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Emotional Changes
Physical Changes
How Your Baby is Growing: Weeks 13-16
Home Care for Healthy Gums
Self-Help Methods to Reduce the Frequency of Yeast Infections
Natural Ways to Reduce Congestion

Welcome to the second trimester! While you probably think about your pregnancy in terms of months, your doctor measures your growth in weeks, and at week thirteen you cross that magic divide into what many practitioners see as the "golden period" of pregnancy. Though some women still have occasional "green" days, especially in the fourth month, most report that in their middle trimester daylong nausea subsides and their appetite for food – and sex – returns. Most mothers also get much of their energy back this trimester.

The fourth month marks the beginning of more rapid growth for you and for baby, as your more rapid weight gain will begin to reflect. This month you will probably begin to look pregnant, and your expanding bust and waistline will mean you are most comfortable in the maternity wear that just a month ago seemed impossibly big. And, even though the intense emotional and physical challenges of the first trimester have begun to dissipate, the next few months will call for adjustments of their own.

Most women find the second trimester to be a more emotionally stable time than the first. The surge in pregnancy hormones that took you by surprise in the early months now levels off, as do your emotions. You'll probably find your reactions to events a bit less dramatic now. Even better, most moms we talked with told us their fourth month feelings were usually happier. Other feelings you may have include:

After the twelfth week of pregnancy the chance of miscarriage nearly vanishes, so unless you've actually experienced miscarriage, any fear that you could lose this baby can be put aside. You are also likely to feel relieved to be past the constant nausea and tiredness of early pregnancy. Of course, some women continue to feel these pregnancy symptoms during the next few months, but usually to a much lesser degree. Now that you are showing that you have a biological reason for feeling and acting the way you do, and you may be more eager to share the news with friends and relatives. If you previously kept your pregnancy private, the secret is now out – literally. Depending on your body build and the way you carry your baby, you may be showing only slightly at this stage, leading observers to wonder: "Is she or isn't she?" When you begin to show is a good time to tell. Starting to show, hearing baby's heartbeat, seeing him or her on ultrasound, and even suspecting you feel the first kicks make your pregnancy seem more real. These signs will intensify your feelings of closeness with your baby and your realization that this tiny little person inside is really part of you. Even with all the positive feelings you're likely to experience this month, you may still feel somewhat unsure about pregnancy. Yes, you're over the hump of first trimester miseries, but you still have six more months to go. Some women dread the continued uncertainty over how they will feel. Fresh from the throes of nausea, they may nervously anticipate the later stages of pregnancy when getting around will be difficult. Other women report that they are already tired of waiting, of the feeling that their lives are on hold while they gestate. One woman we know told us she yearned to simply feel like her "old self" again. Fortunately, this ambivalence generally decreases as the pregnancy advances. Now that you actually look like a pregnant person it's normal for those doubts you had on positive-pregnancy-test day to resurface. Are you ready to have a baby? Are you ready to change your lifestyle, career, and marriage? Are you ready to be someone's mother? It's normal to have these feelings, at this stage, now that the pregnancy seems more real. Major life changes always bring about "what ifs". Certainly, pregnancy and parenthood are major life changes, and you'd be unusual if you weren't at least a bit concerned about how you're going to cope with them. Thinking about these issues now will make it easier to weather the adjustments after birth. This is time to get worry in perspective. What possible good has worrying ever done anyone? If your worrying fits a pattern you are only too familiar with, consider finding someone (a wise friend, a pastor, even a professional counselor) you can talk with. While some women become anxious, even resentful, about their changing bodies, a great many enjoy their fuller figures, even flaunt them. Growing a baby is a big achievement, and now that you have visible proof of your success you, too, may feel quite proud. You should. Pregnancy is an important rite of passage for a woman, and deserves to be celebrated. You are joining your mother, her mother, her mother, and so on, in creating life – it's heady to have such power. Let your pregnant self-image be a positive one. As your turbulent insides begin to settle and your energy returns, you will probably feel like living again, and for many women that includes sex. Depending on how well you feel physically and emotionally, you may even begin to want and enjoy sex more than you did before you were pregnant. If you experienced the usual sexual low of the first trimester, your heightened interest in love-making may be a pleasant surprise for your mate, especially if you are the one doing the initiating. Now that you're showing, friends who kept bugging you to play tennis in your first trimester suddenly believe you when you say you're too tired. Your spouse may be more attentive to you now that he can finally see with his own eyes why you've been dragging, or acting so weird. Of course, you would have liked all this consideration last month, when you felt so bad.

