7 Things You Need to Know About Your Second Pregnancy

Because your uterus doesn’t quite shrink back to its original size after pregnancy, your body already has a head start. “Your uterus has done this before,” explains obstetrician Jillian Coolen, a mother of three in Halifax. “Your ligaments and muscles have stretched and your pregnancy will show earlier.”

Coolen jokes that she once made a comment to one of her best friends, also a mother of three, about how fast she was showing with her second pregnancy. “She said, ‘Just wait ’til your third! You’re going to need maternity pants the day after you get a positive pregnancy test,’ and she was nearly right.”

You'll be slipping into your favorite affordable maternity leggings by about week eight or nine when you hit your second pregnancy and beyond. Things move fast.

“You’re more bodily aware,” says Nicola Strydom, a registered midwife and mom of two in Calgary. “The first time you’re pregnant, you might think the movements are gas, but the second time, you recognize the flutters as the baby’s movement.”

Sure, during this pregnancy you also have a small child to chase, in addition to the normal fatigue of pregnancy, but that’s not the only cause. “Women in their second pregnancies often forget to take the supplements that are recommended,” Strydom says. Prenatal vitamins can affect energy levels; your care provider may also prescribe iron supplements to boost energy.

If you haven't already invested in a good body pillow, now is the time. These make frequent naps easier, more comfortable and less complicated.

The body very quickly begins to relax its joints, leading to more body aches with the second baby than the first. The hormone relaxin (which typically increases in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, then decreases to a plateau around 24 weeks), seems to be more effective during second pregnancies, reports Coolen.

The baby may also lie lower in the abdomen, due to prior stretching, which can cause backaches, loose hips and round ligament pain. “I had a lot of sacroiliac [SI] joint pain and discomfort that started earlier in my second pregnancy,” says Coolen. “And I’ve definitely seen that in my patients as well. But it usually resolves itself right after the delivery.”

“Since you’ve felt an effective, real contraction before, your body recognizes those Braxton Hicks more,” says Strydom. “The first time, you might have just thought it was the baby moving.”

“That’s a well-established medical fact,” confirms Coolen. “The uterus and cervix have been through this before, so all phases of labor, right through to pushing, are shorter for second-time moms.”

One study shows that first-time moms average nine hours of active labor and an hour of pushing, while second-timers spend an average of six hours in active labor and half an hour pushing. Now there’s something to look forward to!

After your second baby, the uterus has less muscle tone than the first time, and is more aggressive at clamping down as quickly as possible to decrease your chances of bleeding. This results in stronger afterpains, the postpartum contractions that bring the uterus back down to size. They may be most noticeable when breastfeeding, as nursing releases oxytocin, which can trigger contractions.

Experts agree that these symptoms continue to progress for subsequent pregnancies as well. As a perfectly content mom of two, I’ll just have to take their word for it.