The word trimester means "3 months." This is often a source of confusion, because a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks, a tad longer than 9 months. Nevertheless, health care providers and pregnant women talk about 3 trimesters to help give pregnancy a beginning, middle, and end. Most providers actually talk about your pregnancy in weeks, rather than months or trimesters.
Most commonly, the first trimester is defined as from conception through week 14. The second trimester is from week 14 through week 28. And the third trimester is from week 28 through labor and deliver, which varies considerably but averages at week 40.
|
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch). |
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
Email this Page
Print this Page