Your baby

Your baby is now around 28cm from crown to rump and has put on about two pounds of weight since last month, bringing the total to about three pounds eleven ounces. As your baby lays down fat and muscle in preparation for birth, his skin becomes less transparent and he looks more like a newborn. Most of the wrinkles are disappearing from your baby's face and his head may be covered in hair.

Your baby can still move his head and is practising breathing, but now that available space is more limited, his movements will slow down in quantity and speed. Some time soon, your baby will probably settle in a head-down position ready for the birth, although some babies don’t change position right until the birth itself.

Your progress

Only eight week to go! Your bump is now just beneath your breasts because your uterus is taking up nearly all the space in your abdomen. As the birth draws nearer, your breasts will continue to change, with the nipples becoming even larger and darker, making it easier for your baby to find them.

Now that you have gained up to 20lbs, this is putting extra weight onto your pelvis and legs, so rest as often as you can with your legs up. Your metabolic rate has risen by 20%, so you may feel hot and sweaty whatever the weather. You may also notice burning and numbness in your hands, which is a symptom of carpel tunnel syndrome. This is caused by rising hormones and weight gain, which can compress the nerves inside the wrists, causing numbness, tingling and pain; symptoms which will disappear after delivery. By now you may be getting Braxton Hicks contractions for as long as 30 seconds a few times a day, as your body starts rehearsing for the birth. This tightening of the tummy will become progressively stronger towards the end of pregnancy. But don’t be tricked into thinking labour has started, as these quite painless contractions are nothing like the real thing!

What to think about

During pregnancy, hormones trigger changes in the way you usually digest your food. First, the whole digestion process slows down to help your body absorb more nutrients, but at the same time, your sluggish insides can lead to constipation, bloating and gas.

Your stomach may also become more sensitive and will quickly eliminate what it thinks is unsafe food by giving you bouts of diarrhoea or vomiting. Finally, as your pregnancy progresses, there's simply less space in your intestines for food. And that means crowding, heartburn and indigestion.

Here are some tips to help with common digestive problems in pregnancy:

Gas and bloating. First, identify the culprits that trigger your gas attacks. One way is to keep a food journal so you can track what you ate four to eight hours ago. Beans, cabbage and broccoli are notorious gas makers and dairy products are harder to digest for some people.

Constipation. Old-fashioned constipation remedies are still the best: more fibre in your diet, drinking more water, prunes and prune juice. Taking a walk after you eat can also help prevent constipation by stimulating digestion and speeding up the process of your food moving through your system.

Heartburn. Eat smaller meals every few hours instead of large ones and control your portions at dinnertime. Drinking fluids at least a half an hour before meals instead of during them can also help. If your heartburn is severe, propping yourself in a semi-upright position so that your chest is higher than your hips may help to decrease the reflux.

Diarrhea and Vomiting A bout of either symptom that lasts for less than 24 hours is pretty normal. However, if diarrhoea and vomiting last longer than a day, if you begin to feel weak, or you have head or body pain, contact your midwife or GP.

In fact, if any intestinal problem lasts more than a day or two, which can't be eliminated by drinking more water, getting more exercise, eating fibre-rich foods and avoiding food triggers, notify your doctor who will be able to recommend the safest medications to ease your symptoms.