Pregnancy

Your Second Trimester

The second trimester of pregnancy spans from week 13 to week 27 of your pregnancy. This is the time when most women start to look pregnant and may begin to wear maternity clothes. By 16 weeks, the top of your uterus, called the fundus, will be about halfway between your pubic bone and your navel. By 27 weeks, the fundus will be about 2 in. (5 cm) or more above your navel.

See illustrations of the fetus at 16, 20, and 24 weeks of development. By the end of the second trimester, your fetus is about 10 in. (25.4 cm) long and weighs about 1.5 lb (680 g).

You may find that the second trimester is the easiest part of pregnancy. For some women, the breast tenderness, morning sickness, and fatigue of the first trimester ease up or disappear during the second trimester, while the physical discomforts of late pregnancy have yet to start. Pressure on your bladder may lessen as the uterus grows up out of the pelvis.

If this is your first pregnancy, you'll begin to feel your fetus move at about 18 to 22 weeks after your last menstrual period (LMP). Although your fetus has been moving for several weeks, the movements have not been strong enough for you to notice until now. At first, fetal movements can be so gentle that you may not be sure what you are feeling. If you've been pregnant before, you may notice movement earlier, sometime between weeks 16 and 18.

Normal symptoms you may experience during the second trimester of pregnancy include:

• Breast changes.
• Leg cramps.
• Back pain.
• Pelvic ache and hip pain.
• Stretch marks and other skin changes.
• Hemorrhoids and constipation.
• Heartburn (also a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD).
• Nosebleeds and bleeding gums.
• Hand pain, numbness, or weakness (carpal tunnel syndrome).

Common infections that require treatment during pregnancy include:

• Vaginal yeast infections.
• Bacterial vaginal infections.
• Urinary tract infections.

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Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH	Last Updated: November 30, 2006
Medical Review:	Renée M. Crichlow, MD - Family Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
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