1. 33 weeks gestation - what happens in week 33 of pregnancy
2. How your baby develops in the 33rd week of pregnancy
3. This is how you feel
4. 33rd week of pregnancy - symptoms and complaints
5. What you should look out for in week 33 of pregnancy

33rd week of pregnancy - what happens in week 33

Final spurt! You are now in the 9th month of your pregnancy. In around eight weeks you will be holding your little miracle in your arms. Is your baby already lying head down? If not, you will find tips in this section of our pregnancy calendar to motivate it to turn. You will also find out what symptoms can occur in week 33 and why a hepatitis B test is on the agenda at this stage of pregnancy.

How your baby develops in the 33rd week of pregnancy

In week 33, your little belly dweller is approx. 42 centimetres tall and weighs 1900 grams. Your baby will gain another 1.5 kilograms before birth. It is comfortably warm in the amniotic sac and, thanks to the protective fatty tissue, the foetus's body temperature is about one degree Celsius higher than the mother's.

All senses are fully developed

All of your little one's senses are already fully developed. Your child can hear your voices in the womb and will recognise them after birth. It can taste the amniotic fluid, feel it with its little hands and distinguish between light and dark with its eyes. The sense of smell is also already well developed. However, your baby will only be able to use this properly when it is born and breathes in air. In these first moments after birth, it will therefore experience many new odour impressions. For this reason, it is advisable not to use perfume in the early days and to use odourless products such as shower gel and deodorant.

The little head grows

During this week, the head circumference increases by about one centimetre. This growth is due to the continuous development of the brain. While your child's bones become harder and harder, the individual skull plates do not yet ossify together. This is because the plates need to be able to push together at birth so that the circumference of the head is reduced and the baby's head can fit through the pelvis. The places where the skull plates meet are called fontanelles. Even after birth, these non-ossified sections remain until the child is around one to two years old. However, the gaps become smaller and smaller. They allow the baby's brain to grow quickly. You will soon be able to feel them when you gently stroke your newborn baby's head with your finger.

The testicles reach the scrotum

Are you expecting a boy? Then the testicles have now moved from the abdominal cavity down into the scrotum. In rare cases, this does not happen. If the testicles are still outside the scrotum at the due date, this is known as undescended testicles. This is the case in around one to three per cent of babies born at term. This phenomenon is even more common in premature babies. First of all, undescended testicles are not dangerous for the baby. However, as it can lead to complications and infertility in adulthood, the malformation is usually treated in the first year of life if it does not regress on its own. In most cases, the testicles migrate to their place in the scrotum in the first few weeks after birth. Only if this maturation does not take place on its own does medical intervention become necessary. There are two different methods for this. Sometimes testicular descent is achieved through hormone therapy, otherwise surgery is necessary.

Practical help for you:
Emergency service midwife Katharina explains the most important things about the maternity pass online.

How you feel in the 33rd week of pregnancy

The birth is slowly getting closer and closer and your thoughts are probably often revolving around this special moment. It's completely normal if you feel insecure. A Birth preparation course can help you deal with these fears and trust your body.

At the same time, it helps many women to focus on the positive during this phase of pregnancy. Occupy yourself with nice things, such as decorating the nursery. Or how about a Baby massage course. You will learn how to lovingly nurture your baby with gentle massages and build up a very close bond with him or her. The resulting anticipation of the baby will give you even more strength for the forthcoming birth.

33rd week of pregnancy - symptoms and complaints

Your movements become more and more restricted due to your growing belly. It's quite a hassle, isn't it? This is often accompanied by complaints such as sleep problems, headaches, dizziness and nausea. These are usually normal and nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, you should go to your midwife or doctor with these symptoms. However, you should definitely have certain symptoms checked out immediately by your doctor or midwife:

Upper abdominal pain

Pain in the right upper abdomen is a serious warning sign that you should always have checked out by a doctor, even if this pain is often simply caused by the baby putting pressure on your organs. Sometimes gallstones or gallbladder inflammation are responsible for this discomfort. Gallstones can be caused by changes in fat metabolism during pregnancy. In this case, surgery is usually not recommended for pregnant women. Instead, the doctor will prescribe painkillers and recommend a change in diet. If you are affected yourself, you should avoid foods that can trigger colic. These include pulses, cabbage, coffee and fatty foods.

