Pregnancy - 2nd Trimester

The period between 13th to 27th weeks of gestation is referred to as the 2nd trimester. The health concerns related to the first trimester such as morning sickness and fatigue fade away during this time and you tend to feel more energetic. During this trimester, your baby grows rapidly and starts developing organs.

Changes in your body

1. Visible pregnant belly: Owing to expansion of the uterus, your pregnant belly would be distinctly visible now.
2. Experience fetal movements: Around 20-25th week of pregnancy, you would experience mild baby kicks.
3. Itchy Belly: This is caused due to the stretching of your skin that occurs in order to accommodate the expanding belly.
4. Increased urge to urinate: As the uterus expands, it exerts pressure on the bladder. This leads to an increase urge to urinate.
5. Backache: Owing to your increasing waistline, your back muscles needs to work more to maintain stability and posture. This added workload on your back muscles result in backache.
6. Swelling of the feet: Your enlarged uterus presses upon the abdominal blood vessels which results in swelling of the extremities.
7. Breast Enlargement: The breasts start preparing for lactation and thus there is an apparent increase in the size of your breasts.
8. Skin and hair changes: The change in your hormones during pregnancy may make your skin glow and your hair, thicker and long. Increase in melanin may result in brown spots in the face.

Tests during the 2nd trimester

• Urine tests

1. Urine glucose levels: Maternal diabetes can have adverse effects on the fetus as well. Owing to high sugar, the fetus grows larger than normal, may have jaundice and may be delivered preterm. Therefore, urine glucose checks are necessary to maintain healthy sugar levels.
2. Assessment of albumin levels- Pregnancy induced hypertension is a life-threatening condition for the mother as well as the fetus. It may cause growth retardation in the fetus and premature delivery. Increased levels albumin in urine would indicate pregnancy induced hypertension.
3. Assessment of kidney infection: Presence of pus, WBC or blood in urine is indicative of kidney infection.

• Blood tests

1. Complete blood picture (CBC): Your doctor would recommend for a complete blood picture (CBC) test to observe the levels of blood components (RBCs, WBCs & platelets). Low levels of white blood cells indicate infection. Hemoglobin levels and red blood cell levels are regularly checked throughout pregnancy to detect anemia.
2. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels: Pregnancy is a major stress for the thyroid gland and its size increases during pregnancy. With increase in the size of thyroid gland there is a proportional drop in the TSH levels. However, excessive increase or decrease TSH levels may disrupt thyroid functions.

• Identifying structural abnormalities in the fetus such as cleft palate
• Assessing the levels of amniotic fluid.
• Confirming multiple gestation.
• Monitoring the growth and position of the fetus

At Apollo Diagnostics

• We are using the technology which is approved by Fetal Medicine Foundation, U.K.
• Risk evaluation for Trisomy 21, 18 & 13 with individual cutoff and Risk Ratio
• Unique & easy to interpreted Report Format with Graphical Risk analysis

Dietary tips for a healthy second trimester

• Avoid eating spicy foods as it can cause heart burn.
• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and fluids.
• Avoid caffeine to minimize the symptoms of nausea and vomiting.
• Include fiber rich foods to overcome constipation during pregnancy.
• Include a diet rich in iron and protein.

Why choose Apollo Diagnostics?

For appointments, please call 9205478479.

References