Fetal Movement

While you are pregnant, your baby moves a lot! While the baby does sleep quite a bit, they also kick, roll, and move around (sometimes punching kidneys or ribs).

You probably won't feel the fetus move until he or she is about 16 - 22 weeks. Don't worry about how much your baby moves until the third trimester. At that point, you'll want to start paying attention to whether the fetus has decreased movement. To make sure, you can do Kick Counts.

Generally mom's movement will lull baby to sleep, and then when mom is still and trying to relax, baby will wake up and kick up a storm!

Fetal Kick Counts
- paying attention to kick counts generally starts at about 7 months pregnant (28 weeks)
- figure out a time of day when baby seems most active (perhaps after meal times)
- Make sure you relax
- Sometimes babies just need to be woken up a little - try drinking some juice!
- Count at least 10 movements in the span of 2 hours

There might be a different kind of fetal movement as you near your due date, as the baby has less room to move around in there! Just make sure to pay attention to it, and ask your doctor if you're concerned. And follow your instincts!

Decreased fetal movement may be a sign that the baby isn't getting enough oxygen. If, after doing kick counts, you're worried, schedule an appointment to have a non-stress test and a biophysical profile.