During the second trimester, you will see your doctor every four weeks. Your second trimester doctor visits will include:
During the 2nd trimester, you will almost certainly feel better than the 1st trimester because the morning sickness is gone and you will have more energy. Take advantage of this time and begin preparing for the arrival of your child! Leading up to the birth, you will begin to experience worse symptoms so be sure to do all you can while you feel well.
You may notice that your breasts are more sensitive and growing larger with the rest of your body. You may also experience trouble sleeping because of discomfort. Some complications that can occur at this time are dizziness, Braxton-Hicks contractions, leg cramps, heartburn, and nasal congestion.
In general, you should focus on an overall healthy lifestyle. Avoid substances like alcohol and tobacco as much as possible, since these may harm your developing baby. Restrict caffeine to no more than 200 mg a day, or one 12-ounce cup of coffee. Certain medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, may affect your baby, so talk to your doctor about whether you should stop taking any medications. Your diet may also affect your baby, so eat a diet full of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. Also, make sure you're getting the proper vitamins—especially calcium, iron, and folic acid—through your food and vitamin supplements. You should get plenty of moderate exercise so that you and your baby stay healthy. If you have questions about how a particular activity may affect your baby during the 2nd trimester, talk to your doctor.
While the risks for miscarriage or pre-term labor always remain, you should find your 2nd trimester more comfortable than your first. However, there are some discomforts that may arise. most of your problems will be different from the first trimester. You probably aren't feeling nauseous or vomiting anymore, but you may be experiencing constipation and hemorrhoids. You may also experience minor symptoms like leg cramps, Braxton Hicks contractions, swelling, or back pain. Also, during this time you should watch out for certain risk factors and complications like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, anemia, and pre-term labor.
During the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, weeks 14 through 27, your baby will change and develop drastically. At week 14 your child is just beginning to develop facial features and genitalia, making it possible to determine your child's gender. By week 27 your child has advanced brain and lung function and could survive if delivered at this time. Because your child has also developed most of its senses at this time, they may be able to recognize your voice or feel your movements.
During the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, you may feel overwhelmed by all of the questions for your doctor. Make sure you write down all of your questions as they occur so that you are prepared for your appointment. Here are some that you might want to consider:
During the 2nd trimester, your uterus has outgrown your pelvis and is starting to grow up into your abdomen. In addition to your growing uterus, you're probably gaining a little bit of weight, mostly in your waist, hips, and breasts. This means that many women are wearing maternity clothes at this point, and people may begin to notice slight changes in their appearance. You may also be more sensitive to your posture because of back pain. Both back pain and clumsier movements usually result because of the excess weight you are carrying around. Your legs and ankles may begin to swell because of edema.
During the second trimester of pregnancy, your child grows in size at an incredible pace.
Most women's morning sickness goes away around week 13. This results in a renewed sense of energy for most women. Here’s a list of other changes you might expect throughout the second trimester of your pregnancy:
Here is a list of tests and procedures common to the second trimester (weeks 13 through 28) of pregnancy:
Make sure to see your doctor if you have any concerns about your condition or have noticed any troublesome changes. You may also want to see your doctor if you're having a great deal of trouble with swelling or acne.