Bump & Beyond | Kick Counts

With both of my pregnancies, feeling my baby move throughout the day was something I found fun and exciting. I often caught myself talking to that little person moving in there and found joy in imagining what was to come. But fetal movement is more than just a fun part of pregnancy. Your baby’s movements are an important sign of health and well-being in the third trimester. Your OB will talk to you about starting to pay attention to kick counts in the third trimester to check on your baby between visits to the office.

It is good to practice tuning into your baby’s movements daily. To check your baby’s kick count:

• Sit or lie in a comfortable position
• Start counting fetal movements (kicks, rolls, flutters) from the time you feel the first movement
• Aim to count at least 10 movements within a two-hour period
• If you don't feel 10 movements within two hours, try:
  • Drinking a cold beverage
  • Eating a small snack
  • Lying on your side
• If you still don't feel 10 movements, contact your healthcare provider or report to the hospital where they can do further testing to check on your baby.

Keep in mind, you want to track fetal movement when your baby begins moving. Your baby has a two-hour window to complete 10 movements because your baby, even in the womb, has sleep cycles throughout the day. Fetal sleep cycles begin in the second trimester and last roughly 20-40 minutes. Your baby will move less during a sleep cycle, and that is normal.

A program I often recommend parents check out in my childbirth classes is the Count the Kicks program. “Healthy Birth Day, Inc. was founded by five Iowa moms who all endured the heartache of losing a daughter to stillbirth or infant death in the early 2000s. The women decided to channel their grief into stillbirth prevention efforts to keep other families from facing the pain of losing a baby. Together they created and launched the Count the Kicks public health program in 2008.” – Count the Kicks

Their website has resources to teach you about appropriate fetal movement. They also developed an app to help parents track fetal movements daily and to bring attention to changes in your baby’s movements so you can get checked out by your healthcare provider. “The link between fetal movement and a healthy baby is clear, but research continues to uncover more about the importance of tracking baby’s movements. Count the Kicks uses the latest research to help achieve our mission.” – Count the Kicks

If you have any concerns about the way your baby moves throughout the day, contact your healthcare provider. Experiencing fetal movement is a special, intimate feeling, so sit back and enjoy counting those kicks.

For extra resources on kick counting check out the Count the Kicks website: https://countthekicks.org/why-we-count/

Or check out this testimonial from another Alabama mom: https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/blog/2022/09/nr_14.html

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