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What are fetal kicks and what is a fetal kick counter?
Fetal kicks refer to the movements a baby makes inside the womb, typically starting around the second trimester. These movements can include kicks, flutters, rolls, or swishes.
A fetal kick counter is a simple method used by pregnant individuals to monitor their baby’s well-being, especially during the third trimester, starting around 28 weeks. It involves counting the baby's movements over a certain period of time each day. This helps ensure the baby is active and healthy, with any decrease in movement potentially indicating a need for medical attention.
How to Count Fetal Movements
Personally, I always advise my patients to lie down at a time of the day whenever they usually feel the most movements, and count how long it takes for their baby to move ten times. Count all movements, including kicks, rolls, and hiccups. It should take less than one hour to count to ten movements. If it takes longer than one hour, or takes significantly longer than usual, I advise my patients to go to the hospital for a non-stress test (NST), which watches the pattern of your baby’s heartbeat over 20 minutes.
Use an App!
A good app to help you track your baby’s movements is Count the Kicks (countthekicks.org), which is free for download in the App Store or Play Store.
The pattern of the heartbeat tells us a lot more than just that your baby is alive - it can detect early signs of fetal stress, which may prompt further monitoring or delivery via induction of labor or C-section.
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