Just as the side effects of a medication lessen when you become accustomed to the dose, the side effects of pregnancy hormones begin to lessen as your body adjusts to their presence. During these middle months, most pregnant women finally feel better physically, and many feel better than they ever have in their lives. Here are common changes you may notice:

You have finally gotten your body back, at least to some extent. If you're like most women, you're enjoying not having to think about food – if, when, what, and where to eat – all day. You may even be able to go a few hours between snacks without experiencing empty-stomach nausea. If this is your second or third pregnancy, most likely you are obviously showing by the fourth month. If this is your first pregnancy, you may still be in that "is she or isn't she" stage. Whether or not others notice your pregnancy, you will. You may still be in that in-between stage of your regular clothes feeling too tight and maternity clothes looking too large. With the "bed and bathroom" stage of pregnancy behind you (though these will still be important places of refuge throughout your pregnancy), you may find you are now able to resume many of your usual activities. How quickly and to what degree energy returns varies from woman to woman. Most mothers-to-be are not (and should not expect to be) able to function at the same energy level as they did before becoming pregnant. A small percentage of women, however, claim they feel more energetic during this trimester than at any other time in their lives. The frequent need to urinate that sent you running to the bathroom day and night last trimester will lessen a bit over the next month or two as your uterus rises out of your pelvis and away from your bladder. In the two months, when your uterus enlarges and baby drops, it's back to the bathroom again. You may feel overheated during the remainder of your pregnancy. You are walking around with a body temperature one degree warmer than usual, courtesy of your pregnancy hormones. This phenomenon is similar to the slight increase in temperature that accompanies ovulation during your menstrual cycle. You are like a biological machine in high gear. Your body is working overtime, and it gets hot. Expect to perspire more. It's your body's way of self-cooling. A milky, slightly odorous vaginal discharge the consistency of egg white is normal during pregnancy, and often occurs in increasing amounts as your pregnancy progresses. This mucoid discharge resembles premenstrual vaginal discharge, except that it's heavier and constant. The same mechanisms (pregnancy hormones and increased blood flow to the tissues) that prepare the vagina for the passage of the baby are also responsible for this increase in secretions. Many women change their underwear several time a day, or wear panty liners to stay comfortably dry.

Vaginal yeast infections may recur throughout your pregnancy. While irritating to you, they are harmless to your baby, although a baby can pick up a yeast infection while traveling through the vagina during birth. Yeast can cause a mild infection of the mucous membranes of baby's mouth, called thrush, which generally appears around a week after delivery. Thrush can spread to the mother's nipples and cause pain and tenderness during feedings. Occasionally, a harmless yeast dermatitis may also develop in the newborn and can be treated easily with over-the-counter anti-fungal creams. (See Self-help Methods to Reduce the Frequency of Yeast Infections)

Keep your tissues handy. The same pregnancy hormones and increased blood volume that cause increased vaginal discharge also cause the mucous membranes in your nose to swell, secrete fluid, and produce an annoying post-nasal drip. Allergic mothers who suffer from asthma and hay fever may find they wheeze, sniffle, and tear more while pregnant, but even women with no history of allergy or sinus trouble often report constant sniffles while pregnant. (See Ways to Reduce Congestion Naturally.) Guess what? Those pregnancy hormones that affect the mucous membranes throughout the rest of your body also cause changes inside your mouth. In addition to increased salivation, you can expect your gums to be sensitive, swollen, softer, and to bleed more easily during brushing and flossing. Have a dental check-up sometime around the fourth month. The dentist, hygienist, or periodontist may be able to help you prevent these gum changes from leading to inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) or gum infections. If you need dental cleaning, dental x-rays, or a local anesthetic, don't worry. These will not harm your baby. (Since you are pregnant, or think you could be pregnant, be sure to inform your dentist who will drape a protective lead apron over your abdomen as a precautionary measure during x-rays.) Should you, because of certain heart valve problems, need to take a couple doses of antibiotic right before and after having dental work done, make certain your dentist knows that you are pregnant, even though the antibiotic commonly used in this situation is safe to take while pregnant.