You have finally gotten past the dreaded morning sickness. Your energy level is increasing and you still may not really look pregnant. By the end of your second trimester all that will have changed.
At this time your baby is around 6 inches long. At the end of week 24 your baby will be 12 inches and the placenta will have doubled in size. You’ll be pumping an extra 4 pounds of blood in your system and the baby will weigh around 2 pounds.
Your maternal body changes in second trimester are exciting and new. You will often have a great feeling of physical well-being. Its a great time to start and finish the baby projects or take a vacation. Between weeks 18 and 22 you’ll start to feel the baby moving in your belly. If this is your second pregnancy you may even feel movement around week 17.
More common maternal body changes in the second trimester are weight gain and breast changes. During this second trimester your appetite is back but you are eating for you and your baby. Avoid eating patterns that will result in too much weight gain since this wont be healthy for you or your baby or too little because that will also have a negative impact on your baby. Your goal is to eat a well balanced diet that will nourish your bab’ys growth and development.
Although you may have more energy this isn’t a time to overextend yourself and do more than you can. Hunger, stress or fatigue may give you a headache. Make sure you get enough sleep and rest during the day. Do not take any medication, even for a headache, without first talking to your doctor. Remember that while the medicine may be safe for you it may very well not be safe for your baby and anything that goes into your body will very likely be going into your baby’s body too.
Maternal body changes in the second trimester can also bring on heartburn. This is a burning sensation in your upper abdomen. This is caused by a build up of acid in the stomach that leaks out through the top of the stomach and into the esophagus. As the acid leaks it causes an injury to the top of the stomach and then more acid is allowed to leak through. To minimize this try to stay upright for 2-3 hours after eating and don’t overfill your stomach. Instead, eat 3-6 small meals each day.
As your baby is growing your body is producing hormones to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Sometimes these hormones create changes in your skin, blemishes and increased pigmentation. The skin blemishes will often get worse right around labor and delivery time and then clear rapidly in the next few weeks. The increased pigmentation is often called the mask of pregnancy and is a slightly darker skin pigment over the face. Your mucous membranes may swell that can lead to a stuffy nose or minor nose bleeds.
Other maternal changes in the second trimester include constipation. Women sometimes think its the weight of the baby on their intestines that causes this but instead its the slowing of the digestive tract from the hormones that causes the food to stay longer in the large intestines, more water is removed and constipation results. The remedy is to drink plenty of water, eat lots of foods high in fiber and get exercise each day.
More maternal body changes in second trimester include swollen ankles, looser joints at the knee and hips and leg cramps at night. You can help decrease the swelling by putting your feet up occasionally during the day. And, although there is nothing to do to prevent the lax joints you should protect them by not performing exercise that requires a lot of impact. Night time leg cramps are often alleviated when you get regular exercise.
During both the conception process and throughout pregnancy it is important that hopeful moms maintain their physical well-being and as well as their psychological health.
This broad field of women’s health includes psychological issues surrounding mood, stress and relaxation, as well as physical areas such as infertility, nutrition, morning sickness, labor and delivery and more.
At Native Remedies you will find a comprehensive set of herbal remedies to help you manage conception and pregnancy – naturally and safely.
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