Second Pregnancy: What to Expect

Congratulations on your second pregnancy! So you are going to be a mother again! Motherhood is a wonderful feeling indeed. You must be wondering, in what ways your experience is going to differ from your first one. Also, since your body is older than the first time around, you might also be anxious about possible complications. Here are a few things to expect during your second pregnancy period, and some cautions that you need to take, to ensure that everything is smooth sailing.

Changes in your body different from your first pregnancy:

• Your morning sickness may be less severe, although this is not a rule. Varicose veins, haemarrhoids and leaky bladder are likely to occur again though.
• You may get easily fatigued this time. You might not get as much rest as you did the first time, what with having to care for your first kid. Your pelvic joints may hurt more. You need to be much more careful about your posture, and lie on your side while sleeping.
• Your belly may enlarge and a bump starts to show much earlier than the first time. Your uterine wall has already undergone expansion before, so your muscles are more flexible now. Sometimes, second pregnancy becomes apparent even before the second trimester, as early as the 8^th - 10^th week.
• The first time, labor can last as long as 12 to 14 ours, or even 20 hours in some cases. But the second time, the labor period is often much reduced. The cervical muscles dilate faster, about 1.5 cm per hour, as compared to 1.2 cm per hour in the first pregnancy. However, if the first time you had a C-section, then the second time the labor phase will not be reduced.
• The uterine contractions that mothers experience for the first few days after birth may be more severe this time. These uterine contractions are actually signs that your uterus is returning to its prepregnancy state. But the pains associated with it may be so severe that you may feel the need of medications.