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Fetal Movement - WebMD: When You Feel Baby Kick

Written by Stephanie Watson

Reviewed by Traci C. Johnson, MD on January 08, 2021

In this Article

• When Will I Feel My Baby Kicking?
• What Does the Baby's Kicking Feel Like?
• How Often Should I Feel My Baby Moving?
• Should I Monitor My Baby's Kicking?
• If You Don't Feel Your Baby Moving
• Timeline of Baby Movement

One of the most exciting moments in your pregnancy is when you feel those first little flutters of your baby kicking. These tiny movements reassure you that your baby is developing and help you feel closer to the little life inside of you.

When Will I Feel My Baby Kicking?

You should feel your baby's first movements, called "quickening," between weeks 16 and 25 of your pregnancy. If this is your first pregnancy, you may not feel your baby move until closer to 25 weeks. By the second pregnancy, some women start to feel movements as early as 13 weeks. You're more likely to feel baby move when you're in a quiet position, either sitting or lying down.

What Does the Baby's Kicking Feel Like?

Pregnant women describe their baby's movements as butterflies, nervous twitches, or a tumbling motion. At first, it may be hard to tell whether your baby has moved. Second- and third-time moms are more adept at distinguishing those first baby movements from gas, hunger pangs, and other internal motions.

By your second and third trimesters, the movements should be more distinct, and you'll be able to feel your baby's kicks, jabs, and elbows.

How Often Should I Feel My Baby Moving?

Early in your pregnancy, you may just feel a few flutters every now and then. But as your baby grows -- usually by the end of the second trimester -- the kicks should grow stronger and more frequent. Studies show that by the third trimester, the baby moves about 30 times each hour.

Babies tend to move more at certain times of the day as they alternate between alertness and sleep. They are usually most active between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., right as you're trying to get to sleep. This surge in activity is due to your changing blood sugar levels. Babies also can respond to sounds or touch, and may even kick your partner in the back if you snuggle too close in bed.

Should I Monitor My Baby's Kicking?

Once your baby's movements are well established (usually by week 28), some doctors recommend keeping track of all those little punches, jabs, and kicks to make sure your baby is still developing the way they should. This is known as a fetal movement assessment, fetal kick count, or fetal movement counting.

Obstetricians recommend moms do fetal movement counts. While reduced movements or counts done at home can be worrisome, they may not be reliable. If you feel your baby is moving or kicking less often than normal, contact your doctor. 

Counting is a lot harder when you have twins. You may not be able to tell which baby is moving. Even so, many doctors recommend it as a way to keep track.

If you are counting, it helps to chart your baby's kicks so that you can keep track of your baby's normal patterns of movement. To count movements, pick a time when your baby is usually most active (often, this is right after you've eaten a meal). Get into a comfortable position either sitting down in a comfortable chair or lying on your side. If you lie down, lie on your left side, so your baby will have better circulation.

Opinion varies as to how to count your baby's movements, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends noting the time it takes for your baby to make 10 movements. You should feel at least 10 movements within a 2-hour period.

If you can't feel 10 movements in 2 hours despite eating something and fully focusing on the baby's movements, call your doctor for advice on what to do next.

If You Don't Feel Your Baby Moving

If you haven't yet reached 25 weeks and don't feel your baby move, or you're not sure that what you're feeling is actually your baby, don't panic. As your baby grows, you'll be able to better distinguish their movements. You'll also figure out at what times of the day your baby is most active. Some babies just naturally move less often than others.

A lack of movement also may mean that your baby is asleep. You may feel fewer kicks and jabs after the 32nd week as your baby gets bigger and has less room to move around in the uterus.

If your baby has started to move regularly and you don't feel at least 10 movements within a 2-hour period, or the movements have slowed significantly, it's time to call your doctor.

Timeline of Baby Movement

Here is a guide to your baby's possible movements.

Week 12: Your baby should start to move, but you probably won't be able to feel anything because the baby is still so small.

Week 16: Some pregnant women will start to feel tiny butterfly-like flutters. The feeling might just be gas, or it might be the baby moving.

Week 20: By this point in your baby's development, you may start to really feel your baby's first movements, called "quickening."

Week 24: The baby's movements are starting to become more established. You might also begin to feel slight twitches as your baby hiccups.

Week 28: Your baby is moving often now. Some of the kicks and jabs may take your breath away.

