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Week-by-Week Fetal Development Week 28 This is the first week of your final trimester and the fetus is finally 'viable'. This just means that were he or she to be born this week, survival outside the womb would be possible. The lungs, though quite mature, are not fully developed as yet and so the baby might face initial breathing difficulties. You see the lungs have to develop a substance known as 'surfactant' to stop them from collapsing between each breath. But with the facilities that are available to us today, your child will have plenty of outside help in holding on to his life, were he to be born. By now the thinking part of his brain has already been formed and your baby can experience sensations such as pain, warmth and cold just like a newly born one. Even his sense of taste is acute, even more so than after birth as he has plenty of taste buds at this stage. You can not only feel the baby move if you place your hand on your stomach you can actually identify body parts such as the head, foot or bottom. In fact this is the way for the doctor to assess his position without the use of the ultrasound scan. A simple abdominal examination is sufficient at this stage. By this week your baby measures one
foot and two and a half inches or 37cm. and weighs approximately two pounds
and three ounces or about 1kg.
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