Your baby will most likely be ok if you deliver at 31 weeks as long as the baby gets proper and prompt care in the NICU.
With the advanced medical care today in the NICU a baby born at 31 weeks has a 90 to 95 percent change of survival.
A baby that is born at 31 weeks often stays in the NICU for 4 weeks to 7 weeks, although the average stay for a baby born at 31 weeks is around 35 days to 49 days.
Most babies that are born at 31 weeks gestation are also discharged often close to their original due date, as long as they have no other complications.
And some babies born at 31 weeks go home a bit earlier as they begin to learn to breathe and feed independently.
While 4 to 6 weeks in the NICU is common for babies who are born at 31 weeks, some babies born at 31 weeks may need to stay in the NICU for up to 11 weeks after birth if they have complications.
The care for the baby in the NICU focuses on breathing support through CPAP or ventilator as well as feeding tubes until the baby's sucking reflex strengthens as well as temperature regulation in an isolette and monitoring for apnea.
The NICU medical team often focuses on the baby being able to breathe on their own, consistently breastfeed, bottle feed, gain weight steadily and maintain their own body temperature.
At 31 weeks into your pregnancy, you're in your third trimester of pregnancy and are considered to be heavily pregnant during this time as your baby is roughly the size of a coconut for example.
At 31 weeks pregnant, you're also in your 7 month of pregnancy with around 2 moths left in your pregnancy to go and during this time you often experience backaches as well as significant weight gain and even reduced breath capacity.
When you're 31 weeks pregnant, your belly is growing rapidly and you likely can't see your own feet when standing and you often experience hip pain, heartburn, constipation and backaches, which are normal.
During the 31 weeks of pregnancy you may also feel exhausted and notice increased tiredness and it can be harder to catch your breath and your baby's kicks can also become quite uncomfortable and you may even feel some practice tightening's in your belly.
Many women also start feeling truly pregnant between 28 weeks to 32 weeks of pregnancy as their pelvic pressure increases and you may even begin to waddle.