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clever mum Smart Parenting UK

Third trimester

28 weeks pregnant

Your baby is about the size of an aubergine

Week 28 of 40 · Third trimester About 12 weeks to your due date
  1. 1st trimester weeks 1–12
  2. 2nd trimester weeks 13–26
  3. 3rd trimester weeks 27–40+
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By Clever Mum Parenting · Parenting guides

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How big is the baby at 28 weeks pregnant?

At 28 weeks pregnant, your baby is about the size of an aubergine, roughly 37.6cm and around 1000g. The baby can now open their eyes and turn towards light. They're adding fat and their brain is developing the grooves and folds of a mature brain. Around a kilo now. These are typical averages — your midwife's measurements are the ones that matter for your pregnancy.

What might you feel at 28 weeks?

Most people at 28 weeks notice some mix of the symptoms below — and plenty notice none of them. You'll usually be offered an anti-D injection now if you're rhesus negative, plus blood tests to check for anaemia. Your bump measurement is tracked at each visit. None of this is a diagnosis; contact your midwife if something worries you.

Common symptoms this week

  • Stronger kicks and rolls
  • Heartburn at night
  • Breathlessness
  • Occasional dizziness

Symptom lists are typical, never exhaustive — and having none of them is normal too.

What should you do at 28 weeks pregnant?

The useful job this week is practical, not medical. Start your hospital-bag list and pack the essentials over the coming weeks — aim to have it ready by 36 weeks. Pair it with the NHS week-by-week guide if you want a second description of the same stage.

Week 28 checklist

  • Attend your 28-week appointment: bloods for anaemia, and anti-D if you're rhesus negative
  • Start the hospital bag list
  • If you're claiming maternity pay, notice must be given by the 15th week before the due date — around now

What antenatal care is due around 28 weeks?

These appointments, vaccines and deadlines fall around this stage. Your maternity team will confirm your own dates.

  • Whooping cough vaccine (from 16 weeks). Offered in every pregnancy from 16 weeks, usually around 20 weeks. Antibodies pass to your baby before they can have their own vaccines at 8 weeks. Pregnancy and baby vaccines
  • Maternity Allowance claims open at 26 weeks. If you do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, you can apply for Maternity Allowance once you have been pregnant for 26 weeks. Maternity leave and pay guide
  • RSV vaccine (from 28 weeks). The NHS offers an RSV vaccine from 28 weeks. It helps protect your baby against RSV, the main cause of bronchiolitis, in their first months. Vaccines in pregnancy

What else is useful at 28 weeks?

Use the week page for size and symptoms; use the guides below for the decisions that actually sit in this window — pay, packing, car seats, labour signs.

28 weeks pregnant: common questions

What is the anti-D injection?

If your blood group is RhD negative, anti-D immunoglobulin (offered around 28 weeks) prevents your immune system reacting to a RhD-positive baby's blood cells — protecting this and future pregnancies. It's routine, safe and only relevant to the roughly 15% of people who are rhesus negative.

How big is my baby at 28 weeks pregnant?

At 28 weeks, your baby is approximately the size of an aubergine, about 37.6cm and around 1000g. These are approximate averages — every baby grows at its own pace.

What's happening at 28 weeks pregnant?

The baby can now open their eyes and turn towards light. They're adding fat and their brain is developing the grooves and folds of a mature brain. Around a kilo now. For you: you'll usually be offered an anti-d injection now if you're rhesus negative, plus blood tests to check for anaemia. your bump measurement is tracked at each visit.

What appointments or vaccines are due at 28 weeks pregnant?

Around 28 weeks: whooping cough vaccine; Maternity Allowance claims open at 26 weeks; RSV vaccine. Your maternity team will confirm the dates that apply to you.

Which trimester is 28 weeks?

28 weeks pregnant is in the third trimester. The first trimester runs to the end of week 12, the second from weeks 13 to 26, and the third from week 27 to birth.

Sources & further reading

This is general information, not medical advice — every pregnancy is different. For anything that worries you, and for all your antenatal care, speak to your midwife or GP. If your baby's movements ever slow down or change, contact your maternity unit immediately, day or night.