Pregnancy Second Trimester: Your Baby?s Development

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During your second trimester you may discover your baby’s sex and feel your child move for the first time. Many women say the baby feels more real now as you hear the heartbeat and see your abdomen enlarging.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 13 – Formation of Urine
During your 13th week of pregnancy, your baby’s instestines are no longer in the umbilical cord and are now in the abdomen. Your baby is also forming urine now and discharging it into the surrounding amniotic fluid. The tissue that will eventually become bone is also forming in the arms and legs and around the head.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 14 – Child’s Gender is Apparent
Your child’s arms are nearly at the relative lengths for birth while the neck is also more defined. The baby’s spleen is efficiently producing red blood cells as well. This week your baby’s sex may be apparent, although it can take a couple more weeks. For baby boys, the prostate has appeared, while baby girls have ovarian follicles forming now. Your baby is now nearly 3-1/2 inches long and weighs nearly 1-1/2 ounces.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 15 – Bones Develop
At fifteen weeks your baby begins growing very quickly. Their skeleton is now creating bones, which will soon be visible on ultrasounds. The hair pattern is also forming on the scalp during this week.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 16 – Sucking Motions
Now that you’re 14 weeks past conception, your child’s eyes are moving and starting to face forward. The ears are nearly at their final position and your baby may start making sucking motions with their mouth. While you won’t feel it yet, movements are now coordinated and may be visible on ultrasounds. Your baby is now about 4-1/2 inches long.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 17 – Fat Begins Accumulating
During the 17th week of pregnancy your child will begin storing fat deposits under the skin. This will keep them warm after birth and also offers extra energy as they grow.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 18 – Baby Now Hears
By the 18th week of pregnancy your baby’s ears are now standing out from the side of the head and they may start hearing. Your baby is now 5-1/2 inches long and weighs 7 ounces.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 19 – Uterus Forms
Your baby is now covered by vermix caseosa, a greasy coating that protects their skin from chapping and hardening in the amniotic fluid. If you’re having a girl, their uterus and vagina are starting to form.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 20 – Halfway Through Pregnancy
At twenty weeks you are now halfway through your pregnancy. You may also experience quickening, which is the baby’s first movements you can feel. Your baby now measures 6-1/3 inches.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 21 – Baby Begins Swallowing
Now at twenty-one weeks your child will begin gaining more weight and fat deposits. Your baby is also very active now and may start swallowing.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 22 – Hair is Visible
Your baby is now covered with lanugo, which is a very fine hair. This hair holds the vernix caseosa covering on their skin for extra protection. Eyebrows may be visible at this point. Your baby now measures 7-1/2 inches and weighs one pound.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 23 – Fingerprints Form
During your twenty-third week of pregnancy your baby’s skin is more translucent with a pinkish-red color. It’s also very wrinkled. Your baby is now experiencing rapid eye movement and the tongue is starting to develop taste buds. For girls, the ovaries and uterus are formed with their lifetime amount of eggs, while boys have the testes descend from the abdomen. Your baby’s foot and fingerprints are also forming now.

Week 23 also represents the time when babies may be born and survive, although intensive medical care will be required.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 24 – Hair Grows
During your 24th week of pregnancy, your baby is sleeping and waking up on a regular schedule. They are also developing real hair on the head. Your child weighs about 1-1/3 pounds and measures nearly 8 inches.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 25 – Response to Voice
At 25 weeks into your pregnancy, the hands as well as the startle reflex are developing well. Your baby may begin responding to movement, familiar noises and your voice.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 26 – Fingernail Development
Your baby now has fingernails 26 weeks into the pregnancy. Their lungs are also making surfactant, which makes the air sacs inflate and prevents them from sticking together. Your baby is about 9 inches long and weighs almost 2 pounds.

Pregnancy Second Trimester: Week 27 – End of Second Trimester
At 27 weeks, your second trimester of pregnancy is complete. The nervous system and lungs will start maturing while growth is even more rapid.