What to expect at 13 weeks pregnant

Dr Christine Catling

Dr Christine Catling, a midwife for over 25 years, is the Director of Midwifery Studies at UTS. She believes research, innovation and good quality midwifery are pivotal to the well-being of mothers and young families. Christine has extensive experience in antenatal education, policy development and research, and has published on workforce issues, homebirth, vaginal birth after caesarean section, maternal mortality, vaginal breech birth, maternal and child health in Papua New Guinea, simulation-based learning and vitamin D levels in mothers and neonates. In 2015 she was the inaugural research fellow for the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre at UTS. Her PhD explored the influences on women who chose a publicly-funded home birth in Australia.

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Updated on Jun 14, 2024 · 2 mins read

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In this article

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Your baby

As you and your baby enter the second trimester your baby is about the size of a passionfruit or a little over 7 cms and around 20 grams. Your baby’s very own fingerprints are starting to form on the fingers and the body is rapidly catching up with its head now. If you are having a girl (which you should be able to find out soon) she will already have over 2 million eggs in her tiny ovaries. Baby’s eyes and ears are moving into the correct position on the head now too, but the ears are still forming and hearing is yet to develop.

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How you’re feeling

While many women report the second trimester as the easy one, don’t be surprised if some of the symptoms from the first tend to hang around for a few weeks, as it can be different for everyone. Your body is still working away growing your baby, so you will likely still feel tired but hopefully not as sick and nauseous as you were in the beginning.

16Weeks baby

15Weeks baby

20Weeks baby

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Weekly tip

Around 13 weeks is when most people think about telling friends and family that they’re pregnant, so now you just have to decide on how you want to do it. Telling people in person can be extra special, at least for your family and closest friends, or some people prefer to make the big announcement via Facebook or Instagram with a cute photo or a bump-debut (if you have one yet that is!) It’s really just about deciding how you want to do it, but remember that once you make the announcement on social media, unless you don’t have any colleagues on there the news is likely to filter into your workplace too, so you might want to think about telling your boss as well.

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