One of the first thing that you’d end up asking yourself once you’re pregnant is that “When will I look pregnant?”. When it comes to growth of the belly, it’s different for everybody, there is no certainty.
In some women baby bump can be seen as early as in the 3rd month of their pregnancy, others can spot a real difference from 5th month onwards. It is worth noting that in some women, the belly isn’t clearly visible even if they are well in their second trimester.
First-time mums can begin developing baby bump as early as 12-14 weeks of their pregnancies. However, if this ain’t your first delivery, the belly comes out much earlier as muscles present in the womb and belly have already been stretched in lieu of your last pregnancy.
What makes the belly really grow is the expanding uterus around your body’s pelvic girdle. Also, the amniotic fluid also boosts up in this phase of your pregnancy which, in turn, grows the belly further. Some of the most crucial factors that determine the when you will start looking pregnant are mother’s age, first pregnancy, mother’s weight, genetic factors, uterus positioning, water retention and more.
A mother’s age is one of the most important factors when we talk about the visibility of the belly or baby bump. The belly is visible earlier in older mothers. Young mothers have stronger muscles around their abdomen. Fascia is a band made of fibrous tissue. It gets stretched well during your first pregnancy. Thus, for your subsequent pregnancies, you’ll tend to develop baby bump early.
Also, the weight of the mother is taken into consideration too. If the mother is overweight, the belly may be visible a few weeks later than the normal 12-14 weeks of time. Also, mothers with a retroverted uterus tend to develop baby bump which appears later.
Similarly, women with anteverted uterus tend to develop visible belly as soon as in their first trimester. It goes without saying that there is a huge difference between knowing that you’re pregnant and having a telltale baby bump. You should understand that at 12 weeks of time, your growing uterus can’t just hide inside the pelvis. Thus, it starts protruding into the abdomen. Women having body mass index (BMI) lesser than 25 tend to experience earlier belly bumps.
There might be a case when you’re carrying twins! In that scenario, your uterus will be double the capacity.
Hence, it is pretty obvious that you’ll start developing a visible belly much earlier. Again, your body’s height, number of pregnancies, abdominal strength and BMI will still come into play. Longer midsections are pretty common in taller women, hence there is more room for the baby to grow, therefore the uterus protrudes later.
The second trimester in the pregnancy phase is the most comfortable one- morning sickness has reduces significantly, you feel light and energized with a cute little belly bump to show the world.
