Month 2 · Weeks 5–8
Month 2 of pregnancy: weeks 5 to 8
This is usually the month pregnancy stops being an idea and starts being something you feel all day. Most of what arrives now is normal, a few things are not, and knowing which is which is most of what you need.
Symptoms in month 2 of pregnancy
Hormones rise steeply through these four weeks, and most women notice it. What you are most likely to feel:
- Nausea, with or without vomiting
- Exhaustion that sleep does not fix
- Sore, swollen or heavier breasts
- A sense of smell that has turned against you
- Going to the bathroom far more often
- Food you loved last month now unbearable
- Mood swinging without an obvious reason
- Mild cramping, similar to period pain
Mild cramping alone is common as the uterus grows. Cramping with bleeding is not, and belongs in the list further down.
Morning sickness in month 2
The name is misleading. The NHS puts it plainly: it "can affect you at any time of the day or night or you may feel sick all day long." Plenty of women find evenings worse.
It usually clears up by weeks 16 to 20. That is a long way off when you are in week 6, and saying so honestly is more useful than pretending it passes quickly.
What tends to help: eating small amounts often rather than full meals, keeping something plain within reach for the morning before you sit up, and drinking in small sips through the day rather than a glass at once.
Feeling no nausea at all is also normal and is not a sign that anything is wrong.
Source: NHS
The baby in month 2
This is the month the heart starts working. By weeks 6 to 7 it "continues to grow and now beats at a regular rhythm." By week 8, hands and feet "begin to form and look like little paddles."
A heartbeat may be visible on an early ultrasound, though not always, and timing varies with equipment and with your dates. Fetal heart tones are detectable by Doppler around week 10, so not hearing one yet at week 7 says nothing on its own.
What's common
- Nausea, with or without vomiting
- Exhaustion that sleep does not fix
- Sore, swollen or heavier breasts
- A sense of smell that has turned against you
- Going to the bathroom far more often
- Food you loved last month now unbearable
- Mood swinging without an obvious reason
- Mild cramping, similar to period pain
When to call a doctor now
Nausea is expected this month. These are the signs that it has stopped being ordinary, or that something else needs attention. Contact a doctor rather than waiting.
- You cannot keep food or fluids down for 24 hours
- Very dark urine, or you have not passed urine in more than 8 hours
- You feel very weak, dizzy or faint when standing up
- You are vomiting blood
- You are losing weight
- A high temperature
- Vaginal bleeding, or sharp pain on one side of the lower abdomen
Your doctor will ask how bad it has been. Have an answer
Nawah logs symptoms and severity by day, so "it was bad, I think Tuesday?" becomes a record your doctor can read in ten seconds. It also carries the appointment schedule, and Nawal is awake when the questions arrive at 3 a.m. Arabic and English, free.
Get Nawah on Google PlayCommon questions
When can the baby's heartbeat be seen or heard?
The heart is beating at a regular rhythm by weeks 6 to 7, and heart tones are detectable by Doppler around week 10. Whether it shows on your particular scan depends on your dates and the equipment, so an early scan that does not show one is not a verdict.
My nausea is severe. When does it stop being normal?
When you cannot keep fluids down for a day, when you are losing weight, or when you are passing very little urine. That severe form can lead to dehydration and sometimes needs hospital treatment, so it is worth calling early rather than enduring it.
I have no symptoms at all. Should I worry?
No. Symptom intensity varies enormously between women and between pregnancies, and having none is within the normal range. It is not a measure of how the pregnancy is going.
Why am I this tired?
Because your body is building an entire organ, the placenta, at the same time as everything else it normally does. The tiredness of the first trimester is not ordinary tiredness and usually does not respond to sleeping more. It commonly eases in the second trimester.
Sources
- Vomiting and morning sicknessNHS · retrieved 2026-08-21
- Fetal developmentMedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine · retrieved 2026-08-21
This guide is general information, not medical advice. It does not replace a doctor, and it knows nothing about your particular pregnancy. If something feels wrong, contact your doctor instead of waiting for the next scheduled visit.