What’s happening to my body in the second trimester? – 4 months pregnant

 Hooray! You’re now officially in your second trimester and are in your fourth month of pregnancy! Why the happy news? Because in your second trimester now, your pregnancy is well-established as the risk of miscarriage drops significantly and you may also enjoy a resurgence of energy and appetite!

Now that you are on your fourth month of pregnancy, it is usually the month of celebration as you are feeling wayyy better with nausea or fatigue starting to go away and things are about to get really exciting because this is the beginning of a real baby bump showing! Ahhh~! Besides feeling better, there are also a whole new set of changes that you will notice happening to your body now.

Here are some of the new, more noticeable changes to your body that you will find happening this month:

• Your breasts and nipples will start to increase in size
• A more noticeable belly will start developing as your womb grows and moves upwards
• Feeling of the urge to pee should slowly subside as your womb moves upwards
• Dark vertical line down your abdomen called “linea nigra” may develop
• Your skin may start to take on the characteristics of pregnancy “glow” as your blood volume continues to increase
• You may find your hair to be fuller and glossier as hormonal conditions prolong the growth phase of hair and less hair is falling out on a daily basis
• Nails become healthier and stronger too
• Constipation and indigestion may emerge
• Spider or varicose veins may appear
• Stuffy nose, nosebleeds, and sinus headache
• Backache as your womb get heavier and pregnancy hormones which affect the ligaments in your body, which can put a strain on your lower back
• Dark patches called “chloasma” may appear on your cheeks, forehead, upper lip and neck

Many of these symptoms like vein changes or nasal congestion occur are because you have so much extra blood pumping through your veins now. Good thing is, as your heart is working at twice its normal rate to pump the increased blood volume around your body and skin, this also gives you the “pregnancy glow” to make you look positively healthier too. Other symptoms like constipation, indigestion occur are because your growing uterus is shifting your other organs around. Yeap … Growing uterus meaning, these symptoms may linger until delivery. Oops!

On the brighter side, as your energy and appetite levels are picking up, be careful not to overdo things and enjoy lots of healthy eats!

References

1. Amato, Paula, and Chandrima Biswas. "The pregnancy encyclopedia: all your questions answered." (2016).
2. 4 Months Pregnant: Symptoms, Belly, Baby’s Development, More [Internet]. Healthline. 2022 [cited 18 January 2022]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/4-months-pregnant#symptoms
3. You're pregnant: Now what? | Office on Women's Health [Internet]. Womenshealth.gov. 2022 [cited 18 January 2022]. Available from: https://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/stages-pregnancy/#2
4. Your pregnancy care [Internet]. nhs.uk. 2022 [cited 18 January 2022]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/week-by-week/13-to-27/13-weeks/
5. [Internet]. Stgeorges.nhs.uk. 2022 [cited 18 January 2022]. Available from: https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Pregnancy_Book_comp.pdf