Pain in the upper abdomen, especially on the right side, can also indicate HELLP syndrome. This sometimes occurs in addition to Pre-eclampsia but can also occur without the symptoms of pre-eclampsia. HELLP syndrome is also a pregnancy-related illness. Pre-eclampsia is associated with High blood pressure and water retention caused by a disorder of kidney function. If you have pain in the right upper abdomen, this may be caused by the liver. Other symptoms may include nausea, headaches, flickering in front of the eyes and other visual disturbances. These symptoms are non-specific. This means that they can have many other causes. Nevertheless, you should not treat these symptoms yourself in the second half of pregnancy, but ask your doctor for advice. They are best placed to assess whether these symptoms are an indication of gestational gestosis (pregnancy-related illness).

Early recognition of pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome is important, as the conditions can be dangerous for both the mother and the baby. For this reason, your blood pressure is regularly measured and your urine analysed during your check-ups. If you have an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, you will be monitored particularly closely during your pregnancy. In severe cases, it is often necessary to induce labour prematurely. In our Workshop "Induction of labour" you can find out everything you need to know in this case.

What you should look out for in week 33 of pregnancy

Hepatitis B examination

If you have a screening appointment during this week of pregnancy, your blood will be tested for hepatitis B. The result of the blood test will be included in your Maternity passport registered.

This viral infection can be transmitted during unprotected sexual intercourse, for example. There is a high risk of the baby being infected at birth. For this reason, it is important to know whether the mother is infected. If this is the case, the newborn can be given immunoglobulins immediately after delivery and receive a hepatitis B vaccination. This prevents the newborn from becoming ill and suffering long-term liver damage.

Motivate the child to turn round

Around nine out of ten babies are already lying head down in week 33. This position is referred to as the head-down or cephalic position (abbreviated to "SL" in the maternity record) and is considered the optimal birth position. There are also children who lie head up in the womb. Around three to five per cent of unborn babies are in this so-called breech position at the due date (the abbreviation "BEL" is used in the maternity record). In principle, a baby can also be born vaginally in this position. As the risks of complications are higher, especially for first-time mums, attempts are usually made to motivate the baby to turn. If this is not successful, a caesarean section is still performed in many places. Not every clinic has the confidence to provide care for a vaginal breech birth.

Sometimes the little lodger lies transversely in the abdomen. Such a transverse position (documented in the maternity record with the abbreviation "QL") makes a natural birth impossible. If the baby can no longer be turned, a caesarean section is unavoidable in this case.

In week 33 of pregnancy, there is still the possibility that your baby will move into the cephalic position all by itself. If you would like to support it a little, there are various methods to choose from:

Indian bridge
For this exercise, lie flat on the floor with your pelvis slightly elevated on two cushions. Place your lower legs on the seat of a chair. It is recommended that you do the Indian bridge for 15 minutes each day in the weeks leading up to the birth.

Moxibustion
This method originates from traditional Chinese medicine. It involves stimulating an acupuncture point on the little toe with heat. Your midwife or a naturopath holds a smouldering moxa cigar with mugwort directly in front of your little toe for around ten to 20 minutes. This application often results in a strong increase in labour movements.

Turning point
You can use light to show your child the way down. To do this, shine a torch on the part of your tummy where the baby's head is. Then slowly guide the light down to the pubic bone. You can repeat this exercise several times to encourage your little one to move their head into the pelvis.

Music
Your baby finds music exciting. If you have a music box, you can let it play for your baby directly above the pubic bone. It will also hear the music when it is lying with its head up in your tummy. However, many children like to hear the music better and then turn their head in the direction from which the music is coming. Your partner can also place their head near your pubic bone to sing the evening song or tell the bedtime story. This can also help the child to turn into the right position.

Haptonomy
Haptonomy is the science of touch. This method attempts to get the child to turn by making external contact. To do this, place your hand on your tummy and consciously speak to your little one. Ask it to do so: Turn, turn! This exercise can of course also be done by the dad-to-be.