At 27 weeks pregnant, your baby weighs slightly less than 2 pounds, and his or her total length is roughly 14.4 inches from head to heel. (This is an average measurement; there is great variability between babies at this point. For example, girls tend to weigh less than boys.)
At 27 weeks pregnant, your baby's digestive and circulatory systems continue to develop.
Your baby's reproductive organs are in their proper locations by 27 weeks pregnant. If you're pregnant with a little girl, she is getting ready to be a future mama. Her ovaries now have all the egg-producing follicles that they'll ever make in her life. If you're pregnant with a boy, his testicles have descended into the scrotum. However, for some boy babies, their testes will remain in their pelvic cavity until birth.
Fun Fact: If you want to have some fun with your baby, try placing a flashlight near your belly and see if it makes him or her move. (Make sure you don't do this too frequently, since this can disrupt your little one's normal waking and sleeping pattern)
Your baby's eyes finally open at 27 weeks pregnant. They've been closed since you were 9 weeks pregnant. Although the eyes are open, they won't respond to light in a coordinated way just yet. The retina, the light sensitive portion of the eye, typically starts maturing around this week. 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".
At 27 weeks pregnant, your baby has less amniotic fluid surround him or her. As a result, you'll be feeling stronger fetal movements. Sometimes, if your baby kicks while in an awkward position, it might cause you some discomfort and pain.
The umbilical cord is the same length as your little bundle of joy is at 27 weeks pregnant. As you continue your pregnancy, the umbilical cord will get even longer.
At 27 weeks pregnant, your uterus continues to climb up your stomach. Your uterus now measures almost 2.8 inches above your belly button. If you were to measure your uterus from the pubic symphysis, you would find that it is approximately 27 centimeters to the top of your uterus.
Your belly will grow increasingly bigger each week. If you haven't already, take pictures each week to see how your pregnancy progresses. It is truly amazing the growth that you'll see with each passing week.
By pregnancy week 27, your baby's kicks and jabs are feeling stronger than ever. Space is getting tight in the womb, so you definitely will know when your baby is awake and when he or she is sleeping. If you place your husband or partner's hand on your belly, he or she may be able to feel your baby's acrobatics.
Now that you're in the final week of your second trimester, it's a good idea that you are knowledgeable about the signs of labor. For example, if you find that you have pelvic pressure and you feel like your baby is pushing down, and if you notice there's more mucus-like or bloody discharge, it's a good idea to call your doctor or healthcare provider.
At 27 weeks pregnant, you are in the final week of your second trimester. As you approach the final leg of your pregnancy, you may find that some old symptoms are creeping back, such as fatigue and frequent urination.
Fatigue might hit you hard now. The abundant energy that you had earlier in the second trimester is fading away, replaced by extreme exhaustion. What happened? Blame your growing uterus for this pregnancy symptom. As your uterus gets larger, you have to carry around more weight. This can strain your back, and it contributes to sleep disturbances (such as leg cramps, insomnia, and difficulty finding a good sleep position). All of this can zap up your energy and make you just plain exhausted. So what's a mom-to-be to do? Consider taking a power naps in the middle of the day to refresh you. Rest whenever you can.
Frequent urination becomes more of a problem at 27 weeks pregnant and in the third trimester. As your baby gets larger and takes up more room in the uterus, this adds pressure on your bladder, making it feel full even though you just went to the bathroom ten minutes ago. Since there's not much you can do to prevent frequent urination, just accept that this is a side effect of being pregnant and it goes away after your baby is born.
Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor pains) are becoming stronger. You should expect to feel them on a regular basis, and they can cause you some discomfort. Just make sure that you are knowledgeable on the signs of labor and delivery. If you're worried, time your Braxton Hicks contractions. If they don't occur at regular intervals (i.e. every 20 minutes), and they're not getting closer together with time, they aren't real contractions. They're pre-contractions (Braxton Hicks) that are getting your body in shape for labor and delivery. Try not to worry about them.
Helpful Tip: Practice Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. This may help minimize or prevent urine leaks and stress incontinence in pregnancy.
Stress incontinence is a common pregnancy symptom at 27 weeks pregnant. Although it's embarrassing, you may accidentally leak urine when you laugh, cough, or sneeze. The heavy weight of your uterus adds pressure to your bladder, which might overwhelm the muscles in your bladder sphincter or in the pelvic floor. As a result, anything that adds even more pressure – like a laugh or sneeze – can cause you to leak urine. To avoid ruining your underwear, make sure that you wear a panty liner to soak up extra leakage.
At 27 weeks pregnant, it's the last week of your second trimester, and you've really packed on the pounds. For the average sized woman, the typical weight gain at 27 weeks pregnant is roughly 18 pounds. However, it's very common for pregnant women to have gained more than this, and it's also normal to have gained less. This is just an average.
Try not to weigh yourself too much. Just focus on achieving the recommended weight gain for your size. Eating a healthy and balanced diet, and exercising regularly, will ensure a healty pregnancy weight gain.
At 27 weeks pregnant, you may notice that you're more tired than you have been. It's common for fatigue to rear its ugly head at the end of the second trimester.
You should expect to feel tired and exhausted in the third trimester. The extra weight of a large uterus can really tire your body out. Backaches (which are common in the last leg of pregnancy) can also add to your fatigue. Not to mention that all the sleep disruptions (restless leg syndrome, leg cramps, frequent urination), which are common to 27 weeks pregnant and beyond, can make it difficult for you to feel well-rested.
To cope with your pregnancy-related fatigue at pregnancy week 27, try to take extra naps during the day. If you're working, you may find that a short 15-minute catnap in your office, or in your car at lunch, can refresh you and give you an extra boost of energy. Remember to keep well hydrated and eat small mini-meals throughout the day. This may also help with your fatigue.
Are you a candidate for home uterine monitoring at 27 weeks pregnant or later? Most of the contractions you feel will be few and far between at this point, though some women are at risk for premature labor. The risk for premature labor is high in some women, particularly those that have had a previous pre-term baby or other high-risk pregnancy complications.
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 babies or even preeclampsia. A home uterine monitoring device will allow you to record uterine contractions at home. The contractions that you experience are 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.
The cost of a premature baby can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, thus the $100 a day home uterine monitoring costs may actually result in a cost savings for health insurance companies. Home uterine monitoring can be extremely advantageous for women at high risk for pre-term delivery. It can alert your doctor to any repetitive contractions signaling labor early enough so that appropriate interventions can be taken to prolong your pregnancy.
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 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.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
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:
Pregnancy Week by Week
Pregnancy Explained A to Z
Pregnancy Blog
Ask Our Doc - Pregnancy Q & A 
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At 27 weeks pregnant, your uterus continues to climb up your stomach. Your uterus now measures almost 2.8 inches above your belly button. If you were to measure your uterus from the pubic symphysis, you would find that it is approximately 27 centimeters to the top of your uterus. 
At 27 weeks pregnant, you are in the final week of your second trimester. As you approach the final leg of your pregnancy, you may find that some old symptoms are creeping back, such as fatigue and frequent urination. 
At 27 weeks pregnant, it's the last week of your second trimester, and you've really packed on the pounds. For the average sized woman, the typical weight gain at 27 weeks pregnant is roughly 18 pounds. However, it's very common for pregnant women to have gained more than this, and it's also normal to have gained less. This is just an average.
At 27 weeks pregnant, you may notice that you're more tired than you have been. It's common for fatigue to rear its ugly head at the end of the second trimester.
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 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. 