Precautions to be taken in the Second Trimester

Blog Submitted by Pratiksha Thakkar Lokwani

Photo by Alicia Petresc on Unsplash

Congratulation Ladies! You have reached the first milestone of your pregnancy and now things will slowly start to change and will be much more different than in first trimester. Until now for you the initial phase was not so good types like always you were tired and couldn’t get rid of morning sickness but now things will be settled.

I would say this is the most enjoyable and loving time in the whole phase of pregnancy and you can definitely enjoy all the pregnancy perks, like to have and extra ice-cream or a chocolate and not thinking about your weight.

You start to live a normal life as before but with that you also need to take care of few things in this phase:

Go through essential assessments

• While this period one needs to undergo both ultrasound as well as few blood tests.
• The ultrasound is done in between 18-20 weeks. This is said to be one of the important scan as the radiologist scans the placenta, the fetal composition, activity of baby, growth rate, and blood circulation, as well as know the amount of amniotic fluid and the measurement of the cervix.
• This ultrasound is known as anomaly scan and its one of the best scans as you can see your whole baby in the womb and that too moving hands and legs. (I would suggest please take your husband with you for this scan and enjoy the moment with baby movements)
• Blood tests are done generally to identify if there are some birth defects in the baby. If the doctors find some abnormalities he/she can recommend some additional tests as well.

Eat a nutritive diet and eat frequently

• Until first trimester it was ok if you don’t concentrate on what you eat but as your second trimester start one must take care of what food exactly are you consuming. It should be a composition of mixed nutrients. Your meal should include protein, calcium, vitamins, iron etc.
• As it’s now time to make your baby healthy and a proper nutritive diet is the only source for babies’ growth and development.
• As there are many hormonal changes happening in the body one may experience either heartburn or constipation, you can consult your doctor and start some remedies to get rid of it.
• You should consume small meals and that too at frequent intervals, and try to avoid spicy and stale food. Include a lot of fibrous food and drink plenty of water to stay away from these gastrointestinal problems.

Watch your weight

• The actually weight gain starts from the second trimester but the gain should be gradual.
• As the growth of the baby is increasing from the second trimester. 2 kgs per week is the normal expected growth.
• Keeping the track of it is also important and consulting you doctor for the same as doctors can identify the growth rate by the size of your fetus and even your own body type.
• Keeping a track on your weight will help you manage it as it is very difficult to manage weight after your delivery. 

Try to stay physically active

• Be active and try to indulge yourself in daily exercises. If your journey is progressing without any complications your doctor will also suggest you to perform some moderate level exercise on routinely basis.
• As performing regular exercise will help you to deliver a baby easily and avoid the risk of have a C-section delivery.
• You can perform easy exercises like swimming, walking regularly, yoga, water aerobics, Pilates etc.
• Trying to stay physically active one can stay refreshed from body as well as mind which is must during this phase. 

 Try to Sleep/Rest properly

• There are many hormonal changes happening into your body which is really very exhausting.
• Try to get minimum 8-9 hours of sleep daily and if required you can even rest during the day, as per the requirement of the body.
• Avoid standing for too long as your weight is gaining and all the weight is concentrated on your legs which may result in pain in knees and leads to further problems.
• I would again want to repeat ladies take rest as much as you can in this phase as once your baby is out it is really difficult for you to get proper rest.

It’s time to renew your wardrobe

• I know we all love shopping and this time it’s must as you need to shop guilt free as without looking at the size. I mean you have the freedom to wear all the wobbly cloths without thinking about what other would say.
• You must see your comfort first in this phase buy loose and breeze cloths.
• Avoid wearing tight cloths like jeans, tights etc. Stop wearing cloth which put pressure on your tummy, as wearing them you can slow down blood circulation and induce heart burn.

Take Proper care of your skin

• As in this trimester your tummy is growing in the end of this trimester you may experience stretch marks as your skin near your tummy is stretching. You may experience itching at that place but don’t itch try to prevent it with moisturiser.
• Talking about other parts of your body, various experiences have been shared few notice glowing and healthy skin and few complain but dull and changed skin tone.
• Go to parlor and take some soothing spa if possible and take proper care for it. Avoid undergoing cosmetic surgeries

So soon moms-to-be you are in your mid pregnancy Enjoy it! Embrace it! Feel it! Love it! As you are the chosen one!

Pratiksha is an experienced Technical Content Writer working in a Multinational company with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. She is a wanderer, artist and a new excited mom-to-be wanting to pen down her experiences and educate people around and make them pre-pared so that everyone can enjoy this beautiful journey of birthing.