When do women start showing during pregnancy

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Fetal Development: Stages of Growth. Cleveland Clinic Health Library. The First Trimester. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Low Birth Weight. Ovia Pregnancy Journey. Showing late doesn't automatically mean that your baby is too small.

In the second trimester, your ob-gyn or midwife will start monitoring your fundal height to track your baby's growth, and if there's any reason for concern, they'll do an ultrasound to make sure you've been given the right due date. Babies who are smaller than expected for their gestational age will get frequent monitoring to make sure they're doing well. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals.

We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. American Academy of Family Physicians. Changes in your body during pregnancy: First trimester.

Changes in your body during pregnancy: Second trimester. Mayo Clinic. I'm pregnant with my second child. Can I expect any differences in my second pregnancy? Office on Women's Health. Stages of pregnancy. Stanford Children's Hospital. Small for gestational age.

If it's your first pregnancy you'll probably start to show between 12 to 16 weeks. But this initial bump is not from the baby. In fact, at 15 weeks, the average fetus is 4 inches long, or about as large as an orange.

By week 20, your doctor will start measuring your fundal length — that's the distance between the pubic bone and the top of the uterus. Typically, this number should correlate with your week of pregnancy. So, for example, if your fundal length is 25 centimeters, you should be in or near your 25th week of pregnancy.

If, however, your fundal length is too high, it could indicate growth problems with the baby like fetal macrosomia, which is when a baby is significantly too large.

On the flip side, if your fundal length is too low it could mean restricted growth, which is when the baby isn't large enough. While not all small babies suffer from restricted growth, it's worth checking in with your maternal health practitioner if you are concerned.