This is PART 2 of our series. PART 1 and PART 3 can be found here.
SECOND TRIMESTER (13th week to 28th week) –
The chances of miscarriage is more in the first trimester, which get lower in the second trimester. Starting from 13th week till the 28th week is considered as the second trimester. You’ll get great pregnancy experience during this middle trimester, as early pregnancy symptoms and morning sickness is gone, most probably. Your baby is fully grown and you can feel the movement of your baby for the first time in this trimester.
4th Month (13th week to 16th week)
Development of the baby: In the 13th week, your baby has fully grown and resembles like a human being i.e. 7.5cm long. Baby can move its arms and legs. In 14th week, the baby’s reflexes have started working although you can’t feel it. Vocal cords of the baby have also started working. In the 15th week, the baby is 12cm long from head to toe. Baby’s ears start to work and now can hear your heartbeat and voice. Even baby’s eyes are closed but can still respond to light. Till the 16th week, baby weighs around 0.24lb (i.e. 110g) and is growing very fast at this point. All the bones and muscles have developed completely and now the baby can move their fingers and toes.
Changes in your body: Without exceptions, morning sickness is no more a problem. But as the baby is growing now, you start feeling ligament stretches in your abdomen and start getting digestive issues. Your baby bump is more visible and clear now. You may have back-ache issues at this time due to the weight of the baby, that’s why it’s recommended to have simple stretches or exercises to ease these issues. Your hair and nails also start growing faster, great news for you.
5th Month (17th week to 20th week)
Development of the baby: In the 17th week, the baby has grown more detailed features with developed taste buds and fingerprints. Now you can also check out the gender of your baby i.e. if it’s a baby boy or a baby girl, if you want to know in advance. By the 18th week, you may also experience little flutters in your tummy, called as quickening, which is due to the baby’s movement. But some women can’t feel it yet, which is completely ok, you may experience it in the upcoming weeks. In the 19th week, your baby is around 15cm and can also hear sound from outside of your stomach. Now baby also has clear sleep (for 18 hours) and waking (for 6 hours) cycles. In the 20th week, your baby is more active and now you can easily feel the movement of your baby.
Changes in your body: Due to the increased weight of the baby, you may feel more pressure on your pelvic area and experience more vaginal discharge. Now you have already started gaining weight, so you don’t need to “eat for two”, all you need is good nutritious diet. Your stomach, breasts, and feet also become larger. Many women experience anxiety and depression at this time of pregnancy, which needs to be talked about. You may also feel a little dizziness sometimes, which is completely normal. At the end of this month, half of your pregnancy journey has completed, cheers for that!
6th Month (21st week to 24th week)
Development of the baby: At the start of your 6th month i.e. 21st week, the hair begin to grow on the head of your baby, eyelids begin to part and eyes begin to open. Brain of your baby is also developing very fast. In 22nd week, your baby becomes 19cm long and weighs around 1.01lb (i.e. 460g). The movements become clearer and stronger i.e. you can now feel the baby’s hiccups and kicks. In the 23rd week, even though the baby gets oxygen through the placenta in the womb but still baby starts practicing breathing. Till last week of this month, your baby weighs around 1.32lb (i.e. 0.6kg) with 25-cm long. Their senses are getting more developed now. Your baby can survive after the 23rd week if born pre-maturely but with intensive care.
Changes in your body: Now due to the development of your baby, you’ll feel the tightening of your uterus muscles. This may increase the problem of your digestive system i.e. you may experience constipation, bloating, and stretch marks. At this time, try to have small and nutritious meal portions, instead of having big meals. Drink plenty of water and add a lot of veggies and fruits in your diet which help to ease digestive issues. Now you can easily feel the movement of your baby by just putting your hand on your stomach, which actually makes you feel so good.
7th Month (25th week to 28th week)
Development of the baby: In the 25th week, the baby’s brain, lungs, and digestive systems are still developing and baby weighs around 1.54lb (i.e 0.7kg). In the 26th week, baby starts to put on fat and muscles. But now baby can respond to the surroundings quite well. In 27th week, now your baby looks just like a new born baby but is very thin and baby kicks are stronger now. At the end of the 28th week, your baby becomes 37cm long and weighs around 2.2lb (i.e. 1kg). Now you can also listen to your baby’s heartbeat clearly through a stethoscope. If a baby is born at the end of the seventh month, they can easily survive but chances of disability is more at this time.
Changes in your body: In this month, you start feeling uncomfortable with a lot of pressure and stretches around your legs and ankles. From now onwards, your baby bump affects your walk and sleep as well. As it gets difficult for you to sleep on your back, so side sleep position is recommended. You’ll see those pink/purple lines of stretch marks around your stomach, thighs, and breasts. You may also feel sensitive skin and itchiness around that. In this month, pregnancy may cause gestational diabetes in some women but don’t worry it goes away after delivery.