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Pregnancy: What to Expect in the Second Trimester Weeks

The weeks 14–27 of pregnancy are often considered the best of the whole pregnancy. The first trimester of pregnancy is often when women start to feel better after suffering from fatigue and nausea.

The fetus continues to develop into a full-fledged human being throughout this third trimester, exhibiting many of the hallmarks of the newborn stage. In the second trimester, an ultrasound may reveal the gender of the unborn child and check on the fetus’s progress.

What Exactly Is The Second Trimester Of Pregnancy?

A normal pregnancy lasts roughly 40 weeks. The dividing line between the three trimesters is often about 14 weeks. You will give birth at the start of the second trimester, usually between weeks 14 and 16. Specifically, the second trimester of pregnancy spans weeks 14–27.

Second-trimester pregnancy symptoms and physical indications often peak between the 14th and 28th weeks. Since morning sickness and fatigue of the first trimester have faded, several pregnant women find this to be the most pleasant time of their pregnancies. If you were anxious throughout the first trimester, you should feel relief now.

You should be able to feel the baby move towards the end of this trimester, and you may find yourself starting to relax and enjoy your pregnancy. It is important to remember that every pregnant lady has her own unique experience. Some pregnant women never even feel the aches and pains typical in the first few months of pregnancy. Others, however, may suffer from morning sickness and other symptoms far into the second trimester.

How Can You Recognise The Second Trimester Symptoms?

Many women get relief from morning sickness and breast tenderness and discomfort throughout the second trimester. While some symptoms may go, others, like heartburn and constipation, may persist.

You may become aware of previously unnoticed changes as your belly grows and your pregnant hormones surge. Signs of pregnancy in their third trimester may include:

Congestion

Stimulation of the nasal membranes’ blood vessels. There’s a chance you’ll snore for the first time. Luckily, there are medications available without a prescription that are not harmful to use.

Redness, Tenderness, and even Occasional Blood

Visit the dentist if you are having problems with your gums; these symptoms may indicate gingivitis. Gingivitis may not seem like a big matter today, but it might cause more significant problems down the line if it isn’t addressed.

Experiencing Leg Cramps

This is often experienced in the trimesters of pregnancy. Maintain a healthy and balanced diet during your pregnancy since it may be connected to a shortage of calcium or magnesium in addition to the more common reasons (pregnancy hormones and weight gain).

Dizziness

Blood flow or pressure drops, and more oxygen-rich blood may reach the developing baby because the arteries carrying your blood relax and widen. Get plenty of sleep, eat plenty of little meals, and drink lots of fluids to feel better.

Accumulate Chubby

With the growth of your baby, the hunger also manifolds (or eat at all if you experienced nausea and loss of appetite in the first trimester). A typical first-trimester weight increase for a pregnant woman is 14 pounds or approximately a pound per week.

It’s natural and transitory to feel worried, irritated, forgetful, and annoyed since you appear “not quite pregnant” yet.

How Much Does A Baby Develop During The Second Trimester Of Pregnancy?

You may expect your baby to be active in the second trimester when baby’s development is at its highest. By pregnancy week of 18, not only can the baby yawn and hiccup but he or she is about the size of a chicken breast.

Beginning at about week 23, your baby will start to gain weight in tandem with your own, and in only another four weeks, he or she may weigh twice as much as they did at birth! By the conclusion of the second trimester, your unborn baby will weigh about two pounds.

Hair, Nails and Skin

Including the hair, skin, and nails. Around week 16, infants start to produce their first follicles, and by week 22, they have fully formed eyelashes and eyebrows. Around week 19 of pregnancy, a protective layer of oil and dead skin cells known as vernix caseosa grows on the skin to shield it from the acidic amniotic fluid. Loss of lanugo and vernix caseosa during pregnancy is typical.

Digestive System

When the first trimester of pregnancy is through, the digestive system of the unborn infant is fully formed. Learning how to suck and swallow is the next step for a newborn as they prepare for life outside the womb.

The amniotic fluid acts as a conduit for your baby to obtain a taste of the things you consume, and this has been demonstrated to influence the baby’s dietary choices after birth. Because of this, pregnant women should prioritize a diet high in raw, organic fruits and vegetables. In addition, the infant’s digestive and excretory systems are hard at work: Even though the placenta provides a lot of nutrition, all that eating and drinking will still result in a lot of urine.

Eyes and Ears

Eyes and ears find their new homes in the infant. The unborn child’s ability to feel, smell, sight, and sound are complete by the end of the 22nd week of pregnancy. Even sweeter? The baby’s eyes have begun to open.

