When does the second trimester start? « Back to Group Discussions

[planteater]

There are so many opinions about when the second trimester starts. When do you consider it to start, and why?

[Bena]

Not soon enough, in my opinion!!!

 

[judybean]

Eh... I usually think of 12 weeks as being end of first trimester.  I voted for 13 weeks though.

I guess I think of 12 weeks because nausea for most people has generally subsided by that point.. and chances of miscarriage greatly drop.. so those two factors combined seem to indicate a new 'phase' in pregnancy.

That said, since all my babies have been born at 41w+, if I'm truly breaking up my time into thirds, it's closer to 14 weeks ;)  ... but sometimes, just hitting new milestones is motivation to keep plugging forward.  I say, if you need that motivation early on, then tell yourself you hit the second trimester at 12 weeks -- whatever works best ;)  (so much of pregnancy is mind games anyway!)

[MissE]

i say at 12+1....so 13 weeks.o

[Yeeska]

Right, I think of the first trimester as being 12 full weeks, which means the second trimester starts the first day of the 13th week.

[2sweetsparrows]

I wish I thought it was 12 weeks- and I think I will consider myself in my second trimester after I am through with my 12th week however- pregnancy in uneventful first pregnancies left alone according to an extensive study in first time moms is 41.5 weeks.  In second time moms that is reduced by almost a week, therefore if we are pregnant for 41.5 weeks (minus 2 weeks because we all know conception takes place 2 weeks after the start date when "they" start counting)  39.5 weeks divided by 3- (thinking this is starting from conception is 13.16- so I assume you are truly 1/3 of the way through gestation after your 14th week.  If you count the two weeks before conception then 41 weeks/3 is 13.6 weeks so with the LMP date at the end of your 13th week- you are 1/3 of the way through your pregnancy.  You can take away 2-3 days for each trimester if you believe that 40 weeks is spot on for gestation.  That would still but you at least half way through your 13th week- so for 1st timers my final answer is 14 weeks- for 2+ timers 13 weeks- for peace of mind 12 weeks- HAHA

I think also trimesters are a loosey goosey way of compartmentalizing stages of pregnancy.  I think we hold onto it because there are studies that say- you will have less nausea, you are less likely to miscarry your risk goes from 15-10% to less than 3%

that's all- as you can see I over analyze things 

[MissE]

2ss...lol...too many numbers for me . it makes sense though. the 2nd trimester is still a few weeks away for me.

[Brambleberry]

Originally Posted by Bena 

Not soon enough, in my opinion!!!

 

[planteater]

2SS, I love it! I am thinking along the same lines as you: if pregnancy is divided into thirds starting from actual conception, 14 weeks seems like a logical place to think of the first trimester changing over to the second. However, since dividing a pregnancy into trimesters is artificial - as you say - we aren't looking for precision anyway, and it can really be any time.

So, I think I'm going to go with the majority from the above poll: come 13 weeks, I will begin enjoying my "second trimester"! Woohoo!

[WindyCityMom]

 If we're going by how we feel I already feel second trimester-ish!

Nausea is gone, libido is back, and I'm not dragging my feet around all day because I'm exhausted (just lazy ;) )

[beans]

2ss- I LOVE your over-analyzing!