Week 36: Your uterus is getting crowded as the baby grows, and movements should slow down a bit. However, alert your doctor if you notice significant changes in your baby’s usual activity. You should feel consistent movement throughout the day.

Pregnancy management at EMC Fetal movement test at EMC Medical Clinic

A woman expects many new sensations and emotions during pregnancy. One of the most pleasant moments during this period is the first movements of the baby.

Can you feel him pushing? So he communicates with you, talks about himself.

By how often you feel his movements, you can judge the temperament and his well-being.

To understand if your baby is doing well, you need to regularly, preferably daily, conduct a "fetal movement test", and all that is required for this is to independently observe the baby's movements.

The first movements of the fetus, as a rule, appear at the 20th week of pregnancy, but may appear a little earlier or a little later. Explicit regular movements begin from the 24th week. From now on, the child should remind himself about 10-15 times an hour. Of course, if you do not feel anything for 2-3 hours, it does not mean that something has happened. Maybe the baby is just sleeping. But in general, movements during the day should be regular.

Why is ultrasound and CT not enough?

Ultrasound and CTG are modern effective methods for diagnosing the condition of the fetus, which accurately determine the parameters of blood circulation and heartbeat at a particular moment and are carried out at a certain interval if there are no medical indications for more frequent examination. Therefore, usually at the appointment, the doctor asks the woman a question about whether she noticed changes in the "behavior" of the baby. In case of any changes, the doctor will recommend re-examination.

It is important that by conducting a regular fetal movement test, you constantly keep your unborn child's well-being under control. According to international studies, this not only allows you to identify and prevent possible problems in a timely manner, but also reduces the overall level of anxiety in pregnant women.

What determines the activity of the fetus

Of course, to some extent, the baby's mobility in the mother's womb is influenced by his temperament, but, of course, this is not the main thing. Its activity is largely determined by the following factors:

• The volume of physical activity of a pregnant woman. If you lead a fairly active lifestyle during pregnancy, fetal movements may be felt less frequently.

• Time of day. Although babies inside the tummy do not make much difference, day or night - they lead an active life when they want - practice proves that they become more active at night.

How to count movements

The most common is the Pearson or "Count to 10" method. You need to take into account any movement of the baby, excluding hiccups - pushes, kicks, flips, etc. But count not the number of movements following each other, but the alternation of rest and activity (both groups of movements and single ones). That is, if the baby first rolled over, then immediately pushed, this is only one movement.

According to the Pearson method, a woman from the 28th week of pregnancy keeps a diary in which, from 9:00 to 21:00 marks the movements of the baby. If in 12 hours there are 10 or more movements, you don’t have to worry - everything is in order with the child. Modern technology allows you to abandon the diary. You can install a special application based on this technique on your smartphone.

There is also a shorter but more rigorous method recommended by the American Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—"Count to 10 in 2 Hours." You yourself choose what time of day the baby is more active, and conduct the test during this period. A sign of good health of the fetus is 10 or more movements recorded in 2 hours.

With any technique, if you cannot count the required number of movements, be sure to consult a doctor!

Fetal movement during pregnancy | When do the first movements appear

When do the first movements appear?

The baby begins to move very early in the womb - at 7-8 weeks of gestation. But the first movement of the fetus goes unnoticed, since during this period it is very tiny, a little larger than a marigold.

The first perceptible movements of the baby, as a rule, appear in the second trimester - between 16 and 22 weeks of pregnancy, when the baby has already grown significantly and got stronger. The week in which the movement is felt depends on many factors:

• First or second child. During the first pregnancy, the movements of the baby become noticeable closer to the 20-22nd week. If the pregnancy is the second or third, the movements begin to be felt on average at 18 weeks or even earlier, because the woman already knows what sensations to expect.
• Placenta placement. If the placenta is closer to the back wall of the uterus, then the woman may feel movements later, if to the front - earlier.
• The physique of the expectant mother. Sometimes physique plays a role: fragile girls can feel the first tremors 2 weeks earlier.
• Lifestyle. In the midst of the working day, in noise or shaking, fetal movement is easy to miss. It is more likely to feel the first movement of the crumbs in a calm position, sitting or lying down.

In what part of the abdomen do you feel the first movements? Usually timid first movements are felt in the lower abdomen. At first, it is easy to confuse them with other internal processes, such as rumbling and bouts of hunger. But the baby grows and the movements become more intense, more diverse and “travel” along the tummy along with the tumbling baby.

