Pregnancy Week by Week

Second Pregnancy

For every woman, the first pregnancy is full of expectations and it is a new experience. Below, you can find out what the differences are between the first and second pregnancy and how a mother feels these changes.

Will the second pregnancy be just like the first? In principle, no.

Most women feel that the second pregnancy is different from the first. For example, fatigue is more severe and the child begins to kick earlier. After all, your life is different now - you already have an infant or a preschooler - and so it is normal for your body to be different. The body has already gone through childbirth. If you are pregnant again, read below some of the differences between the first and the second pregnancy.

There are three major differences regarding the fetus, how it manifests in the uterus and his position:

The fetus moves earlier. One of the first differences observed by those who become mothers for the second time is that the baby moves sooner. During the first pregnancy, the fetus begins to kick in the fifth month, and a mother who has already had a birth feels these kicks in the fourth month. That's because more experienced mothers are already familiar with the feel and acknowledge it earlier. If you are experiencing your second pregnancy, by the third month you'll just feel some light touches. Pregnant women at first pregnancy think that this occurrence during the first months is caused by intestinal gas and only later realize that it was actually the child.
Pregnancy is seen a month earlier. After birth, the uterus does not go back to the initial size. Therefore, during the next pregnancy, the fetus has more room for the fetus to grow from the very beginning.
The baby is positioned lower. Abdominal muscles remain weak after the first birth. Therefore, the second pregnancy cannot support the fetus as well and, as a consequence, it is positioned below the abdomen. The good thing is that you can breathe more easily now than during the first pregnancy.

The downside? The bladder will be pressed harder, and the need to urinate will occur sooner and more often. To reduce discomfort, try Kegel exercises, which strengthen the pelvic muscles. To achieve any results with such an exercise, you should contract the muscles around the vagina and urethra as if you are trying to retain urine. Keep your muscles contracted by the count to 10 and repeat sets of 10 exercises 10 times a day. You can also try bathing in cold water.

When the pregnancy is carried lower, the lower back muscles are also in a greater demand. Ask your doctor to recommend you a series of exercises to strengthen your abdominal muscles and to reduce back pain.

Follow these tips in your daily activity:

Avoid lifting heavy objects or straining your back.
When standing, keep the muscles in the lower back relaxed by bending your knees.
When you rest, you should lie on one side and put a pillow between your legs, with one or both knees bent.
If you have to sit on a chair for a longer period, keep your feet lifted on another chair to relax your lumbar muscles.