Perhaps the most well-known change during pregnancy is distension of the abdomen. Some women relish this change in body shape; for others, it is an uncomfortable inconvenience. Answering the questions of when you will ‘start to show’ and how big your belly will get is difficult, as it varies from woman to woman and pregnancy to pregnancy. Typically, first pregnancies take longer to show and subsequent pregnancies are evident earlier. However, this can also vary according to how strong your abdomen muscles were prior to pregnancy and, of course, whether you are pregnant with twins or triplets.

From about 20 weeks of pregnancy onwards, your doctor will measure and track the size of your abdomen. For singlet pregnancies they will be looking for an increase of approximately 1cm per week.

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