35 weeks pregnant: symptoms and baby development
Getting chubbier, on purpose.
Third trimesterMonth 85 min read
By Solesia, from public clinical guidanceUpdated
Your baby is not getting much longer now. What changes this week is under the skin: a layer of fat filling out the arms, the legs, the cheeks, and that layer is what will keep them warm in the world. It is the week of getting chubby. If their head is down, their feet are up under your ribs, and sore ribs are the price of that arrangement. Yellow marks in your bra are the first milk. Five weeks from your due date, thoughts turn naturally to the birth itself: how you might manage pain, who will be with you, and what you want in that first hour after.
How big is your baby at 35 weeks
About the size of a honeydew melon
18.2 in long·5.6 lb
Baby development at 35 weeks
At 35 weeks your baby measures about 18.2 inches from head to heel and weighs around 5.6 pounds, roughly a honeydew melon. Growth in length has slowed; growth in weight has not. Fat is filling out their arms, legs and cheeks, smoothing the last of the wrinkles, and they gain around half a pound a week from here.
Their kidneys are fully developed and their liver is processing waste. The lungs are nearly ready, with the substance that keeps the air sacs open now being made in good quantity. Their hearing is complete, and they are learning the tunes and voices they hear every day.
With so little room left they cannot roll as they did, but they push, stretch and shove as strongly as ever. The strength and rhythm of their movements should stay the same right up to birth; it is only the character that changes. About nineteen in twenty babies are head down by the end of the month.
Your body at 35 weeks
Sore ribs are expected when the baby is head down, because their feet and bottom sit up under your ribcage and they push against it when they stretch. Sitting tall, leaning back with your arms stretched above your head, and lying on the side opposite the ache all give the ribs room. It eases when the baby drops lower.
Colostrum, the thick yellowish first milk, may be leaking now, and yellow marks in your bra are what it looks like when it dries. This is expected; it means your breasts are ready weeks ahead. Breast pads help. There is no need to express it before birth unless your provider suggests it for a particular reason.
Practice contractions are common this week and painless: a tightening across the bump for half a minute, then release. You may sleep poorly, feel hot at night and find your feet swollen by evening; all of it is expected, and all of it is the last stretch. A cool bedroom, an earlier bedtime and an afternoon rest make the difference.
Common pregnancy symptoms at 35 weeks
- Sore ribs. Feet up under your ribcage. Sit tall, stretch your arms overhead, lie on the other side.
- Leaking colostrum. First milk drying to yellow marks. Breast pads; nothing else to do.
- Braxton Hicks. Painless tightenings without a pattern. Rest, water, and a change of position.
- Broken sleep. Bladder, heat and a busy baby. Pillows, a cool room, and a rest in the afternoon.
- Swollen feet and hands. Fluid settling by evening. Feet up, rings off, and walk daily.
- Heartburn. A stomach with little room. Small meals, and nothing in the three hours before bed.
- Itchy skin. Stretching over the bump. Fragrance-free moisturizer and cotton clothes.
When to call your provider at 35 weeks
Pain under your ribs that is severe, not just sore, is a same-day call. So is any change in your baby’s movements.
Two things are worth a same-day call at any point in pregnancy: bleeding that is more than spotting, and pain that is severe or does not ease. From the second trimester, add fluid leaking and any change in your baby’s usual pattern of movement. You do not need to be sure something is wrong to call; that is what the number is for.
What to do at 35 weeks
- Talk through pain relief. Ask your provider what is available where you are giving birth: breathing and movement, a tub or shower, nitrous oxide, IV medication, an epidural. Knowing the options is not choosing one.
- Tdap, last chance this window. The whooping cough shot belongs between 27 and 36 weeks. If it has not happened yet, ask for it this week.
- Write down your birth preferences. A page, no more: who is with you, what you would like to try, what you want in the first hour after birth. Bring it to your next visit.
- Prenatal visit. The last of the every-two-weeks visits; from 36 they are weekly. Your provider checks the baby’s position and may talk about the group B strep swab coming next week.
Common questions at 35 weeks
Why do my ribs hurt at 35 weeks?
When the baby is head down, their feet and bottom are up under your ribs, and every stretch pushes against them. Your ribcage has also widened to make room for your lungs. Sitting up straight, stretching your arms overhead and lying on the other side all help, and it eases when the baby drops lower.
Should I pump colostrum before the baby is born?
Not unless your provider suggests it. Some women with diabetes or a baby expected to need extra feeds are advised to hand-express and freeze colostrum from about 36 weeks. For everyone else, leaking now is simply your breasts getting ready, and there is nothing to collect.
What are my options for pain relief in labor?
They range from movement, breathing, warm water and massage to nitrous oxide, IV pain medication and an epidural, which numbs from the waist down and is the choice of many women in US hospitals. Birth centers offer the first group only. You do not have to decide in advance, and you can change your mind on the day.
How many months is 35 weeks?
About eight months, in the middle of the eighth. You are in the third trimester with five weeks to your due date, and two weeks from early term, which begins at 37 weeks. From next week your prenatal visits become weekly, and they stay that way until birth.
Written from public clinical guidance, including NHS: Week 35, ACOG: How your baby grows, ACOG: Changes in your body, ACOG: The Tdap vaccine and pregnancy, NHS: Your baby’s movements, NHS: Itching and NHS: Indigestion and heartburn. This page is general information, not medical advice, and does not replace your provider.