Second Trimester
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A full-term pregnancy is divided into three trimesters, each of 3 months. The first trimester is from conception to 12 weeks, the second trimester is from 12-24 weeks, and the third trimester is from 24-40 weeks. The first trimester involves various changes in the female body such as a rise in hormones and the beginning of the baby’s growth. There would be noticeable changes such as a growing belly and breasts during the second trimester.
The second trimester of your pregnancy begins after 12 weeks till 24 weeks which is around the 4th, 5th, and 6th month. You may experience more energy than what was experienced during the first trimester. Many physical changes happen as the baby grows in size and develops. Your ligaments start to stretch and loosen as the baby gets heavier hence the muscles are working overtime and harder to support your baby. You will notice more back pain and hip and pelvic discomfort. The second trimester usually gets better for the mother and it’s a turning point for both the mother and the fetus. At this point, the pregnancy starts to show more prominently. This is whe
Things that are seen during the second trimester:
A lot of pregnancy symptoms are likely to subside such as nausea, tenderness in breasts, sore breasts, etc. While some pregnancy symptoms may pertain through the first and second trimesters such as heartburn and constipation. There is an increasing rise in pregnancy hormones even during the second trimester.
– Congestion: You may find yourself snoring due to nasal congestion, this happens because of increased blood flow to the mucus membranes in the nose.
– Swelling of feet and ankles: You may notice your feet and ankles swell during the second trimester. This is normal to happen because your body is holding more water than it normally does when you are pregnant. During the course of the day, the water tends to accumulate towards the lowest parts of the body especially if the weather is hot or humid or if you have been standing for too long. In these cases, you must avoid standing or sitting for long periods at a stretch and sleep on your side.
– Sensitive gum: you may experience sore or bleeding gums during pregnancy, this is caused due to build-up of plaque on the teeth. This is because due to hormonal changes the gums become more vulnerable to plaque build-up, also called pregnancy gingivitis or gum disease. Pregnancy gingivitis develops around the 2nd and 8th month of pregnancy with the most pronounced effects during the third trimester.
– Leg cramps: This can happen due to the shortage of calcium or magnesium in the body and so you must make sure you eat a healthy and balanced diet during pregnancy. It may also happen because of the general hormonal changes and increase in weight
– Dizziness: This happens when or if your blood vessels widen and relax which increases blood flow to the fetus and slows down your blood pressure and bringing it down. To reduce such symptoms you must eat healthily and plenty of means and fill up on fluids.
– Lower abdomen aches: Since the ligaments that support your belly are stretched due to the increasing size of your bell it causes round ligament pain in the abdomen
– Weight gain: You will gain weight since your appetite has probably increased after pregnancy. Weight gain gets more steady during the second trimester around 1 pound per week
During your second trimester, you must look out for signs that you may have to call your doctor. Signs such as heavy vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, and fever over 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, look out for gestational diabetes which generally begins around the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy. Also includes extreme thirst, frequent copious urination, extreme fatigue, and snoring. Your health care provider will generally get you a glucose test done during the time frame where these risks are high.
What are the things you must do during your second trimester:
– Routine monitoring: during each hospital visit your practitioner will check your weight,size of the uterus, the height of your fundus (top of the uterus), and the baby’s heartbeat to ensure that everything is going well for you and the baby.
– Second-trimester ultrasound: This ultrasound is usually scheduled between the 18th and 22nd week. The doctors check the developing organs and systems and the amount of amniotic fluid and if wanted the baby’s gender too(which is not legal in India but it is around the second trimester that they can identify the baby’s gender through ultrasound).
– Glucose testing: From research, it is found that 1 in 10 women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes due to which it is advised for women to be screened for it around the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy.
– Prenatal genetic screening: These tests look out for increased factors for chromosomal or congenital conditions such as down syndrome.
– Sleep on your side: You want to sleep on your side during and after your second trimester because the growing weight of the fetus can put pressure on the vena cava (blood vessel) which can cause problems with blood circulation.