Week 24: A big milestone

This week brings a meaningful milestone: from 24 weeks, babies born early have a real chance of survival with specialist care. Your baby — about the size of a corn cob — has a rapidly growing brain forming billions of neurons, and their lungs are developing the tiny air sacs they’ll one day breathe with.

As your uterus presses up against your diaphragm, you might feel a little breathless, and back and pelvic pain can step up. Braxton Hicks may be more noticeable, and comfortable sleep can be elusive — a pregnancy pillow is genuinely worth it.

The practical task this month is your gestational diabetes screening, due between weeks 24 and 28. In Australia it’s usually the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test — a fasting, two-hour test that’s Medicare-rebatable. If it does pick up GD, you’ll be supported with a diabetes educator and dietitian; it’s well looked-after in the Australian system, and most pregnancies go on beautifully.

Reaching “viability” is an emotional marker for many parents — a quiet reassurance after the earlier uncertainty. It’s a natural point to start paying closer attention to your baby’s movements, getting to know their normal pattern of busy and quiet spells, and to remember that a change or slowing is always worth a prompt call to your maternity unit, day or night.

If your glucose test does pick up gestational diabetes, try not to be alarmed — it’s common, it isn’t your fault, and it’s very well managed here. Most people keep their levels in range with changes to diet and activity, supported by a diabetes educator and dietitian, and go on to have healthy babies. The test itself (the OGTT) means fasting overnight, then a sugary drink and blood tests over a couple of hours at the lab, so bring something to do and a snack for straight afterwards.

This is also a sensible point to think about how the next few months will run, both at home and at work. Talking to your employer about when your leave will start, sorting childcare for any older children, and lining up the support you’ll lean on after the birth all feel less urgent now than they will later — so a head start helps. And keep looking after your own comfort: the third trimester is gathering pace, so a pregnancy pillow, good shoes, regular movement and not overdoing it on your feet all earn their keep from here.

If you’re planning antenatal classes, book soon, as popular ones fill quickly — and it’s a good time to start talking with your employer about when your leave will begin, and to make sure you’re registered with your hospital and in any continuity-of-care program you’d like.