While the unborn baby kicks, dreams, and somersaults, the mother can expect water retention and relaxed joints to alter her movements in the second trimester.

How Mom Develops

Weight gain may cause second trimester women to look heavier, but the uterus most likely hasn't extended far enough to appear pregnant. This occurs near the end of the second trimester. The greatest risk of miscarriage is over after the first trimester, meaning the baby is growing and developing properly. Water retention and loosening joints may require adjusted body movements along with the weight gain - a combination which makes many women feel "klutzy" during this time.

The second trimester is significant because during this time the baby can feel pain, hear the mother's voice, and dream. In addition, baby begins to kick with new arms and legs, and mother can detect his movement.

How Baby Develops

Kicking and moving around is now possible since the muscle system has organized and limbs are lengthening. The mother may feel the first kicks around the 14th week.

Five inches tall, during the 15th and 16th week, taste buds, eyebrows, and eyelashes appear, along with baby's hair. Fully developed hands and feet allow baby to kick, grasp her hand, and even somersault.

Sex organs usually develop anywhere from the 16th to the 20th week, and by this time a doctor can determine the sex of the child using an ultrasound. The baby has fingernails, fingerprints, and can recognize the sound of the mother's voice.

By the end of the second trimester, although still fragile, the baby could be born at this point and still survive.