Trimester weeks | Second trimester pregnancy

Trimester weeks | Second-trimester pregnancy

second-trimester pregnancy

The second trimester is, for many women, the easiest three months of pregnancy. Pregnancy stages have three trimesters, and further, it can be categorized into trimester weeks each of which is marked by specific fetal developments. A pregnancy is considered full-term at 40 weeks; infants delivered before the end of week 37 are considered premature. Premature infants may have problems with their growth and development, as well as difficulties in breathing and digesting.

A pregnancy is divided into trimesters:

• ·        The first-trimester pregnancy is from week 1 to the end of week 12.
• ·        The second pregnancy trimester is from week 13 to the end of week 26.
• ·        The third-trimester pregnancy is from week 27 to the end of the pregnancy.While 40 weeks is the usual time frame, a full-term baby can be born as early as 37 weeks and as late as 42 weeks.

you’ve had morning sickness, you should find that it starts to ease off around this time.

Baby’s digestive system was fully formed by the end of the first trimester. So now the baby is starting to suck and swallow in preparation for life outside of the womb. Around now, the baby begins to swallow little bits of amniotic fluid, which passes into the stomach.

Second-trimester pregnancy (week 13 to 26)

trimester weeks (development of the fetus)

A woman's body continues to change in the second trimester of her pregnancy. during this time baby continues to grow and develop almost daily. This means your belly grows more.

most women who didn't feel good in the first trimester. they usually start to feel better in the second trimester. Nausea and vomiting start to decrease. You may have more energy and fewer mood swings as you balance out.

Your breast may not be as tender as they were in the first trimester but they will continue to grow. enlarging mammary gland and deposit of cause growth. These changes prepare you for breastfeeding. The skin on and around the nipple starts darkening. the bumps are glands that make an oily substance to keep your nipple from drying out. A yellowish fluid, colostrum might begin to leak from nipples. As the body grows some areas of skin may be stretched tight. Elastic fiber right beneath the skin may tear. this creates skin stretch called stretch marks likely to occurs on belly and breast.

What changes can be seen during pregnancy?

• ·         dry, itchy, skin
• ·         leg pain
• ·         puffiness
• ·         aching pelvic lower back and hips
• ·         stomache
• ·         loose teeth
• ·         nose and gums bleeding
• ·         heartburn
• ·         urinary tract infections

When baby movement is seen?

Near the middle of 2nd trimester, you may begin to feel the baby. in beginning, this feels like fluttering movements deep in your belly.

Second-trimester pregnancy

Week 13

ovaries or testes are fully developed inside their body.

The genitals are forming outside their body.

Where there was a swelling between the legs.

There will now be a penis or clitoris growing.

Sex of your baby cannot be determined by ultrasound scan at this stage.

Even the fingerprints are now formed.

Week 14

The baby is about 85mm long from head to bottom.

It has hair all over its body.

The kidneys start to work.

Week 15

Your baby will start to hear.

The eyes also start to become sensitive to light.

Week 16

The muscles of the baby’s face can now move.

At 20 weeks, you’re halfway through your pregnancy. You will probably feel your baby move for the first time when you’re around 17 or 18 weeks pregnant. Most first-time mums notice the first movements when they are between 18 and 20 weeks pregnant.

Week 17

17 weeks into your pregnancy, or 15 weeks after conception, toenails appear.

Your baby is becoming more active in the amniotic sac, rolling and flipping

Week 18

18 weeks into your pregnancy, or 16 weeks after conception, your baby's ears begin to stand out on the sides of his or her head. Your baby might begin to hear. The eyes are beginning to face forward.

Now baby might be 5 1/2 inches (140 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh 7 ounces (200 grams).

Week 19

vernix caseosa begins to cover your baby. The vernix caseosa helps protect your baby's delicate skin from abrasions, chapping and hardening that can result from exposure to amniotic fluid.

Week 20

You might be able to feel your baby's movements (quickening). Your baby is regularly sleeping and waking. He or she might be awakened by noises or your movements.

Week 21

Your baby is completely covered with a fine, downy hair. The sucking reflex also is developing, enabling your baby to suck his or her thumb.

Week 22

Your baby's eyebrows and hair are visible. Brown fat also is forming, the site of heat production.

For boys, the testes have begun to descend.

By now your baby might be 7 1/2 inches (190 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh about 1 pound (460 grams).

Week 23

21 weeks after conception, your baby begins to have rapid eye movements. Ridges also, form in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet that will later create the foundation for fingerprints and footprints

Week 24

Your baby's skin is wrinkled, translucent and pink to red because of visible blood in the capillaries.

Week 25

23 weeks after conception, your baby might be able to respond to familiar sounds, such as your voice, with movement.

Week 26

24 weeks after conception, your baby's lungs are beginning to produce surfactant, the substance that allows the air sacs in the lungs to inflate — and keeps them from collapsing and sticking together when they deflate.

Week 27

This week marks the end of the second trimester. At 27 weeks, or 25 weeks after conception, your baby's nervous system is continuing to mature. Your baby is also gaining fat, which will help his or her skin look smoother.

This is the end of second-trimester.

Changes are seen in the body.

• Backache. The extra weight gained in the last few months is starting to put pressure on your back, due to which pain occurs in the back.
• Bleeding gums.
• Pregnant women develop swollen, tender gums. Hormone changes are sending more blood to your gums, making them more sensitive and causing them to bleed more easily.
• Breast enlargement.
• Congestion and nosebleeds due to Hormonal changes.
• Discharge. It's normal to see a thin, milky white vaginal discharge (called leukorrhea) early in your pregnancy. You can wear a panty liner if it makes you feel more comfortable, but don't use a tampon because it can introduce germs into the vagina. If the discharge is foul-smelling, green or yellow, bloody, or if there's a lot of clear discharge, call your doctor.
• Frequent urination.
• Frequent urination is seen because as the size of the fetus increases its puts pressure on the urinary bladder and because of the decrease in the volume of the bladder as compared to the previous situation, only a small amount of urine can be stored in the bladder resulting into frequent urination.

What to avoid

• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid caffeine (no more than one cup of coffee or tea per day)
• Avoid smoking
• Avoid illegal drugs
• cat litter, which can carry a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis
• Avoid raw fish or smoked seafood
• Avoid shark, swordfish, mackerel, or white snapper fish (they have high levels of mercury)
• Avoid raw sprouts
• Avoid unpasteurized milk or other dairy products
• strenuous exercise or strength training that could cause an injury to your stomach.