Pregnancy Week 29: Sciatica and Baby's Individual Weight Gain

During your twenty-ninth week of pregnancy you may start to have pain in your lower back, buttocks and legs. This pain may be sciatica. Your baby's growth is going to vary more starting in pregnancy week 29.

Pregnancy Week 29: Baby's Development

Your baby is approaching the three pound mark around pregnancy week twenty-nine. Over the next eleven weeks, your baby will double to triple his weight. Your baby's weight gain will be individualized now. His weight gain will depend on genetics, whether your baby is a boy or a girl, and the amount of room that he or she has to grow in your abdomen.

Also, within the next few weeks your baby will flip and position himself head down because his head is the heaviest part of his body and gravity takes over. His head will put pressure on your cervix to help prepare it for childbirth.

Your baby's adrenal glands start producing a chemical that the placenta will transform into estriol. Estriol stimulates the production of prolactin, a hormone that prompts your body to make milk.

Pregnancy Week 29: Lower Back Pain and Sciatica

Your baby's new position, a decrease in the amniotic fluid, and all the extra weight that your baby is gaining may be wreaking havoc on your lower back. Your sciatic nerve runs under your uterus and then behind your legs.

If you are experiencing sharp, shooting pain in your back, buttocks, or legs you may have a condition called sciatica. Lifting, bending, and even walking can make the pain worse. You may also experience numbness and tingling in these areas along with the pain.

The best thing to do to treat sciatica is to take it easy. Try to find a comfortable position and keep your feet up. Warm baths may also help to ease the pain, but keep the water temperature under 102 degrees. If your bath water feels too warm make sure you keep your arms and upper body out of the water. You don't want to warm up the amniotic fluid surrounding your baby.

You may be able to take acetaminophen for the sciatica and lower back pain, but check with your healthcare provider before taking any medication while pregnant.

For more pregnancy weeks and fetal development you can read:

Pregnancy Week 25

Pregnancy Week 26

Pregnancy Week 27

Pregnancy Week 28

Click here to find more information on your pregnancy and baby's development.

Sources:

Personal Experience

Fit Pregnancy (2009). Pregnancy Calendar. Retrieved: April 8, 9, 2009. Web Site: fitpregnancy.com/calendar/40251887.html

Myers-Gorrie, Trula, Slone-McKinney, Emily, & Smith-Murray, Sharon (1998). Foundations of Maternal-Newborn Nursing (2^nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders Company.

What to Expect (2009). Weekly Pregnancy Calendar. Retrieved:April 8, 9, 2009. Web Site: whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/landing.aspx