A: Reaching 34 weeks is an important milestone. At that stage your babies may be 17 to 19 inches long and weigh between 4 and 5 pounds each. With advances in neonatal care, almost all babies born at 34 weeks will ultimately do well.

However, about half of babies born at 34 weeks will need to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit for special care. However, there are a small percentage of babies at 34 weeks whose lungs have not developed enough to immediately breathe on their own. Some temporarily require the help of a ventilator, and some babies will need weeks of hospital care before they will be ready to be sent home. In addition to breathing concerns, many babies may have trouble suckling, digesting milk and maintaining their own temperature. Some develop jaundice and anemia. Even babies with excellent growth during pregnancy are vulnerable to these developmental issues, though it is true that twins seem to have an advantage and mature slightly faster than singleton infants.