The Second Trimester What to expect.

 As we all know pregnancy is divided in three trimesters. 

The first trimester is from the last day of menstural period till about 13 weeks. 

The second trimester starts from week 14 to till the end of week 27. So the second trimester is considered as the golden period of the pregnancy because the discomforts of the first trimester have actually by now disappeared and all the major troubles of the third trimester have not yet begun. 

By the end of first trimester the fetus is actually about 5 inches long and it weighs about 50 grams and by the end of second trimester the fetus weighs roughly about 1 kg and 14 to 15 inches long. This is the time when major organs of baby have developed. The heart is functioning. The lungs are developed. The baby has toes, fingers along with nails on it. The baby's ears have developed by 18 weeks and they become sensitive to the sounds by week 22. They start responding to the sounds by about 24th week. Mom's voice makes baby alert so it is very important for you to talk to the baby.  In first pregnancy mother can feel the baby movement around 20 weeks. 

Let's talk about the changes we see in mothers in second trimester. At this time all the problems of first trimester like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, sensitivity to smells actually start settling there. The mother's appetite improves. She starts to eat better and now she is gaining weight. You will be surprised to know that 80% of women lose weight in their firsrt trimester.

In the 5th month of pregnancy the baby bump starts showing. The mother can see the slight changes in her breasts at this stage. Like bigger in size and sensitive to touch. Also she can see the stretch marks on her breasts.

Now let's talk about something which every woman is worried about during her pregnancy.

That's her skin. Some women experience darkening of the skin or brown pigmentation on the face or neck. This is known as chloasma or mask of the pregnancy. 

The other thing is stretch marks. It happens when the skin is stretching. Remember stretch marks do not happen because of scratching. The amount of stretch marks the woman developes is based upon the size of the baby and her skin type. Which has nothing to do with any kind of fancy cream or lotion. If you want to moisturize your belly that's completely ok but stretch marks do not go away with the help of any cream.

The next thing which some of the women notice is nose bleeding or stuffiness. You can do steam or gargles to prevent this.

The most important thing is dental care.Yes once in pregnancy you should visit your dentist. That's very important. Dental infections are known to be one of the reasons of premature labour pains. Also gum bleeding is very common during pregnancy so visit your doctor in case that happens. Make sure your are brushing, flossing and rinsing your mouth after every meal.

Leg cramps are also very common in pregnancy. Stay active during the day time and at night or evening take a hot shower or warm bath and massage your legs. This will definitely help relieve your pain.

Backache is another problem faced by most of the women during their 2nd and 3rd trimester. It happens because the baby or uterus is growing and putting pressure on your back. So please do not worry too much about it. What can you do is make sure you are physically active, you wear comfortable low heel shoes or slippers. You can ask someone to do a little bit of hot fermentation or you can use some over the counter pain relieving ointment on the back. Also take clacium and Vitamin D supplimentations.

Many women notice round ligament pains during their pregnancy. So actually round ligament pain could be a dull or sharp pain occuring either on one side or both of the sides. These ligaments keep the uterus in place so the uterus doesn't wobble front or back. So when the uterus is stretching the round ligaments also stretch to accomodate the uterus. Which causes pain. Again do not worry about it. This is very harmless symptom. Take a rest to relieve this pain. 

Vaginal discharge is another reason for many women to be worried about. This happens becuase harmonal glands produce more discharge during pregnancy to keep the infections away from the baby. So don't worry about vaginal discharge unless it is reddish, greenish or foul smelling.

That's all about the second trimester. 

I wish you all a healthy and safe pregnancy.