, iron and phosphorus. Fewer new things happen to your body now; most of the change is your baby putting on weight.

Your baby at 29 weeks

KKH sums up the third trimester as three jobs for your baby: the lungs and kidneys mature, and your baby gains weight. The bones are formed but still soft and bendy.

Your third trimester in Singapore, week by week

At every visit your blood pressure is taken and you give a urine sample, KKH says, to catch problems such as pre-eclampsia early.

Planning your confinement month

Now is a sensible time to settle who will help after the birth. The main options in Singapore are a confinement centre, a live-in confinement carer at home, a confinement food delivery service, or family. Our guides compare each: confinement centres, with prices from each centre's own site, hiring confinement help at home, confinement food delivery and confinement practices and rules.

Work is covered too. MOM says an employer must not ask an employee to work during the first 4 weeks of her confinement, and it's an offence to dismiss her while she's on maternity leave. Your partner's 4 weeks of paternity leave need 4 weeks' notice to his employer.

What's due in Singapore at 29 weeks

When to go to the hospital

Fewer movements than usual, regular or painful tightening, leaking fluid, bleeding, calf pain or swelling, or pre-eclampsia signs need the hospital now.

Where to go: at KKH, if you're 22 weeks or more with leaking fluid, bleeding or signs of labour, head directly to the Delivery Suite on Level 2 of the Women's Tower. NUH's Delivery Suite is Ward 22, Level 2 of the Main Building. Other hospitals have their own, so find out where yours is before you need it.

Frequently asked questions

Is 29 weeks the third trimester?

Yes. KKH's planner welcomes the third trimester at week 29; HealthXchange counts it from week 28.

When should I book confinement help?

Each confinement centre and agency sets its own booking rules, so ask them directly. Our confinement centres guide lists what each one charges and includes.

Can my employer ask me to work during confinement?

Not in the first 4 weeks. MOM says an employer must not ask an employee to work during the first 4 weeks of her confinement.

29 weeks pregnant is how many months?

About seven months, counted from the first day of your last period.

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