Pregnancy guide - second trimester

Welcome to the second stage of your pregnancy. Hopefully by now the morning sickness has begun to ease, you’re not feeling so exhausted and you’ve got a neat little bump housing the growing baby inside you. Some women feel great at this stage, but many don’t – so don’t worry if you’re not yet feeling in full bloom!

Month 4: showing signs of pregnancy

You: People may begin to notice and congratulate you on your pregnancy as your bump becomes more visible. Now may be the time to invest in some maternity clothes to see your body through the next six months. A dark line may have also begun to appear down the centre of your stomach – this is called a linea nigra and will fade after you’ve given birth. Your nipples may also appear darker (this is so when your baby arrives he can find them more easily for breastfeeding!) and your boobs may feel swollen and heavy.

However, if you were suffering from extreme tiredness in your first trimester, you should find that it eases off at this stage. That’s not to say you’ll suddenly feel like superwoman, but you should feel less like going to bed at 6pm! You should also soon start to feel even more “aware” of the baby inside you, as in the coming weeks you’ll start to feel its first movements.

These will be very subtle to begin with – a bit like a butterfly flutter in your tummy. But that little flutter is probably your baby doing a somersault! From weeks 18 onwards, you should start to feel slightly stronger movements.

Your baby: At about 14 weeks your baby is five inches long and about 113 grams (4 oz). Your baby’s fingers and toes are well defined and his eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails and hair are formed. Teeth and bones become more dense at this stage, and your baby can even suck his thumb, yawn, stretch and make faces!

As the sex organs continue to develop, an ultrasound may be able to reveal whether you’re expecting a boy or a girl. Your baby’s heartbeat may now also be audible at your next ultrasound appointment.

If you are over 35 or have a history of birth defects, your GP or midwife may recommend an amniocentesis test for you and your baby. This is a diagnostic test that involves taking a sample of amniotic fluid from your womb and examining to see if your baby has any serious difficulties, such as Down’s Syndrome or spina bifida.

Month 5 - the pregnancy glow

You: As your little one continues to grow inside you, you may begin to feel heavier and more restricted in your movements. You may also begin to sweat more. It’s not all bad though – by now you may well have developed that special pregnancy glow, when your skin and hair both look fantastic as your body becomes increasingly accustomed to being pregnant.

You need to ensure that you are getting enough calcium in your diet at this stage. You might notice a small amount of bleeding from your gums when you brush your teeth, as pregnancy hormones can cause your gums to become slightly inflamed. Also, very faint red or brown marks (otherwise known as the early stages of stretch marks!) may begin to appear across your abdomen, hips and breasts at this stage. Keep on moisturising though as this will help to minimise them. Also, wearing a supportive bra may help to reduce their appearance on your breasts. After you give birth, the red or brown colour in the stretch marks will fade.

As your baby’s movements get more pronounced, you’ll probably be able to tell when he is sleeping and when he is awake. You might actually find that your baby moves more when you are resting because your movement tends to rock him to sleep.

Exercise is also important at this stage of your pregnancy. Walking and swimming are excellent ways to keep fit without over-exerting yourself, and could also help you later on when you want to get back into shape after giving birth. Ask your local leisure centre if they do any expectant mother exercise classes; Again, a perfect excuse to socialise and share experiences with other mums. The more in shape you are pre-birth, the easier it is to shed pregnancy weight afterwards.

Your baby: Your little person is about 6 to 7 inches, with hair, eyelashes, eyebrows and even the occasional hiccup now. His hearing is also well established and he can hear your voice, the beating of your heart and your stomach rumblings, so this is a great time to play music to your bump!

As well as hearing, your baby’s lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. Other studies show that your baby may be able to distinguish taste in month five. By adding a sweetener to amniotic fluid, scientists found that babies swallowed twice as fast. So it seems that our “sweet tooth” is determined even earlier than we thought!