Welcome to your second trimester — for many women, the almost comfortable of all three. With the arrival of this milestone, you'll feel some welcome changes.

For starters, almost of your early pregnancy symptoms will ease up or fifty-fifty disappear. You'll likely experience less queasy (which ways food may finally aroma and gustatory modality good for the first time in a long while), your energy levels should exist picking upwardly and your breasts will yet be bigger but volition feel a lot less tender.

About amazing of all: By the end of this trimester, the bulge in your lower abdomen may exist looking less like the remains of a large lunch and more than like the beginnings of a pregnant belly.

When does the second trimester start and end?

The second trimester starts around week fourteen of pregnancy and lasts through nigh the stop of week 27, or months four to 6 of pregnancy. In total, the second trimester lasts for about 14 weeks.

What are the symptoms of 2d trimester pregnancy?

Many of the before pregnancy symptoms — like nausea and breast tenderness — will subside during the second trimester, while others (like heartburn and constipation) may persist.

At the same fourth dimension, new changes may pop upward for the get-go time as your belly continues to grow and the levels of pregnancy hormones in your trunk continue rise. Here are some symptoms that can appear in the second trimester:

  • Congestion, acquired by increased claret flow to the fungus membranes in your nose. You may fifty-fifty observe yourself snoring for the starting time time! Fortunately there are some OTC medications that are safe to utilise during pregnancy.

  • Balmy swelling of the ankles and anxiety, which is experienced by virtually 3 in 4 pregnant women, starting at about calendar week 22 of pregnancy (though sometimes before) and lasting until commitment. To reduce puffiness, endeavor to go along agile, boot upward your feet when you're not moving, avert long periods of standing or sitting, and sleep on your side.

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  • Sensitive gums and even some bleeding — only be sure to encounter your dentist if your gums are bright cherry and bleed easily, as information technology could be a sign of gingivitis. While gingivitis is relatively harmless on its ain, it can develop into a bigger problem if it's not properly treated.

  • Leg cramps, which usually offset in the 2d trimester and last through the third. It'due south due not only to hormones and weight but too possibly a shortage of calcium or magnesium — then be sure to keep eating a salubrious, well-counterbalanced pregnancy nutrition.

  • Dizziness, which occurs when your blood vessels widen and relax — increasing blood flow to your infant, but slowing your blood pressure down. Accept it like shooting fish in a barrel, swallow plenty of small meals and fill up on fluids to reduce symptoms.

  • Achiness in the lower belly — otherwise known equally round ligament hurting — every bit the ligaments that back up your belly stretch to back up your belly's increasing size.

  • Varicose veins and/or hemorrhoids, a type of varicose vein — which, fortunately, should shrink or go abroad later on pregnancy if you didn't have them earlier you conceived.

  • Weight gain, every bit your appetite likely increases (or appears, if you lot were suffering from nausea and appetite loss in the first trimester) to support your growing baby. If you started out your pregnancy at a normal weight, expect to gain around a pound per calendar week for a total of virtually 14 pounds during this trimester.

All of the above are perfectly normal and temporary — every bit are feelings of apprehension, irritability, forgetfulness and fifty-fifty frustration at looking not quite pregnant yet.

There may too be some large changes in the bedroom during the second trimester. Some pregnant people find themselves hotter than e'er, with actress blood flowing to all the right spots. More oftentimes, however, pregnancy can brand your sex life become a picayune haywire equally y'all cope with your irresolute trunk and mood-killing symptoms.

A few things to keep in mind: Communication is key to avoiding resentment, so keep talking through the dry out spells. And think, sex won't hurt — or emotionally scar — your fetus. (In fact, a footling rocking and rolling may even lull baby to sleep.)

When should I call the doctor about second trimester symptoms?

Odds are that once you brand information technology to your second trimester, information technology should be relatively shine sailing for the next three months. But at that place are a few symptoms that e'er warrant a call to your doctor, including heavy vaginal bleeding, astringent abdominal hurting and fever over 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Besides keep an eye out for signs of gestational diabetes, which normally starts between around week 24 and week 28 of pregnancy, including extreme thirst, frequent and copious urination, farthermost fatigue, and snoring. And not to worry: Y'all'll be getting a glucose test during that same timeframe to know for sure.

Besides talk to your dr. if you lot notice sudden weight gain, pregnant vision changes and severe swelling in the face and hands, which could be signs of preeclampsia.

How much does a babe grow in the 2d trimester?

Your baby is very, very busy in the 2d trimester, when fetal development really takes off. Past week eighteen of pregnancy, infant weighs about equally much as a craven breast, and can even yawn and hiccup.

