Pregnancy Week 31

At 31 weeks pregnant, your baby is gaining weight steadily and beginning to look more rounded. Growth is still continuing, although length gain will gradually slow as your baby focuses more on putting on fat.

Space is becoming more limited now. Your baby may spend more time curled up, with their legs drawn towards the chest because there is less room to stretch out fully. It is practical, compact, and about as sensible as womb living gets.

Your baby may still suck their thumb or fingers in the womb. This is early practice for feeding and self-soothing after birth, and some babies are even born with a small sucking blister or callus.

The brain is developing rapidly too. Nerve cells are forming more connections, different areas of the brain are becoming more specialised, and your baby can respond to sound, light and movement.

Your midwife may also start paying more attention to your baby’s position at appointments, although there is still plenty of time for babies to move. 

At 31 weeks pregnant, your baby’s movements may feel stronger, heavier or more deliberate. You may notice patterns too, such as more activity in the evening or when you lie down.

Sometimes babies seem busier at night. That may be because they really are having an active spell, but it may also be because you are finally still enough to notice.

If this is your first baby, you may be offered a 31-week antenatal appointment. Your midwife may check your blood pressure, test your urine, measure your bump, discuss your baby’s movements, ask about your mental health and talk through preparing for birth. Blood tests may be arranged if your team needs to recheck something, such as iron levels or antibodies.

Clumsiness can become more obvious now. Your centre of gravity is shifting, your bump is bigger, your joints and ligaments are looser, and you may not be able to see your feet as confidently as before.

Falls are not inevitable, but it is worth being more deliberate with movement. Take care on stairs, wet floors, uneven pavements and when getting in or out of the bath.

Week 31 can feel very physically real. Your baby has patterns, strong movements and definite opinions about space. Meanwhile, your own body may feel less predictable.

You may feel excited by how close things are getting, but also impatient, heavy, distracted or fed up with the practical awkwardness of late pregnancy. That does not mean you are not coping. It means carrying a growing baby is demanding work.

This is also a good week to pay attention to your confidence in movement. If you are avoiding stairs, struggling with pelvic pain, feeling dizzy, or worrying about balance, mention it to your midwife.

Your baby is well protected by the uterus and amniotic fluid, but that is not a reason to be casual about falls. If you have a fall, especially if you land on your bump or are unsure whether the baby was affected, contact your maternity unit for advice. Call urgently if you have pain, bleeding, fluid leaking, contractions, feel unwell, or notice a change in baby movements. 

This week, focus on monitoring, balance and movement awareness.

Make sure you attend any antenatal appointments or tests you are offered. If your blood pressure, urine, iron levels, antibodies or movements need checking, it is much better to know early and deal with it than discover a problem when you are already exhausted. 

Useful checks this week:

If baby movements are strongest at night, think about whether you are actually noticing less during the day or whether the pattern has changed. You do not need to panic over one quiet spell, but you should never ignore a genuine reduction or significant change in movement.