The Golden Age of Pregnancy: The Second Trimester

GET THE SCOOP ON...

How you may be feeling . The emotional challenges of the second trimester . How your baby is growing . Screening tests for gestational diabetes, anemia, and premature labor . Planning your maternity leave . Writing a birth plan . Hiring a doula

The Golden Age of Pregnancy: The Second Trimester

The second trimester is often referred to as the Golden Age of pregnancy. For most women, the nausea and extreme fatigue of the first trimester are but a memory (albeit a powerful one!), and the third-trimester aches and pains have not yet had a chance to set in. The risk of miscarriage declines significantly at this point in the pregnancy, something that may add to your enjoyment of this trimester if you spent the first trimester running to the bathroom every 10 minutes, looking for any tell-tale signs of bleeding.

This is also the trimester when you get to experience those exciting first flutters sometime between weeks 16 and 20—something that, for the majority of women, makes all the aches and pains of pregnancy suddenly seem worthwhile. Many women take advantage of the increased energy levels that tend to coincide with the second trimester, using this time to make some important decisions concerning the birth: when to start their maternity leave, whether to hire a doula, and whether to write a birth plan.

"The second trimester is the time to conquer Mount Everest because by the time the third trimester rolls around, you won't have the energy.
—Jacqueline, 34, mother of two"

Aches and pains: the sequel
Of course, this isn't to say that the second trimester is entirely blissful. Aches and pains are, after all, part of the pregnancy turf. Although you'll likely lose a few of the more distressing symptoms of the first trimester (for example, nausea and extreme fatigue), your constipation and breathlessness may hang around for a while and be joined by a few new complaints.

Feeling fat rather than pregnant
Many women at this stage of the game worry that they look fat rather than pregnant. You're probably too big for your regular clothes—particularly the more tailored garments—but too small for tent-style maternity fashions. (Of course, if this is your second or subsequent pregnancy, you may have been wearing your maternity clothes for a while by now since you seem to show sooner if you have been pregnant before.)

If you're worried that you look fat rather than pregnant, take heart. By the end of this trimester, there will be no question about the fact that you're pregnant. During weeks 12 to 27, your uterus will quadruple in height and rise out of your pelvis, causing your body to take on those classic curves of pregnancy.

Back pain
Look at any cartoon of a pregnant woman and you'll see someone with two hands on her back, leaning into the classic swayback position. You don't have to be pregnant for very long to figure out why pregnant women do this. They're supporting their aching backs!