Wow! You’ve made it to the second trimester. You’ve probably heard tales of what’s to come: some relief from your morning sickness, a more pronounced baby bump, and another week closer to that 20 week anatomy scan where you really get to see how your little babe has grown.

Let’s look first at what is going on in your body. The first trimester is ripe with those early pregnancy hormones and lots of physical adjustments to this new growth. Usually in second trimester, we’ll see your nausea and breast tenderness subside a bit. We also will start to see a bit more of that pregnancy belly now that your uterus is filling your pelvis and rising up into the abdomen. For many, you can still get by with wearing a good bit of your pre-pregnancy clothes (though you likely have to use a hair tie to get those jeans to button).

You might have some new pregnancy symptoms at this stage, such as dizziness or a change in your sex drive (both an increase and a decrease is normal). Physically, you might start to feel more lower back and hip soreness, and you might be having a hard time adjusting to new sleeping positions. That said, many clients report feeling reenergized and better than they imagined feeling throughout second trimester, likely because of how crummy they felt in comparison during the first.

Your baby’s vital organs are all in place now, though of course they’ll need the rest of pregnancy to continue to develop. They can also open and close their hands now, which is like, real human movements! (eek!)

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On top of yours and baby’s bodily changes, you’re entering a more intense stage of planning and preparation in pregnancy. Now that you’re in your second trimester, it’s important that you feel confident in your provider choice and it’s time to start considering what the rest of your support team and prenatal preparation will look like.

It’s usually within the second trimester that we (doulas) get a call from expecting families. As you start to consider things like birth preferences and what childbirth classes to take, having an informational and emotional guide through the process can be a real help. Start by reaching out to doulas in your area to get an idea of price range, financial aid options and alternatives like prenatal-only support if you’re not sure you want someone in the delivery room with you.

12 weeks is also a good time to start looking at a pregnancy book to read, such as The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin and Katie Rohs, or Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. Both of these books do a good job laying down the foundational information about what to expect in birth while also helping normalize the experiences and all the variations found within. Another good option is Expecting Better by Emily Oster. It’s a more pregnancy-specific read, and answers some more hot-button questions about pregnancy, as well as giving you tools to process the studies and information you’re offered along the way. My advice is to start with one source and go from there. Many people will go to the bookstore and buy a stack and then download three podcasts, two apps and watch a Netflix documentary all in the first couple of months. Try to avoid information overload by being intentional about your sources, and reminding yourself that you have time to prepare; pacing yourself is just fine.

The focus for the next few weeks, especially if you’ve been under a cloud of nausea and exhaustion that’s finally parting, is to find more time for self care and gentle movement. If you had a regular workout routine pre-pregnancy, it’s usually safe to maintain the routine with minimal modifications at this stage. *NOTE: It’s always important to ask your provider questions about your specific pregnancy and workout routines* If you didn’t, now is a good time to start looking into things like prenatal yoga classes that are designed to be gentle and already modified to your pregnant body. It’s also important to get regular walks in, ideally once per day if possible. Consider your work day when you’re making these decisions, too. For example, if you’re on your feet and moving all day at work, maybe your self care and gentle movement looks like a combination of prenatal massage and sitting on an exercise ball in the evening. Whereas if you sit at a desk all day, maybe you start stretching and moving gently throughout your day to break up your sitting, and take a nice long walk after dinner each evening.

Finally, now is an important period to start keeping an eye on your emotional and mental health. Often the excitement and overwhelm of early pregnancy can disconnect us from some of the more subtle or harder emotions we may be feeling. Taking regular time with a trusted friend, loved one, mental health professional or alone with a journal is just as much a part of the preparation as anything else, especially if you have a personal history of trauma, have felt scared of birth throughout your life, or are in an unplanned pregnancy (hint: most of us are in at least one of these three categories).

In the coming weeks, you’ll continue to see your provider about every four weeks. In those appointments, you’ll continue to have your vitals taken as well as regular tests and screenings. More noteworthy provider appointments such as Glucose test, GBS testing and anatomy scans usually happen from about 20 weeks on.

As always, if you have questions or things you’d like us to cover in the upcoming pregnancy updates, feel free to reach out to us and let us know!

Until next time,

Your friendly neighborhood doula