Counting your baby's movements during pregnancy is a simple method of assessing its condition and he alth. It is recommended when the course of pregnancy is abnormal, and also when the future mother is concerned about the low activity of the fetus.
If you are going to be a mom for the first time, you will likely feelbaby movementsaround week 20 of your pregnancy. If this is not your first pregnancy, it may be earlier - between 14 and 18 weeks of pregnancy. When the 22nd week of pregnancy is over , and your baby is not yet activated, be sure to see a doctor.
Baby's movements several dozen times a day
The firstfetal movementsare very gentle - you will feel them like throbbing and popping from inside your belly. They become more noticeable and regular in the sixth month of pregnancy. At the end of the second trimester, you will clearly feel your little one kicking, moving and even flipping. When you are overweight, you will feel your baby move less clearly than if you were thin. Similarly, if the placenta is located on the front wall of the uterus, it creates a kind of pillow that cushions the baby's movements. It's hard to say exactly how often you should feel your baby move. This usually happens several dozen times a day, but it is worth remembering that each child has its own rhythm. One is calm, the other is more active. In addition, baby also has periods of sleep and wakefulness when it is not moving at all. In the eighth or ninth month of pregnancy, when the baby has little space in the belly, its movements are smoother - it rather fidgets, stretches, and sticks its bottom out. The abdomen then waves, bulges appear on it. Your baby's movements shouldn't be painful for you, but when, for example, it hits your stomach with its leg, it can be unpleasant.
Pregnant: How to Monitor Your Baby's Movement
Do you need to check your baby's movements every day? Not. Counting and monitoring of the baby's movements is recommended by doctors when pregnancy is not normal (expectant mother has arterial hypertension or diabetes) and when the due date has passed. If the pregnancy is normal, there are no medical indications for counting the fetal movements. But of course, if you have the impression that your baby's activity has decreased from day to day, his movements are much weaker, you have to count his movements.
How to do it correctly? Lie downon the left side and for an hour write down all the movements: both weak and strong. There should be at least 10 of them per hour around the due date. If there are fewer of them, eat a light meal or something sweet. Movement should then intensify, because the glucose level will rise. Then lie down and count again. The alarm signal is less than 4 movements per hour and no movement at all. Then you need a consultation with a gynecologist, control of the child's cardiac activity (CTG), sometimes also an ultrasound.
Note: it is imperative to go to the hospital if your child is completely stationary for several hours, especially if it was usually active at that time in the previous days!