The second trimester of pregnancy extends over week 13 through week 27. During this time, most women will start to look pregnant and begin wearing maternity clothes. Fortunately, second trimester is also the time when women are free from most of the discomfort of the first trimester. Morning sickness, fatigue and breast tenderness disappear. Women feel more energetic and begin to put on weight.

Physiology

During the second trimester, more precisely in the 20th week, the uterus can expand up to 20 times its normal size. Uterus is the muscular organ that holds the fetus.

Here are some physiological changes that take place through the second trimester:

• During the early stage the fetus grows to just over two pounds
• Towards the end of the second trimester, the fetus is about twelve inches long
• At the end of the 16th week, the top of the uterus will be halfway between the mother’s belly button and the pubic bone.
• By the end of 27th week, the top of the uterus will be about one inch above the belly button.