The last twelve weeks are mostly admin. Here is the order to do it in.
Appointments get closer together, tests cluster around 36 weeks, and the bag needs packing before you feel like packing it. Four blocks, in sequence.
Quick answer
The third trimester starts at 28 weeks and is easiest to handle as four short blocks rather than one long list. Weeks 28 to 31: appointments become more frequent and routine blood work and glucose testing are done. Weeks 32 to 35: draft your birth plan and start packing the hospital bag. Weeks 36 to 38: Group B Strep screening, which ACOG recommends between 36 0/7 and 37 6/7 weeks, plus a check of baby's position and confirming your logistics. Weeks 39 to 40 and beyond: everything is packed and printed, and you are waiting. Working in that order keeps the heavy admin out of the weeks when you have the least energy for it.
ACOG's recommended window for the Tdap vaccine in every pregnancy
ACOG's recommended window for Group B Strep screening
What ACOG defines as full term
Why the third trimester feels busier than it is
Nothing about the list is difficult. What changes is the frequency. In a straightforward pregnancy, routine visits move from roughly monthly to fortnightly at around 28 weeks, then to weekly from about 36 weeks. That compression is why the third trimester feels like admin: the same amount of life, more appointments in it.
About 1
About 2
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Source: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), routine prenatal visit schedule. Your own schedule may differ.
Weeks 28 to 31: appointments step up and tests get done
This is the quietest block, so use it. Everything here is easier now than it will be at 36 weeks.
- Confirm your fortnightly appointment dates and put them somewhere you will actually see them.
- Expect routine blood work, and glucose testing if it has not already been done.
- Ask about the Tdap vaccine. ACOG recommends it in every pregnancy, ideally between 27 and 36 weeks.
- Start the conversation about where you plan to give birth and who will be with you.
- Sort leave paperwork and anything that needs an employer signature, while you still have the patience for forms.
- Write down the questions you keep meaning to ask. Appointments are short, and unwritten questions do not get asked.
Weeks 32 to 35: write the birth plan and start the bag
This is the block that matters most, and the one most often left too late.
- Draft your birth plan. Not a script, a set of preferences plus what you want if things change. Our guide on how to write a birth plan walks through the sections. Print two copies.
- Start packing. Do it in three parts, for you, for baby and for your partner, so nothing is forgotten in a rush. The full list is in our hospital bag checklist.
- Learn contraction timing before you need it. Read how to time contractions now, not while they are happening.
- Fit the car seat and have it checked. Fitting one for the first time at 39 weeks is nobody's idea of fun.
- Batch-cook or arrange food. Future you will not be cooking.
Weeks 36 to 38: screening, position and final logistics
Appointments are usually weekly from here, and this is where the clinical checks cluster.
- Group B Strep screening. ACOG recommends screening between 36 0/7 and 37 6/7 weeks. Ask what your result means for your birth plan.
- Baby's position. Your midwife or obstetrician will check whether baby is head down and talk you through the options if not.
- Finish the bag and put it in the car. Packed and in the hallway is not packed.
- Confirm the route, the parking and who is on call. Write the numbers down on paper as well as in your phone.
- Print the birth plan. One copy in the bag, one for your partner.
- Sort the practical handovers. Pets, older children, work handover notes, anyone who needs a key.
Weeks 39 to 40 and beyond: packed, printed and waiting
ACOG defines full term as 39 0/7 to 40 6/7 weeks, so arriving at 39 weeks with a hospital bag in the boot means you are early, not late. There is very little left to do here on purpose.
- Keep your phone charged and the car fuelled.
- Know when your team wants you to call, and what counts as urgent for them specifically.
- Ask what happens if you go past 40 weeks, so it is a plan and not a surprise.
- Rest. This is a legitimate item on the list.
The part most checklists skip: after the birth
Almost every third trimester list stops at the hospital doors. The first six weeks at home have their own admin, and it is far easier to line it up now than in week one with a newborn. Registering the birth, the six-week check, feeding support contacts and a realistic recovery plan all belong on a list you write before you need it. Our postpartum recovery checklist for the first six weeks covers what actually lands.
If you would rather see the whole pregnancy laid out at once instead of block by block, we have it mapped in the pregnancy checklist by trimester, and we compared paper and phone approaches in pregnancy planner vs pregnancy app.
The three pages you will actually use
The Birth Essentials Bundle is the printable version of this block: an editable birth plan template, a hospital bag checklist split into mum, baby and partner, and a contraction tracker you can fill in without unlocking a phone. Fourteen dollars once, no subscription. Use code GLOW20 for 20 percent off. Print it at 32 weeks and it is done.
Frequently asked questions
When does the third trimester start?
At 28 weeks. It runs to birth, which for most mums is somewhere between 37 and 42 weeks. ACOG defines full term as 39 0/7 to 40 6/7 weeks, with 37 0/7 to 38 6/7 weeks classed as early term.
When should I pack my hospital bag?
Start at around 32 to 34 weeks and have it finished and in the car by 36 weeks. Packing early costs you nothing. Packing late can mean doing it in early labour, which is a poor time to be looking for a phone charger.
When should I write my birth plan?
Draft it around 32 to 34 weeks so you have time to discuss it at an appointment and adjust it after your Group B Strep result and position check. Print the final version by 37 weeks.
What tests happen in the third trimester?
This varies by country and by your own history, but commonly it includes routine blood work, glucose testing if not already done, and Group B Strep screening, which ACOG recommends between 36 0/7 and 37 6/7 weeks. Your midwife or obstetrician will tell you what applies to you.
What happens if I go past 40 weeks?
Going past your due date is common and not automatically a problem. Your care team will usually increase monitoring and discuss options with you. Ask at around 38 weeks what their specific approach is, so you already know the plan rather than hearing it for the first time when you are overdue and tired.
Sources: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Prenatal Care, Prevention of Group B Streptococcal Early-Onset Disease in Newborns, Definition of Term Pregnancy, and Maternal Immunization guidance; NHS, Your antenatal appointments.
This article is general education, not medical advice. Schedules, screening and testing differ by country and by individual circumstances, and results vary from mum to mum. Always follow the guidance of your GP, midwife, obstetrician or women's health physiotherapist.