Changes in Your Baby During the Second Trimester
By the 26th week, your baby will weigh about 1¾ pounds and be about 13 inches long. With this growth comes the development of your baby's features, including fingers, toes, eyelashes, and eyebrows. Around the fifth month, you might feel your baby move! By the end of the second trimester, all of your baby's essential organs, like the heart, lungs, and kidneys, are formed.
Prenatal Care During the Second Trimester
During the second trimester, your doctor will be able to see if your baby is developing in a healthy way and possibly see your baby's sex. You will be offered screening tests to look for genetic birth defects. Birth defects result from problems with a baby's chromosomes -- part of the genes that are passed down from both the mother and the father at conception. Even though most babies are born healthy, many genetic birth defects occur without a family history of that disorder. The risk for birth defects increases the most for women who are 35 and older.
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