Twin pregnancy at 16 weeks: How you'll feel and how your baby is developing (2024)

You're 16 weeks pregnant with twins and in the second trimester of pregnancy! You may be experiencing new symptoms, and are hopefully feeling better overall if you had morning sickness or nausea in the first trimester. Your twins are changing rapidly, and have developed a lot over the last few weeks.

16 weeks pregnant with twins: Symptoms

Early pregnancy hormones rise rapidly in the first trimester, then level off in the second trimester. Because of this, you may now have less of the uncomfortable symptoms you had early in your pregnancy, such as morning sickness. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for everyone, though. Either way, there are some additional side effects you'll likely experience as your pregnancy progresses.

• Kicks and fetal movement
  Expecting moms usually feel their babies move around 16 or 20 weeks, but you don’t need to worry if it takes a little longer. Moms who've been pregnant before may feel movement earlier than first time moms do. Movement from your babies might feel like gas or “fluttering” at first.
• Round ligament pain
  The round ligaments that support your uterus (and connects the front part of your uterus to your groin) is being stretched as your uterus grows quickly. This may cause sharp pain when you move. You might feel pain when you stand up, roll over in bed, cough, laugh, or with other movements that might stretch the ligaments quickly. It might feel alarming at first, but is normal and will only last a few seconds. Try changing positions slowly to decrease round ligament pain.
• Congestion
  Because you have an increase in blood volume throughout your body, the lining of your respiratory system (including your nose and throat) also receives the extra blood flow and becomes swollen. This will make you feel congested. Some women even have a swelling of their eustachian tube, the tube that connects the throat to the middle ear, which will make your ears feel clogged.
• Heartburn
  Many pregnant women experience heartburn. This is because the pregnancy hormone progesterone causes your digestive system to slow down, so food stays in your stomach longer than it normally does. Another reason heartburn is common in pregnancy is that your esophageal sphincter (the muscles that close your stomach off to your esophagus) is more relaxed during pregnancy.
• Loosened joints
  You will be more likely to experience joint pain later in pregnancy, as your belly grows bigger and you are carrying more weight. However, an increase of hormones in pregnancy causes your body’s joints to be more relaxed, even earlier on. This can make your joints a little more susceptible to injury or overstretching. Take care not to overstretch, and be careful when you're moving about, as loose joints could cause you to lose your balance and fall.

How your twins are developing at 16 weeks

This week, your twins are moving and stretching, have a circulatory system, and their hearts are pumping blood.

• Uterus
  Your uterus is growing and weighs about 8 ½ pounds and has risen above your belly button. It has grown quickly and will continue to grow as your babies get bigger.
• Heart
  Now, your babies’ circulatory systems have developed and their hearts are pumping around 25 quarts of blood a day. This blood is exchanged between you and your baby through the placenta.
• Head and scalp
  Your babies’ necks are defined and their heads are now straight. Their heads are large at this time and may be half their size! The hair patterns on their scalps are forming and their faces are starting to become more recognizable. They are able to move their eyes slowly.
• Hearing
  Your babies’ ears are now on the sides of their heads, their hearing is starting to develop and they will soon be able to hear sounds. Throughout pregnancy, they will come to recognize your voice as you talk and sing to them, and by hearing you carry on conversations with others.
• Bones
  Your babies’ bones are continuing to develop and get harder and their muscles are developing as well.
• Movement
  You babies are moving and stretching their limbs more freely now and in the coming weeks, they will become even more active. As mentioned above, you may be able to feel movement at this time, although it could still be a while before you are able to feel them move.

Learn more about your twins in the womb at 12 weeks

Learn more about your twins in the womb at 20 weeks