Trimester means 3 months. A normal pregnancy is around 9 months, and has 3 trimesters.
Your health care provider may talk about your pregnancy in weeks, rather than months or trimesters. The second trimester is from week 14 through week 28.
In your second trimester, you will have a prenatal visit every month. The visits may be quick, but they are still important. It is okay to bring your partner or labor coach with you.
During your visits, your doctor or midwife will:
At the end of each visit, your doctor or midwife will tell you what changes to expect before your next visit. Tell your doctor if you have any problems or concerns. Speak up even if you do not feel they are important or do not relate to your pregnancy.
Hemoglobin testing measures the amount of red blood cells in your blood. Too few red blood cells can mean that you have anemia, which is common in pregnancy and easy to fix.
Glucose tolerance testing checks for signs of diabetes that may begin during pregnancy. In this test, your doctor will give you a sweet liquid. An hour later, your blood will be drawn to check your blood sugar levels. If your results are not normal, you will have a longer glucose tolerance test.
Other second trimester tests include an antibody screen if the mother is Rh negative.
You will likely have an ultrasound around 20 weeks into your pregnancy. An ultrasound is a simple, painless procedure. A wand that uses sound waves will be placed on your belly. The sound waves will let your doctor or midwife see the baby.
The ultrasound will help pinpoint the baby’s age, help your doctor or midwife spot problems, and show if there is more than one baby.
The quadruple-screen test is blood drawn from the mother and sent to a lab.
Amniocentesis is a test sometimes done during pregnancy. It looks for birth defects and genetic problems in your baby.
Women who have health problems may be offered other tests.
Make sure to speak up and ask any questions you have. Be sure to ask about risks of the tests, and what the results could mean for you and your baby.
Updated by: Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2012, A.D.A.M., Inc. Duplication for commercial use must be authorized in writing by ADAM Health Solutions.