Second Trimester of Pregnancy

Featuring: Dr. Heather Jenkins, MD, CCFP

Duration: 2 minutes, 26 seconds

The second trimester in your pregnancy is a nice time generally for women often times are out of the woods in terms of the first trimester and feeling terrible, and it's a time in pregnancy where women are really focused on a lot of changing aspects of their body.

They feel better, their energy's better, and they’re certainly starting to look a lot more pregnant. They're growing, the babies are growing, it's kind of an exciting time. Certainly in the second trimester, women's initial concerns around miscarriage have really diminished significantly, and people feel much more relaxed about exploring how they feel about their pregnancy, and probably even dreaming a little bit about their future, and what to expect, and this is the time when women often do a lot of reading, they engage in activities that are really health promotion in terms of pregnancy.

For example, often their diet improves a lot. Sometimes their activity level increases, and physicians and midwives both encourage them to engage in regular physical fitness type of activity to help with their sense of well-being and with their baby's growth. Certainly in the second trimester, there's different types of investigations that women go through in their pregnancy.

For example, they may have ultrasound testing to look at how baby's growing and whether things are going along okay. Also, there's important testing that has to do with diabetes screening, and other blood tests that women might undertake. These are important, and they actually may also influence what you and your healthcare provider discuss in terms of activities, and how it might be unique to you and your pregnancy.

Certainly in the second trimester, women often will look a lot more physically pregnant, and that might actually influence a women's decision about what kind of activities that they want to engage in. For example, previous sporting activities that might involve risk of falling or injuring themselves. Most women use common sense, and back off from a lot of that type of activity.

Another thing to realize is that as you go along in your second trimester, you're gonna start feeling physically a lot more the burden of your pregnancy, and by the end of your second trimester, most women voluntarily end up slowing down a little bit at least, and that might influence your recreational activities, your hobbies, and even your work.

The second trimester is often a very pleasant time for women in their pregnancy, and people experience it differently. Some women look far more pregnant than others. It's a variety of experiences. Certainly if you have any questions about how you're feeling, or what you should be doing, it's a good idea to talk to your healthcare provider or your midwife about it.

Presenter: Dr. Heather Jenkins, Family Doctor, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Family Doctor