When you start to “show” in your pregnancy can vary greatly from one woman to the next. In fact, the time that you start to show can even vary, with the same woman, from one pregnancy to the next. How long it takes you to show depends on a great variety of factors, including your build, your weight before you became pregnant, the rate at which you are gaining weight during pregnancy, and even things like the positioning of your baby.

The vast majority of women start to show some time right around the second trimester. In fact, 60% of women report that they start showing between weeks 12 and 24 of pregnancy. Of these, more than 2/3 started to show in the first half of the second trimester, somewhere around weeks 12 to 18 of pregnancy. For subsequent pregnancies, these numbers tend to be ever sooner, suggesting either that women are more likely to show earlier during a second or subsequent pregnancy, or perhaps that they know what exactly it is that they are looking for this time around. It is conceivable that the stretching of the uterus and the other organs that occurs during the first pregnancy means that yoru belly will be more ready the second time around, and that it will begin to stretch much sooner and much easier.

Right around weeks 14 or 15, you will probably notice that you need to wear some looser clothes. By the time you hit month four to month five of pregnancy, or about 18 to 24 weeks, you will probably be having to wear maternity clothes. Of course, depending on your frame, you may be able to wear loose clothes much later, or even move into plus-sized clothes until you are well into your third trimester.

Finally, it is important to realize that just because you have started to show in your own eyes, it doesn’t mean that anyone else can tell. While it will get harder and harder to hide your expanding middle as your pregnancy progresses, the fact of the matter is that it will likely be several weeks after you start to show that others start to notice.

Posted in Pregnancy

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