14 Weeks Pregnant - the second trimester
Weekly pregnancy updates from a childbirth educator, doula and mum to 2 little girls. Come and join me on my journey as I share how I'm feeling, how baby is developing, what I'm doing to prepare, and some favourite resources!
So when does the second trimester start? There’s quite a bit of variation here. Some people say the first trimester is weeks 1-12, some say 1-13 and some say 1-14. Logically, since “trimester” means 3 months, I think 13 weeks would have to be the closest (there are a few days more than 4 weeks in a month, so over 3 months it adds up to an extra week). But I can also see the sense of going with 14 weeks, since that is only about 12 weeks from conception... But you know what? I don’t really care any more! For me, the first trimester ends when the placenta takes over and I start feeling more normal again!
Anyway, whoever’s calculations you go by, at 14 weeks we are now definitely going into the second trimester. For mums who deal with hyperemesis, maybe nothing much has changed. But for those who don’t, second trimester is typically the most enjoyable part of pregnancy, since you’re over the morning sickness of first trimester but probably not dealing with all the aches and pains many experience later in pregnancy as the growing baby and uterus put more pressure on their body.
Second trimester is a great time to start establishing fitness routines for pregnancy (if you haven’t managed to exercise through first trimester), and get back to a focus on healthy eating. Because let’s face it, first trimester is often the survival trimester, and we eat what we can! Establishing good exercise habits can help ward off some of the aches and pains of later pregnancy. See the Spinning Babies website for “Daily Activities” if you’re looking for ideas. The calf stretch is great for helping to avoid muscle cramps, the windmills are awesome for stretching your lower back and giving relief there, and there’s so much more!
What symptoms am I feeling?
To be honest, nothing (besides a growing belly!). I'm still wary of certain foods but overall just feeling normal. My hairdresser did comment on how healthy my hair is looking though, so obviously the pregnancy is doing something for me! Some mums from around now will experience more skin pigmentation, and some will develop a dark line running down the centre of their belly, known as the linea nigra. I’ve never had that (so far at least!) but I do tend to get extra moles and especially skin tags during pregnancy. I didn’t even know that was a thing until I was expecting my first baby and later in the pregnancy had skin tags popping up all over my neck! It happened again last time. I haven’t noticed anything so far, but it’s probably a matter of waiting!
How has baby been developing this week?
Baby is around 9cm long and weighs a whopping 50g! Their nose is now fully developed, and hair is starting to grow.
What am I doing to prepare?
This week I revisited the topic of Vitamin K for newborns, reading “Vitamin K and the Newborn” by Dr Sara Wickham. I highly recommend it as a resource which provides the facts in an unbiased way and encourages the parents to make a decision based on the information and their personal circumstances and convictions. It’s a short book, just a two hour read for me, but very helpful if you want a clear understanding of the current research around the topic.
This has obviously had me thinking again about informed decision making. When I was preparing for my first birth I was blessed to have a midwife who never mentioned a common intervention/offering around birth without providing a fact sheet on the pros and cons - e.g. for Group B Strep, Hep B, Vitamin K. Because, to be honest, as first-time parents we don’t always realise we have options, right? The tendency can be to assume that because something is normally done it must be backed by research and evidence. And I think we can safely say that yes, it is. But is it always up-to-date research, and does it always fit our individual situation? I think there are very few birth interventions which don't have very positive uses and applications, but they are not always appropriate for us. The medical system offers a standardised care, and it’s up to us as parents to research and see whether that standardised care is appropriate for us, or whether we need a more tailored approach to best serve us and our babies.
A favourite resource:
Dr Sara Wickham is a midwife and researcher based in the UK. She dedicates her time to researching and writing on topics around pregnancy and birth, and has lots of information freely available on her website, including articles which cover at least briefly the things she covers more in-depth in her books. Her published books include:
Anti-D Explained
Birthing Your Placenta: the third stage of labour [with Dr Nadine Edwards]
Group B Strep Explained
Inducing Labour: making informed decisions
In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop
Plus Size Pregnancy: what the evidence really says about higher BMI and birth
Vitamin K and the Newborn
What’s Right For Me? Making decisions in pregnancy and childbirth
To get an idea of her philosophy, I'm sharing a quote from the book on Vitamin K:
“To my view, it is better to be honest about the pros and cons, to be clear about what we do and don’t know and to be open-minded to different ideas and approaches. I say that not because I want parents to decline vitamin K. I want parents to make the decision that is right for them and their baby, and I want professionals (and those who write on such topics) to treat parents in a respectful manner that acknowledges their intelligence, beliefs and viewpoints and engenders rather than endangers trust. Most parents are entirely capable of making up their own minds about whether or not they want an intervention for their baby, and, in fact, many will have decided long before they meet a health care provider.”
And that’s it for this week! 🌿💛
[Image credit: Pregnancy photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash]