What to Expect: Second Trimester
What to Expect: Second Trimester
Is it feeling real yet? The second trimester is often when everything starts really settling in and you not only feel more pregnant, but start to actually notice your baby moving around. Plus, you may be sharing your exciting news, which if you haven’t already, may be tough to hide soon as your belly makes an appearance! (Time to get some maternity pants if you haven’t already!)
This trimester is sometimes called the “honeymoon stage” of pregnancy because many mamas start feeling better- having more energy, a better appetite, and less nausea. But... it’s also okay not to feel amazing in this trimester or even at all. Every pregnancy is very different and unfortunately, some women just don’t feel their best while pregnant. If you aren’t feeling that “glow” and you just need more rest, don’t beat yourself up. As much as it’s glamorized, pregnancy is hard work!
A lot goes on during this trimester and it’s normal to feel all different kinds of things- physically and emotionally. Let’s walk through some of the changes you may experience. As always, we are here to support you but discuss any questions and concerns you may have with your doctor.
While many of your first trimester symptoms may start to decrease and disappear- many mamas stop feeling so nauseous and their energy and appetite come back- some may not. Others may increase- commonly, food cravings and growing breasts. You may also notice an increase in discharge, which is generally normal (but if you’re concerned, talk to your doctor).
New symptoms can arise as well. Constipation and heartburn are common (blame progesterone and over time, your growing baby shifting your organs around) as well as shortness of breath as your blood volume increases.
Because of the physical changes happening to your body (your growing baby means your little belly will start making an appearance), your center of gravity can start to shift while more demands are placed on your core and pelvic floor. Your skin may feel itchy as it stretches with your growing belly.
Pain can be common- especially round ligament, back, and pelvic pain and sciatica. This can be exacerbated by postural changes and pressure mismanagement- for example, if you tend to shift your pelvis forward and clench your glutes or stick your butt out, or if your breath is shallow and only in your chest or if you’re a belly breather.
Many moms notice they leak pee when they sneeze or cough or during workouts at some point during pregnancy, too. Although common, we are passionate about teaching women that this is not something to simply push through or that you just need to live with. Try to think of it as important feedback and information from your body instead. As your baby grows, there is an increase in pressure on your pelvic floor, less space for your bladder, and big changes in the way you manage pressure in the entire system of your core. We believe that connecting with a pelvic health specialist in person or even virtually can be so helpful- for leaking but also for other symptoms and overall, learning how to breathe and manage pressure properly! Pain, postural and breathing challenges, and incontinence are all signs that a visit with a pelvic floor therapist could be helpful.
Dealing with second trimester symptoms:
Get a pregnancy pillow to help you sleep comfortably.
Pay attention to your posture and breath throughout the day and make adjustments. Generally, you want to keep your pelvis neutral and breathe 360 degrees throughout your core.
Don’t strain when going to the bathroom, which places more stress on the pelvic floor. Try using a stool like a Squatty Potty.
Eating smaller meals can help with reflux. Some natural supports include drinking a few teaspoons of raw apple cider vinegar mixed into a glass of water and ginger or chamomile tea.
To prevent constipation, drink plenty of water and eat fiber-rich foods like flax and chia seeds, leafy green vegetables, berries, beans, and avocados.
Keep moving to stay mobile, but consider seeking out body work like chiropractic or massage, or even acupuncture. It’s also not too early to start working with a pelvic floor PT! (Dr. Jessie Carter explains what Pelvic Floor PT is here)
Start modifying your workouts to accommodate for physical changes. Dial down intensity and take more breaks during your workouts if short of breath.
Stretching and staying active can help with pain you may be experiencing, but be mindful not to overstretch. Relaxin, which increases laxity in your muscles and ligaments, is increased during pregnancy so you definitely can stretch too much.
Keeping your belly moisturized can help with itching as your skin stretches. Whether or not it helps with stretch marks isn’t really settled, but it can’t hurt.
The SP Mamas Pro Tips page is a great resource to become familiar with. There’s professional insight and information on a whole bunch of concerns and goals during pregnancy and beyond. Two especially helpful videos to watch during this stage are Dr. Jessie’s Effective Bowel Movements and Dr. Erica’s Round Ligament Release.
You’ll likely need to modify workouts and specific movements much more often now, especially as your belly grows. The second trimester is often when women start to have a little more energy and feel a little more like themselves. It’s common to feel more motivation to get back to your “normal” fitness routine.
While we totally encourage using this momentum and good energy if you’ve got it to add some more consistency or even intensity back in, it’s important to remember that your body is in a very special season and we need to train with intention. This means adapting your movement to accomodate for your growing belly as well as exploring other strategies to accomodate for the changes in pressure within the system of your core. Movements that require holding your breath, bearing down, over extending your back, or deep flexion of your core are movements that create a lot of added demand on the already vulnerable linea alba of your abdominal wall and the entire pelvic floor.
One the adaptations you might want to make is switching from using a barbell to dumbbells. While it's definitely possible to continue to train the Olympic Lifts with a barbell during pregnancy, there are some things you may want to consider like how working around your belly will change the path of the barbell and may require a little retraining in the postpartum period. Now, if you’re not a competitive Olympic lifter and not really worried about a super efficient bar path or preserving your technique, you may also still want to consider how working around your belly may create a little extra demand on your lower back and can sometimes lead to SI joint pain or symptoms of sciatica.
It can also be really tempting to get carried away with newfound energy but just keep in mind that just because you “can” doesn’t always mean you “should”. For example, unless you’re really proficient at handstand walking or need to train this movement for professional reasons, just because you “can” do it or it’s programmed in your training for the day, doesn’t mean you “should”. This is going to be so different from person to person and we always want to respect that just because you’re pregnant does not mean that you’re injured, BUT we want to encourage weighing risk vs. reward and considering this a specific season of life that requires specific adaptations in our training.
Overall, we recommend getting more intentional with your training and choosing to customize your workouts with the Mama Modifications that support this time of your life as well as your long term core and pelvic health. For example, you may want to incorporate more posterior chain strengthening to support your growing belly like box squats or good mornings over regular squats. Or you may want to incorporate farmer carries and sled drags over running to minimize impact on your pelvic floor and build midline stability for eventually carrying your little one around or pushing them up a hill in a stroller or a wagon! There are so many ways to customize your training to support your own personal needs and goals. Being a parent often requires us to reconnect with our own values and intuition. Pregnancy and the way we choose to train during this time can be a good time to practice this.
Using the Mama Modifications and Functional Progression is recommended as well as choosing more SHIFT, SOGO, and Butts & Guts workouts. Walking and Maintenance are always great options, too!
As we’ve hinted before, your mindset around training as well as nutrition and overall self care may need a little bit of adjusting with all of these changes your body is going through and your shifted goals. Even though you’re making choices for your baby and positively supporting your health and how you feel, sometimes it’s a big change from chasing numbers in the [garage] gym or eating for performance or even aesthetic goals.
Try to remember that this is only a season. One for using movement to support your physical and mental health and strengthen and prepare your body for labor and birth. One for being intentional, proactive, humble, compassionate, flexible, and patient. It’s not that you can’t make strength improvements during pregnancy, it’s just helpful to aim for maintenance right now and finding joy in movement. Remember that you’re moving not just for your benefit, but that of your growing baby, too!
You have an amazing opportunity right now to truly connect to your body by paying close attention to your movement patterns, tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses. As the weeks go on, you have the chance to tap into your energy, different symptoms you may experience, and your changing body as ways to learn how to adapt movement. We believe, through all of this, you will find a whole new level of respect for your body’s power and magic through the way you approach your fitness during pregnancy.
The second trimester is a good time to start thinking about labor and birth so you can begin to prepare. Talk to your provider and ask questions. Especially if this is your first baby but also if you simply want a different experience this time around, taking a birth class can be really helpful. You may also want to start thinking about your birth “wishes’ (as opposed to plan), look into hiring a doula, and schedule a hospital/birth center tour.
You may also be working on a baby registry-- don’t forget to add some items that you’ll need, too! For some of our suggestions, check out Immediate Postpartum Healing & Support Tools and Tips.
And of course, amidst all of the excitement, be sure to take breaks- slow down, rest, breathe!
Bookmark this resource so that you can come back to it as needed, but we’ve also created a chart with a summary of everything across all 3 trimesters that you can print for your reference!