Estrogen is a sex hormone that is critical for maintaining your sexual and reproductive health. Estrogen plays an important role in the development of secondary sexual characteristics (e.g., changes often seen in puberty), menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.
2nd Trimester
Often dubbed the “honeymoon period,” your second trimester lasts from 13 weeks to 28 weeks. Generally by this point, expecting mamas have settled into their bodies and emotions a bit more. The morning sickness, fatigue, and mood swings that made the first trimester so hard often go away for people at this stage… but not for all of our mamas.
A lot of changes continue to occur quickly during this time – both for you and your growing baby. So let’s talk about it.
The Skinny on Hormonal Health
Hormones are produced chemically by different glands throughout the body, such as your adrenal glands or sweat glands, to keep you as close to homeostasis as possible. This can include everything from the stress response with cortisol (which we’ve covered before) to hormones that affect digestion, temperature regulation, and mood. The pituitary gland, located deep in the brain, is the “puppet master” that controls the release of how much hormone and when to keep the body functioning.
Pelvic Health and Pelvic Floor Therapy in Melbourne, Florida. Dr. Paige, Dr. Laura, Dr. Sky