Verified by:
iMumz Expert Panel
Updated on:
August 4, 2023
What changes does the foetus undergo in the 2nd trimester?
When you are in your 16th week of pregnancy, your baby's head straightens up and the eyes start moving.
At week 18, the baby hears sounds inside your body.
At week 24, this listening becomes more mature.
25 weeks into your pregnancy, your baby responds to familiar sounds, the mother’s voice being the most predominant.
A group of pregnant women were encouraged to listen to 20 minutes of Carnatic music everyday. After 20 days, researchers noted advancements in the babies’ reaction times and mobility.
Hence, a simple routine of Garbh Sanskar activities done daily by the pregnant woman is extremely beneficial and contributes towards:
- Building baby’s immune system.
- Growing baby’s brain.
- Adding to the baby's confidence and self-esteem.
- Significantly lowering baby’s chances of depression in later life.
- Making baby feel loved and wanted.
Garbh Sanskar Activities for the 2nd Trimester
In this trimester, do make a playlist with the Gayatri Mantra/Mantra of your belief in calming raags like raag Yaman and raag Bhairav or a vocal rendition in Raags Bageshri or Bilawal, or a hymn that is family tradition.
- You can have a daily schedule of prayers. The Samaveda mantra is highly recommended. Do make a playlist of your favourite bhajans and play them. Gayatri mantra, Ganesha mantra have a beautiful impact on the baby. Balaji Tambe's Garbh Sanskar music is quite popular among women. Apart from listening to mantras, you can also try listening to soothing music that makes you feel calm and happy. These generate positive energy in your body.
- Do Garbh Sanvaad or It helps in the mental development of the baby. It may also make your baby more confident, aware as well as quick in responding. You need to talk aloud, not just in your mind. You can narrate how your day went, how much you love the baby and also read stories.
- Have a daily schedule of yoga that helps prepare your body for childbirth.
Yoga for the 2nd Trimester
- For spina and back health, do the Mountain pose (Tadasana) and Upward Hand Pose (Urdhva Hastasana)
- For pelvic wellness, do Bridge rolls (Setu Bandhasana)
- For hip strength and lower body wellness, try standing asanas (for leg strength, hip openers), Tree (Vrksasana), Eagle (Garudasana), Low Lunge (Anjanesyasana), Crescent Pose (Ashta Chandrasana), Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II), Triangle (Utthita Trikonasana)
- For working out the sides of the your body, try Extended Side Stretch (Parvottanasana) and Extended side angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana)
- Seated asanas like Butterfly (Baddha Konasana) and Wide Angle Seated forward bend (Upavistha Konasana) are very helpful.
- Do visualisation exercises during meditation. Imagine you are sitting next to an ocean. The waves are making a rhythmic sound. Baby is floating in the cadence of those sounds. Or, you are a butterfly and sipping the best nectar from many flowers and nourishing your baby.
Finally, all this takes is discipline or ‘tapas’. All you need to do is take a pledge that you will find the time to do these. The father-to-be’s constant encouragement goes a long way. Remember, the benefits of these have been proven by science.
