Second Trimester Pregnancy: Physiological Changes

Transcript

“Besides the increase in the size of your belly and the increase in the size of your breasts, there’s a lot of hormonal changes going on in the second trimester. So hormonal changes that are causing some skin changes. So some increase in pigment in the skin, something called melasma, which is where there’s brown patches on the skin, or even the line going up and down your belly can get darker. And those are just increases in melanin and changes in the skin that will generally fade or get lighter. After delivery, stretch marks can become possible. Those are kind of shiny squiggly or even purple-y kind of lines on the skin. As the collagen in the skin starts to really stretch. Now stretch marks can generally fade in intensity after delivery as well. And there are some ways to prevent stretch marks with certain creams and oils, things that you can try to keep the skin moisturized as your uterus grows and your skin stretches so that you can be as comfortable as possible with all of those body changes.

Another thing that happens is you have an increase in blood volume and with an increase in the amount of blood in your body. There’s a lot of changes in blood pressure. So you may find that you get dizzy when you stand up too quickly, or you want to make sure that you stay hydrated, that you drink lots of water and you get lots of rest and you really take care of yourself because all of the physiology that’s happening inside your body is preparing you for that baby to be delivered. And there’s a human life that’s growing inside of there. So it’s really important that you look after yourself.”