Past effectually week 21 y'all should exist able to feel your little gymnast'south newly coordinated arms and legs as they requite you piffling jabs and kicks.

By virtually calendar week 23, your baby takes a cue from y'all and starts to pack on the pounds — and may even counterbalance double that corporeality past the next 4 weeks. At the stop of your second trimester, you'll have a 2-pound human in your belly!

A few more exciting things going on this trimester:

  • Hair, peel and nails. By around week 16, baby'due south first tiny hairs are starting to sprout — including, by week 22, eyelashes and eyebrows. The pare is at present covered in lanugo, a featherlike "fur coat" that keeps baby warm until more fatty builds up in the third trimester, and, by calendar week xix, vernix caseosa: the greasy layer of oil and dead pare cells that shield the skin from acidic amniotic fluid. Both lanugo and vernix caseosa will shed before nascence.

  • Digestive system. Baby's digestive arrangement was fully formed by the end of the first trimester. The adjacent pace: Starting to suck and swallow in grooming for life outside of the womb. Babe can as well taste the foods you consume via your amniotic fluid — which research has shown can influence future nutrient preferences outside of the womb. All the more reason to chow downwards on a healthy pregnancy diet filled with a diversity of fresh fruits and veggies. Baby'due south waste systems are working difficult too: Although your placenta provides plenty of nutrition via your placenta, all of that swallowing means one thing — lots of peeing.

  • Senses. Infant'due south ears and eyes are moving into their correct positions. By week 22 of pregnancy, the developing senses allow infant to smell, see and hear. Fifty-fifty sweeter? Those little eyes are first to open.

  • Heart. By 17 weeks, baby's heart is no longer beating spontaneously, since information technology'due south now being regulated by the brain. Past week 20, y'all should exist able to hear the heartbeat with a stethoscope. In week 25, capillaries brainstorm forming to carry oxygenated blood through the body.

  • Encephalon. In improver to controlling your baby'southward heartbeat and inducing kicks, past 26 weeks your infant'south encephalon will starting time blinking those picayune eyelids.

Pregnancy in 3 Words

Second trimester checklist

Words to live past now: Eat well, exercise regularly and get plenty of remainder. Hither are the pinnacle to-practise's for the second trimester:

  • Prepare for routine monitoring. At each checkup this trimester, your practitioner will check your weight, the size of your uterus, height of your fundus (peak of your uterus) and the baby's heartbeat to ensure everything is progressing as expected.

  • Schedule your second trimester ultrasound. Also called your 20-calendar week anatomy scan, this ultrasound unremarkably happens betwixt 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy. Your doctor will mensurate the baby, cheque developing organs, determine the amount of amniotic fluid, and — if you like — inkling you lot in on your baby's sex. Keep in mind that while it's heady to go a peek at your developing babe, only your md should perform ultrasounds, including 3D and 4D ultrasounds. In other words, avoid the keepsake versions from your local mall.

  • Get your glucose screening. About ane in x pregnant women is diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which is why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that all women be screened for the condition around week 24 to week 28 of pregnancy. If your test consequence comes back positive for extra glucose in your urine, information technology doesn't always mean you have gestational diabetes — you'll need further testing for a diagnosis. If you do have it nevertheless, your medico will probably refer you to a nutritionist who can assistance yous create a repast plan. You'll also have to keep rail of your blood saccharide levels regularly.

  • Talk to your doctor about prenatal genetic screening. If yous haven't already and if you take sure gamble factors, your doctor may suggest a genetic screening including NIPT or a quad screen, both of which are blood tests that await for increased gamble factors for chromosomal or congenital weather condition, such as Down syndrome. If either of these screenings comes back positive, your doctor may recommend amniocentesis (amnio) — where amniotic fluid is extracted and analyzed for genetic abnormalities — to get a more definitive diagnosis and check for other problems NIPT can't detect such as neural tube defects. It'due south up to yous ultimately whether you become a genetic screening, so it's a expert thought to larn more virtually what these tests tin can tell you, what the benefits are and what to inquire your doctor nigh them.

  • Get immunized. If you're pregnant in cold and flu season, make sure to become the flu shot, and plan to get the Tdap vaccine in the third trimester to protect baby against whooping cough after birth.

  • Shop for maternity clothes. At present that your crash-land is finally starting to show, yous'll demand a maternity wardrobe to match.

  • Sleep on your side. While pregnancy slumber is unremarkably easier to catch in the second trimester than in the outset or tertiary, you will want to start sleeping on your side now, since the weight of your growing uterus puts pressure on the vena cava (the vein bringing blood from your lower extremities back up to your heart), which tin interfere with circulation.

