Pregnancy Week - 27 Weeks Pregnant
 |
|
| |
Pregnancy Week 26< >Week by Week Guide Index< >Pregnancy Week 28
27 Weeks Pregnant - Pregnancy Week by Week
Pregnancy Week 27
**Please note- Your Due Date is calculated from your last menstrual period, which corresponds to our Pregnancy Week by Week articles. Week 27 How Big is the Baby at 27 Weeks Pregnant?
Your Baby's Growth and Development Your baby's systems continue to mature during pregnancy week 27 and your little one even starts accumulating some weight in the upcoming weeks. Up until between the 27th and 28th weeks of pregnancy your baby's eyelids are fused together. After this week or next they will open. The retina or the light sensitive portion of the eye typically starts maturing at about 27 weeks of pregnancy. The layers that form in the retina will allow your baby's eyes to receive light and transmit the information it is receiving to the brain to form images. This basic process is referred to as 'sight'. Imagine that, at 27 weeks pregnant your baby is a tiny, seeing human being!
Your Growth and Development
Changes in You You may start feeling increased Braxton hicks contractions during pregnancy at 27 weeks or later as you gear up for the third trimester. Again for most women Braxton hicks are simply the pre contractions that prepare you for labor and delivery. They are usually nothing to worry about unless you have a history or pre-term labor.
Home Uterine Monitoring In some instances your healthcare provider might suggest home uterine monitoring. This is typically used to help identify women who might experience premature labor. Risk factors that preclude you to this condition include a previous premature delivery, premature rupture of the membranes, multiple fetuses or even pre-elcampsia. A home uterine monitoring device will allow you to record uterine contractions at home. The contractions that you are experiencing are actually recorded and transmitted from your home phone to a center where your contractions are evaluated. Some healthcare providers can monitor the contractions in their own home. Some insurance companies may cover home monitoring if the use of it is justified.
Pregnancy Pillows Moms carrying single babies often struggle with side effects of pregnancy including lower back pain and fatigue. These side effects are often worse for moms of multiples who are carrying around twice the weight as their singleton peers! There is relief however, for mothers of twins, triplets and more! Pregnancy pillows like Snoozer Pregnancy Pillows are a blessing for moms to be... and this goes double for mothers of twins! A good pregnancy pillow provides some much needed support both during and after pregnancy. If you or someone you know is having trouble sleeping or just getting comfortable, you should consider some serious body support today!
Maternity Clothes
Motherhood Maternity's Pants Sets and Shorts Sets If you are employed during your pregnancy at some point in time you will want to talk with your employer about maternity leave. Many women assume that maternity leave is a right they are guaranteed to as an employee; however there are many employers that are not required to provide any type of leave for women after pregnancy. It is important that you know your rights with respect to maternity leave prior to delivery of your baby. Some companies or states provide medical leave or maternity disability for women who are pregnant. This type of leave may or may not provide wage compensation for a period of time between six and eight weeks after delivery. New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Hawaii actually have state run disability plans which can provide up to 60 percent of your pay during the first few weeks postpartum. However even these programs have a cap, usually up to $600 per week. In California women enjoy a state run disability plan and also a state funded family leave plan. Most companies however don't provide paid maternity leave, in part because they aren't required to. Though some women will be eligible for unpaid leaves of absence during their pregnancy. others don't qualify because they haven't been on the job long enough, or in some cases because the company they work for is too small to qualify for maternity leave programs under federal law. It is important that you know your rights concerning maternity leave so you can discuss your options with your employer. Typically maternity leave falls into the category of disability leave, and for employers offering disability leave this is usually a period of time up to six weeks for a vaginal delivery or eight weeks for a cesarean delivery that you are able to take off from work while your body recovers from delivery. Take note though, if you work for a very small company, such as a company with 10 employees or less you may not be entitled to any type of disability leave. Be sure to check with your company's policies regarding maternity and disability leave now if you haven't already. Some women will qualify for Family Medical Leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA grants parents (including male partners) 12 weeks of unpaid time off after the birth or adoption of a baby. The 12 weeks you take for your baby's birth can begin prior to actual delivery. FMLA covers any employees, men and women who have worked at their current job for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours. You also must be employed by a company that employs a minimum of 50 employees within a 75 mile radius in order to qualify. If your company is smaller than this or you have not been on the job at least 1 year then you will not qualify for this protection. The FMLA leave is advantageous because it enables you to take this time off work to care for your newborn baby, continue your health insurance coverage during your time off, and allows you to return to the same job you left or an equivalent job if your job is no longer available. You should know that your employer can require you to use up your vacation and sick leave as part of the 12 weeks that you take off via FMLA. FMLA leave does not provide any wage compensation for parents during the postpartum period. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 also protects pregnant women on the job. If you work for a company that has more than 15 employees you have the right to protection from discrimination under the law. Many women are able to participate in optional short term disability insurance programs at work that provide wage replacement for the time you are medically unable to return to work after delivery. If this is not the case you might want to start planning to save some money to cover the time you take off from work after delivery. Be sure that you talk to your human resources representative or other employment representative about your rights during pregnancy. There are also several national resources that can help you understand your rights under the law with regard to maternity leave. Check out the following:
National Partnership for Women & Families
U.S. Department of Labor
Federal Office of Personnel Management
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
