Your baby is now approximately 4 inches long and weighs just a little less than 2 ounces. He is fully formed and even has tiny unique fingerprints. The sex organs are continuing to develop, and if you could see inside your womb it would be just possible to see whether the baby is a boy or girl (although ultrasound scans cannot tell sex accurately at this stage). Your baby is continuing to grow, his arms are going to begin to lengthen and be more proportioned to the rest of his body. The liver is beginning to produce bile, while the spleen is beginning to produce red blood cells.

The development of your baby’s brain enables him to use his facial muscles to grimace and frown. He may even be sucking his thumb.

Your pregnancy is now officially in the second trimester, the middle part of your pregnancy, the chance of miscarriage will now decrease.

Your midwife will be able to feel the top of your growing womb. Your stomach is getting rounder, and your bump will now be showing slightly. Start moisturizing your skin daily, as although it’s not possible to prevent stretch marks (which usually appear around the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy) moisturizing may increase the suppleness of the skin, and make them less noticeable.

Your ‘morning sickness’ should be wearing off by now & your appetite should be slowly coming back too. The Recommend Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein in the last two trimesters is for an additional 5g per day, equivalent to a pint of semi-skimmed milk. Drink a glass of fruit juice each day to meet your increased requirement for vitamin C. You can also stop taking folic acid supplements now, because your baby’s nervous system is well developed.

You may begin feeling extremely moody at this point of your pregnancy. Don’t worry; mood swings are common during pregnancy. Although pregnancy is exciting, you can also be stressed or overwhelmed.