Second Trimester Pregnancy 101 – Symptoms, Baby Growth & Development

I have already covered the joys of pregnancy during the first trimester, which included some wonderful pregnancy symptoms, how you will feel (and look), and how big (or small) your little one is going to grow during the first 12-weeks. I thought today would be a nice day to start talking about the second trimester pregnancy joys, or better known as the "I am now officially pregnant (and crazy) trimester". 

MamaNYC is all about the joys of motherhood (err..right?), which is why I try to keep an even balance of the good and the bad by publishing Mother’s Day quotes and pregnancy humor.

There is nothing like hearing or reading honest, thoughtful, and insightful advice and tips from a mom that has been there – conquered that. Therefore, I decided to cover all three trimesters with a twist of undoubtedly horrifying advice and knowledge on pregnancy – Pregnancy 101!

So, let’s cut to the chase and knock off the chitchat. Here’s Pregnancy 101: 2nd Trimester information, symptoms, and basically everything you will need to know in order to survive. 

{Don’t forget to read all about the first trimester pregnancy knowledge that I have already published! You’ll want to start there.. unless you are already in your 2nd trimester and already KNOW how much fun that journey was for your body!} 

The second trimester is where things start to get FUN. There are lots of new symptoms and things you are going to start feeling during the next 3-months of your pregnancy. The first trimester was a piece of cake compared to what is about to start happening physically, mentally, and environmentally. You aren’t frustrated – yet. You feel okay and can sometimes deal with people, walking, and maybe the occasional romantic activities with your better half (I mean your husband or boyfriend, obviously!). 

I remember things really started to pickup speed during my second trimester. Things were starting to stretch, expand, drop, and burn. It was unpleasant, but I was definitely able to gain the strength and composure necessary to carryon throughout my day at work or as a wife. 

Each week that goes by brings you one step closer to even more symptoms! Each week brings you closer to meeting your baby, but it won’t feel that way. You will feel like 

