When Will My Pregnancy Start To Show?

You’ve probably heard it before, that women pregnant with their first baby tend to show later than women pregnant with their second, third or fourth child.

What you heard is true to some extent and draws back to the fact that the tissue holding the content of the abdomen takes a long time to stretch and stimulate the uterus to grow and reach the belly button in first-time pregnancies, compared to repeated pregnancies.

But the tissue is not the only factor involved; other factors may include: a mother’s height, weight and body type upon conception, a baby’s position inside the uterus, the depth of a mother’s pelvis and the number of fetuses in the womb. The taller the woman or the deeper the pelvis, the later pregnancy will show.

Typically, a baby bump starts developing during the second trimester of pregnancy, i.e. between 12 and 16 weeks. And the uterus that is usually the size of a lemon expands to the size of a small melon and rises above the pelvic cavity, making it visible above the waistline, between 14 and 16 weeks.

At this stage, you better start shopping for maternity clothes in case you haven’t done so already. And don’t worry about your pregnancy if your baby bump didn’t show until 20 weeks; there is no cause for concern, as long as your doctor is monitoring your baby's growth and your weight gain!

Read More: When Does Pregnancy Occur?