  • Go on doing your Kegels. Keep your pelvic flooring in shape for nativity by getting in the habit of doing Kegels regularly — aim for 3 sets of 20 every solar day.

  • Decide if you'll find out baby's sex during your second trimester ultrasound. If you're notwithstanding undecided about a "gender ultrasound," recollect virtually the pros and cons of finding out your baby'southward sex before nascency.

  • Make prenatal workouts a priority. Given all of the benefits of practise for yous and your infant, information technology'southward a good idea to pick up a pregnancy-friendly workout, if you oasis't already.

  • Bump up your caloric intake. If you were at a normal weight before getting pregnant, you'll need about 300 to 350 additional calories a day during the second trimester. That's less than you might think though — only about a glass or two of milk and a bowl of oatmeal.

  • Track your weight gain. At present that you lot should be steadily gaining weight, your medico volition likely recommend that you lot keep runway of it every calendar week.

  • Take baby crash-land pics. While you'll probable want to expect until the third trimester to have your "official" baby crash-land photo shoot, it's a smart thought to schedule information technology now — and in the meantime, take plenty of selfies every bit souvenirs of your e'er-growing bump.

  • Think about taking a babymoon (fifty-fifty if information technology looks more than like a staycation). Since first trimester nausea should be quelled, now's a expert fourth dimension to accept some me-fourth dimension before baby's arrival.

  • Envision your infant shower. While you won't exist the i actually planning your baby shower, yous can certainly let your host(s) know any theme or décor requests y'all have. If it'due south your 2d or 3rd pregnancy, think about having a infant sprinkle.

  • Create a infant registry. On that note, you'll besides need to create a babe registry for your shower guests and other well-wishers.

  • Go along considering baby names. Y'all still take time, only if yous oasis't landed on a baby name yet, information technology's a good thought to continue reviewing your options.

  • Look into childbirth classes. While you lot likely won't kickoff taking one until the third trimester, offset looking into your childbirth class options and endeavor to find a program that offers your preferred method.

  • Think near where you lot want to give birth. In a hospital? Birthing center? At home? Start looking into your options now. You lot'll want to take a hospital or birthing center tour in your third trimester, but you might want to schedule it toward the end of your 2d trimester.

  • Start looking into kid intendance. If you're planning to go back to work subsequently your motherhood go out, information technology's non too early to start looking into your local child care options — whether day intendance, nanny, babysitter or relative.

What to avert during the second trimester

With the worst of the nausea backside you, you might be feeling a lot like your erstwhile, pre-pregnancy self. But at present that you're in your 2nd trimester, there are a few more things you should steer clear of, including:

  • Elective ultrasounds. Your baby does a lot of growing in the second trimester, and then there's certainly plenty to see. Resist the urge even so, to schedule a 3D or 4D sonogram at a prenatal portrait heart. While there are no known risks of ultrasounds during pregnancy, ACOG says that they should but exist used for medical reasons — and performed by a qualified medical professional.

  • Sleeping or doing exercises on your back. Some experts say that y'all should avoid lying apartment on your back during pregnancy, since the entire weight of your uterus and babe volition residual on your back, intestines and vena cava (the chief vein that shuttles blood from your lower trunk to your center).

  • Hot tubs and saunas. Zero sounds better to your aching, swollen feet than a soak in a nice, hot bathroom. Unfortunately, hot tubs and saunas are definite no-no's during pregnancy, as is anything that raises your body temperature to more 101 degrees F. If y'all take a bath, use a thermometer to keep the water temperature lower — effectually 97 to 98 degrees F.

  • Hot yoga. Similar hot tubs and saunas, anything that raises your internal thermostat by more than 1.v degrees F should be avoided. While yoga is particularly skilful for the pregnant set — it tin go you moving and lower your stress levels — yous're better off doing it under cooler atmospheric condition.

  • Raw or undercooked foods. Your appetite might exist back, just you should notwithstanding keep to avoid raw or undercooked seafood, eggs and meat. You can gloat with a medium-rare steak once baby has arrived.

  • Unpasteurized dairy and juices. Are food aversions a thing of the by? Alas, some foods are withal off the table. Soft cheeses, for example — like Brie, goat cheese and feta — that are made with unpasteurized milk are a no-get because they haven't been treated to kill leaner. Juices, including OJ and apple tree cider, tin be unpasteurized too. Cheque the label to make sure everything yous eat is made with pasteurized products, or stick to hard cheeses similar Swiss or cheddar.

One of the all-time parts about the second trimester (other than a welcome break from morning sickness)? Knowing that the 3rd trimester is right around the corner — and that baby will be here before you know information technology!