YOUR BODY (is not a wonderland) ⇒  

Leg Cramps	During the second trimester of pregnancy, you might notice physical changes from head to toe. Your back, inner and outer thighs, arms, face, and everything in between are going to begin to cramp. The worst will develop in your legs. Many women notice sciatica leg cramping during the second trimester. Leg cramps are common as pregnancy progresses, often striking at night. To help prevent leg cramps during pregnancy, stretch your calf muscles before bed. Stay physically active and drink plenty of fluids. If a leg cramp strikes, stretch the calf muscle on the affected side. A hot shower, warm bath or ice massage also may help.
Enlarged Belly	As your uterus becomes heavier and expands to make room for the baby, your abdomen expands — sometimes rapidly. Starting in the second trimester, expect to gain 3 to 4 pounds (about 1.4 to 1.8 kilograms) a month until delivery.
Growing Breasts	Stimulated by estrogen and progesterone, the milk-producing glands inside your breasts get inflated throughout the second trimester. Additional fat may accumulate in your breasts. Although some of the initial breast tenderness will likely improve, nipple sensitivity might continue throughout the pregnancy. A supportive bra is a must.
Stretch Marks	You may notice pink, red or purple streaks along your abdomen, breasts, upper arms, buttocks or thighs throughout the second trimester of pregnancy. Your stretching skin might also be itchy. Moisturizers can help. Although stretch marks cannot be prevented, most stretch marks eventually fade in severity.
Vaginal Discharge	You might notice a thin, white vaginal discharge. This acidic discharge is thought to help suppress the growth of potentially harmful bacteria or yeast. You might want to wear panty liners for comfort. Contact your health care provider if the discharge becomes strong smelling, green or yellowish, or if it’s accompanied by redness, itching or irritation. This could indicate a vaginal infection.
Skin Changes	Blood circulation to your skin is going to increase, which will cause certain areas of your skin to darken. The area around your nipples, parts of your face and the line that runs from your navel to your pubic bone. Sun exposure can aggravate the issue. When you’re outdoors, be sure to use plenty of sunscreen {always!}.
Braxton Hicks Contractions	Braxton Hicks are also known as “false labor". Consider these contractions a ‘warm up’ session exercise courtesy of your uterus. It may start contracting to build strength and literally warm-up for birth! Braxton Hicks contractions can be felt in your lower abdomen and groin. They aren’t too strong, but usually weak and come and go unpredictably. If the contractions become painful or regular, I would recommend contacting your doctor. This could be a sign of preterm labor. Braxton Hicks are a tightening of your uterine muscles. When you’re having a Braxton Hicks contraction, your belly will feel very tight and hard, and you may or may not have pain. The contraction should go away within a few minutes and should not come back in any regular pattern.
Shortness of breath	Your lungs are starting to process more air than they did prior to your pregnancy. This allows your blood to carry more oxygen to your placenta and the baby. Therefore, you may start to notice a slight shortness of break and faster breathing. No need to get alarmed, but take a seat and relax yourself in order to regain normal breathing.
I know what you are thinking at this point…  WHEN WILL THIS LIST OF SYMPTOMS END?!? IS THIS ALL REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME?!?
Dizziness	Your blood vessels dilate in response to pregnancy hormones. Until your blood volume expands to fill them, your blood pressure will fall and you might experience occasional dizziness. If you’re having trouble with dizziness, drink plenty of fluids and rise slowly after lying or sitting down. When you feel dizzy, lie on your left side to restore your blood pressure.
Nasal and gum problems	As pregnancy increases your circulation, more blood flows through your body’s mucous membranes. This causes the lining of your nose and airway to swell, which can restrict airflow and lead to snoring, congestion and nosebleeds. Increased blood circulation can also soften your gums, which might cause minor bleeding when you brush or floss your teeth. Switching to a softer toothbrush can help decrease irritation.
Bladder and kidney infections	Hormonal changes slow the flow of urine, and your expanding uterus might get in the way — both factors that increase the risk of bladder and kidney infections. Contact your health care provider if you notice a burning sensation when you urinate, or you have a fever, abdominal pain or backache. Left untreated, urinary infections increase the risk of pregnancy complications.
Urinary Tract Infections	You may develop an infection because hormonal changes slow the flow of urine and the growing uterus pushes on the bladder. Urinary tract infections can lead to preterm labor, so let your doctor know if you feel a burning sensation when you urinate, have to urinate more often, or notice blood or a strong odor in your urine.
Heartburn	The esophagus (the tube between the mouth and stomach) is going to start burning, but it will enhance especially during the second trimester.  Your expanding uterus may press on your stomach and force food and acid up into your esophagus, causing the burn.  *Unfortunately, I encountered some severe amounts of heartburn every single night. The worst attack was the night I gave birth to my son. However, I noticed it vanished (and has not come back yet!) the moment my son was born. Oh – and was he hairy? Nope! My son had the smallest amounts of hair throughout his entire body. Don’t think you are going to have a gorilla baby just because of heartburn (not entirely true!).
Abdominal Pain	The muscles and ligaments supporting the uterus will stretch and may hurt as your baby grows.
Linea Nigra	A dark line (the “linea nigra”) down the middle of your belly from your navel to your pubic hair will begin to appear. Don’t be alarmed – this is perfectly normal.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here are some questions or issues frequently asked by pregnant women as they reach their second trimester. Why are these stretch marks appearing? How big is my baby? Here are your answers! 

How will I feel in the second trimester, compared with the first? Most women who didn’t feel so great in the first trimester of pregnancy usually start to feel much better in the second. The nausea and vomiting of morning sickness should taper off, mood swings may lessen, and you’ll probably have more energy. This will be a good time to tackle many tasks necessary to get ready for your baby. You’ll gain weight more rapidly this trimester, adding as much as 4 pounds a month for the rest of your pregnancy. This means you may need to start wearing maternity clothes.

When will I feel my baby move? You’ll likely start to notice fluttering movements deep in your belly near the middle of the second trimester. Your baby was moving earlier, but you probably weren’t aware of it. If you’ve been pregnant before, you might notice the movements earlier because you’re familiar with how they feel. Mark your calendar when you first feel movements so you can let your doctor know.

Will my breasts keep growing, or will it stop? Your breasts may not be as tender as they were in the first trimester, but they will continue to grow and prepare for breastfeeding. Enlarging milk glands and deposits of fat cause the growth. You may also notice that the skin on and around your nipples will darken, and you might have small bumps around the nipples. The bumps are glands that make an oily substance to keep the nipples from drying out. A yellowish fluid called colostrum might begin to leak from your nipples.

What are stretch marks and are they preventable? As your skin stretches to fit your growing body, some areas of skin may become stretched tight. Elastic fibers right below the skin may tear, creating streaks of indented skin called stretch marks. Stretch marks are likely to occur on your belly and breasts. Not every pregnant woman gets stretch marks, but they are very common. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to prevent them completely. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your weight and make sure you don’t gain more than your doctor recommends. Some manufacturers of lotions and oils claim these products can prevent stretch marks, but this hasn’t been proven. However, keeping your skin well moisturized can help cut down on itchiness. Stretch marks should fade and become less noticeable after pregnancy.