Brain

By the time a fetus reaches 17 weeks of development, the brain has taken over the regulation of the heartbeat’s rhythm, and the heart is no longer beating on its own. The baby’s heartbeat should be audible with a stethoscope by the 20th week of pregnancy. To carry oxygenated blood throughout the body, the first capillaries have developed by week 25.

Movement

By 26 weeks, the brain is not only controlling the heart rate and encouraging the growth of kicks, but it is also beginning to influence the movement of the eyelids.

What Should I Do in the Second Trimester?

Understand that you will be under close watch at all times. Your doctor will monitor your baby’s heartbeat, weight, and uterus length at each examination throughout this trimester to ensure everything is developing properly.

Ultrasounds should be postponed until after the first trimester has passed. This ultrasound is done between weeks 18 and 22 of pregnancy and is also called a 20-week anatomy scan. The baby’s size, the quantity of amniotic fluid, and the gender of the unborn child will all be determined.

Ultrasounds, especially 3D and 4D ultrasounds, are a wonderful way to see your baby as they develop, but they should only be performed by a medical professional. Don’t waste your money on cheap mall souvenirs if you want something to keep forever.

Around one in ten pregnant women develop gestational diabetes between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy. Get a glucose test and check your health out!

Things to Stay Away From in the Second Trimester

As the worst of your nausea has gone, you may start to feel like yourself again. It is very important at this point in your pregnancy that you refrain from the following:

Random Ultrasounds

Since so much of your baby’s growth occurs during the second trimester, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see the changes. Getting a 3D or 4D ultrasound at a pregnancy picture studio is an unnecessary expense. It has been shown that ultrasounds during pregnancy offer no health risks.

Spine Supported

When you’re lying flat on your back, as you do when you sleep or when you work out, your spine is supported. The extra weight of the uterus and the baby may put a lot of stress on a pregnant woman’s back, intestines, and vena cava, so it’s best to avoid sleeping flat on your back if at all possible.

Bathhouses with Steam Rooms and Saunas

Soaking your weary, sore feet in a hot bath seems like pleasure. Avoid hot tubs and saunas, as well as anything else that might raise your body temperature over 101 degrees Fahrenheit while you’re pregnant. Use a thermometer in your bath water to ensure a more pleasant 97 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yoga is Practiced in a Heated Room

You should stay away from saunas, hot tubs, and other activities that raise your body temperature by more than 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Pregnant women who want to reap the health benefits of yoga should keep in mind that the practice is most effective when the weather is cooler.

Uncooked or partially cooked foods

Even if you’re feeling hungry again, you shouldn’t risk your health by consuming any uncooked products from the animal world. After the arrival of the baby, you may celebrate by eating a steak cooked to perfection and raising a glass.

Milk And Juices That Have Been Cold-pressed

Do food intolerances disappear as time goes on? But, regrettably, there are prohibited things. Soft cheeses like Brie, goat cheese, and feta made from milk that hasn’t been pasteurized should be avoided since they still contain potentially harmful bacteria. You can drink many other kinds of juices, not only oranges and apples. If you’re worried about food poisoning, either stick to hard cheeses like Swiss or cheddar or make sure the ingredients list contains pasteurized goods.

What, outside the absence of morning sickness, is one of the best parts of being in the second trimester? Knowing well that you’ll soon be well into your third trimester of pregnancy.

Conclusion

Early pregnancy symptoms often subside or go away entirely by the time you reach the third trimester. You may feel less queasy (and for the first time in ages, meals may really smell and taste delicious), have more energy, and have less sore breasts without losing any size.

You may have noticed a little swell in your lower belly, but towards the end of this trimester, it may seem less like bloating and more like the beginning of a baby bump.

FAQs

What is the duration of the second trimester of pregnancy?

During weeks 14–27, the second trimester is considered to be pregnant. It falls between months 4 and 6. Therefore it’s a transitional time. About 14 weeks pass during the second trimester.

When in the Second Trimester of Pregnancy Should You Contact Your Doctor?

Also, if you encounter any of the following, you should see a doctor right away:

Extremely intense and severe abdominal pain.

The number of fetal movements varies widely (after 28 weeks of gestation). If an hour goes by and there aren’t six to ten adjustments made, you should get in touch with support.

Shortness of breath that persists or worsens with time.

If you start experiencing any signs of premature labor, you should contact your doctor right once.

How does the baby look like in the second trimester?

During the second trimester, the fetus or baby is around 7.4cm long and weighs around 25g which is as heavy as a toothbrush with paste. The testes or ovaries of the baby are fully developed, but final tweaks are yet to be made. The baby starts moving around. Initially, the movements are jerky and unpredictable, but gradually they become more deliberate.

Till the 17-week, you may not feel any movement. However, some babies start sucking their thumb in the womb, which serves the purpose of helping develop the sucking reflex.

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