27 weeks pregnant

What to expect this week

What's happening in week 27

At twenty seven weeks your baby is well and truly getting ready for 'D-day'!

Your baby at 27 weeks

At week 27, your baby is 36cm long, weighing 875g and about the size of a head of cauliflower. Your baby might start to open their eyes around the 27 week mark, and begin to distinguish between night and day. Their little hiccups in the womb might radiate through your tummy, meaning you feel all their little burbs and shudders!

If you went into premature labour now, your baby would be cared for in a special care baby unit, and would have a very good chance of survival. Their lungs are still developing, but would function with some medical assistance.

Your baby's brain is now also going through its final stages of fine tuning with some last minute fast and furious development.

Along with their developed brain, your baby now has very developed taste buds. If you eat spicy food it’s possible it’ll make your baby hiccup, but don’t worry they’ll pass fairly quickly.

You at 27 weeks pregnant

You are now in your third and final trimester and on the home strait! How exciting!
You might experience some new pregnancy 'symptoms' as your body starts to prepare itself for D day and your baby's arrival. 
Your appetite will probably increase quite a bit in these last few months, as your body uses up more energy. Eat healthy, and try and keep as active as possible.
You might want to try some breathing exercises or pregnancy yoga to keep you strong as supple in readiness for the big day. Check out our health and fitness in pregnancy pages for some ideas.
Some of the more embarrassing pregnancy side effects could be affecting you now, too -  piles, wind and even leaky boobs! None will cause you any long term problems and are just all part of the fun of motherhood!

What to think about in week 27

You might be starting to think more and more about the actual birth of your baby now, and what the delivery might be like. Have you decided who your birth partner is going to be, and written up your birth plan? Does everyone know what your wishes are in labour and what kind of birth you would like?
Having a chat with your friends who've recently had babies will be really helpful at this stage – even if they do have what they might call 'horror stories' you can get some honest, reassuring advice – and of course, some practice cuddles with their babies!