What other skin changes can I expect? Not all pregnant women experience skin changes, but some common changes are listed below. Dry, itchy skin, especially on the belly Increased sensitivity to the sun. This means you might burn more easily, and may need to wear more sunscreen than usual.   Patches of darkened skin on the face (sometimes called the "mask of pregnancy") Reddened, itching palms Some of these skin changes may fade after pregnancy.  

Will my interest in sex come back? If you had morning sickness, mood swings and low energy during the first trimester, you may not have felt like having sex very often. Many women find that their desire for sex returns during the second trimester. Having sex is OK anytime during pregnancy, unless your doctor says you shouldn’t.

Discuss Tests & Procedures

After all the excitement and joys wear off from your positive pregnancy test, you will start to hear about other pregnancy screening tests and procedures. This is where it starts to get tricky, or rather upsetting depending on your circumstances. Honestly, I did not expect this portion of my pregnancy and it was byfar the scariest part of my pregnancy (beyond giving birth; that’s another story!). 

Your practitioner will offer  screening and diagnostic tests during your second trimester. You may have opted for chorionic villus sampling (CVS), which is a first-trimester diagnostic test for chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic problems. Second trimester testing will be suggested and recommended if you decided to opt out of CVS during the first 12-weeks of your pregnancy.

One of the tests that you will hear about between 15-18 weeks is a multiple marker screening, a blood test to measure the quantity of three or four substances (or "markers") that can give you information about your baby’s risk for Down syndrome. AFP (alpha-fetoprotein), is one of the markers that will identify birth defects such as spina bifida. These tests can (normally) be done during first-trimester screening tests because they provide a better assessment of risks when done together as opposed to individual testing procedures. 

AMNIOCENTESIS

One of the tests during my pregnancy identified a need for an amniocentesis,  which is a test that can diagnose Down syndrome as well as other chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, and neural tube defects. This test is usually done when a woman is between 16 and 20 weeks pregnant.

Apparently one of my second trimester screenings showed an abnormal level of fluid behind my sons neck, which is a "sure sign of Downs syndrome" (as my practitioner promised). I was scared, crying, and nervous. What do you mean a ‘sure sign’? Is my baby okay? Should I be worried, concerned, or start planning for the future? I don’t want to get too political, but the amount of unnecessary tests that were required of my hugely pregnant and lethargic self were frustrating – to say the least. 

Amniocentesis carries a small risk of miscarriage, so most women who choose to have the test carry a higher risk for genetic and chromosomal problems. Some women choose to wait for the results of their first- and second-trimester screening tests before deciding whether to have amniocentesis. The test is quite painful. It is extremely painful. I would not elect to have another one – ever. 

The needle is drawn into your pregnant belly a few centimeters below your bellybutton. If your doctor is like ours during my amnio, you may have a large screen over your right shoulder so that you can watch the needle approach your unborn baby. This is scary. I also watched the needle knick my sons leg. He would later be born with a dimple on his upper right back thigh. 

Luckily, I received negative results from my amniocentesis and felt such great relief. I believe it was 3-weeks for results, which was VERY frustrating. I was already upset and wanted to know if my baby was okay – and now I had to WAIT 3+ weeks? 

This story did have a happy ending… 

The amniocentesis test is the most accurate and foolproof way of detecting the sex of your baby during the second trimester (or, any stage of your pregnancy actually!). The test is literally drawing DNA and therefore there is NO mistakes when it comes to uncovering whether your child is male or female. Since we were impatiently trying to discover the sex of our baby, I decided to ask when the results came in from my doctor. I remembre the day like it was yesterday….

After days and days of what felt likes months, I was able to get ahold of my obstetricians frontdesk and retrieve the test results. The receptionist assured me that the test was negative and I had nothing to worry about. My baby was a healthy and perfect little…… baby. 

"… and is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Yes…Can I, is there, uhm, I want to know… the sex. Is my baby a boy or a girl? Does it say on the results?"

"Absolutely. Do you want to know, Nicole?"

"Yes."

"it’s a BOY! Congratulations"

{insert tears of joy + hysteria here}

…. and then I had a boy.  

So… remember to take your prenatal vitamins, drink plenty of fluids, and relax. This isn’t the most enjoyable time of your pregnancy (I know, I know – the GLOW is not there, right?), but you DO have a great excuse to get out of most all errands, parties you want to skip, and other engagements you previously agreed to attend. Fantastic, right?! 

[Coming Soon.. 3rd Trimester! Dun-dun-dun!]