Features of fetal movements at different stages of pregnancy

The nature and frequency of movements of the child change as he grows and develops. At first they are weak and irregular, but then the activity increases, and the movements become stronger and more intense.

Let's take a closer look at how the baby moves at different times and how the mother feels it.

First trimester

Toward the end of the first trimester, the baby begins to make its first movements, light as the flutter of a butterfly. But it is still very small, so in most cases the movements go unnoticed. The maximum that can be felt is a light, light, barely noticeable flutter in the lower abdomen or something resembling bubbles.

Second trimester

At the 16th week of pregnancy, some women begin to feel the baby move. Someone describes them as the flutter of small wings or the movement of a fish wagging its tail, while someone describes them as twitching of a vein pulsating inside or blows of a small hammer.

By 20 weeks, most pregnant women already feel the baby's light movements. At week 24, they become more pronounced and intense, sometimes accompanied by a slight twitch during hiccups. By the end of the second trimester, active fetal movement begins - the child somersaults and pushes more and more clearly, more often and stronger.

Third trimester

At week 28, the baby moves up to 30 times an hour, and some of his kicks and pokes can be so strong that the mother takes her breath away. During this period, obstetricians recommend starting to count the movements of the child. The nature of the activity helps the doctor understand what is happening with the baby and how he is developing.

At this stage of development, the baby develops a certain pattern of sleep and wakefulness. Peak activity tends to occur in the evening and at night—between 9:00 PM and 01:00 AM—just when mom is trying to sleep. This surge is due to changes in blood sugar levels. In addition, the movements of the baby can react to touch, bright light, loud noises or an uncomfortable posture of the mother.

Your baby's activity continues to increase until 32 weeks. But after that, the grown-up child becomes more and more crowded in the fetal sac and the number of movements is reduced.

Tip

If you want your baby to make itself felt and move around, eat something sweet and lie on your side. An increase in blood glucose will cheer up the baby and he will begin to push.

Due to lack of space, fetal movements before childbirth become slower and more and more constrained. However, the baby should continue to move regularly throughout the day.

Important!

If the child's activity changes abruptly for unexplained reasons: he calms down or vice versa - the movements are too intensified and more frequent - tell your doctor as soon as possible. A change in the motor activity of the fetus may be a symptom of a violation of its condition and necessarily requires additional examination.

How to correctly calculate fetal movements?

Starting from the 28th week of pregnancy, the child's physical activity should be monitored every day. Until this time, the movements of the baby are not so noticeable, so the calculation will be uninformative.

So, how many movements should be per day? And how to count them correctly?

To determine the characteristics of the child's activity at home, use a special test of fetal movement by D. Pearson - "Count to ten". To do this, you need to mark in a special table every tenth movement of the baby from 9:00 to 21:00. If the child develops normally, then in 12 hours you will count at least 10 movements.

Important!

Not every push is considered a movement, but a series of movements (from the start of pushes to a pause).

After the 10th movement, you need to write down the time and start counting the next day. And if the baby moves much less or does not make itself felt within 12 hours, contact your doctor as soon as possible!

In addition to the Pearson test, there is another way to count the child's movements. Choose an hour during which you will count movements every day. It is very important to do it at the same time. Focus on the baby's movements and see how long it takes the baby to complete 10 kicks. If you counted 10 shocks in an hour, you can be calm - everything is in order.

If you still don't get 10 pushes within an hour, try eating, changing your position, and then try counting the number of pushes again.

Tip

Keep a movement diary to keep track of all changes. You can write everything in a notebook, or you can use a special mobile application that will help you track and record movements.

What should alert the future mother?

Be sure to contact your gynecologist if:

• You are past 22 weeks and you still don't feel your baby move. Perhaps you just did not notice them, but you need to make sure that the pregnancy is proceeding normally.
• Tracking the child's activity, you noticed that for more than 12 hours there was no movement at all or they became much less during the day.
• For several hours in a row, the baby behaves too actively, the intensity of the shocks has changed so much that it hurts you because of his movements.
• A sharp change in the nature and frequency of movements is monitored, although there are no apparent reasons for this. This may indicate a violation of the condition of the fetus, its heartbeat, or an infection.

Advice

In the third trimester of pregnancy, sleeping on your back is not recommended. In this position, the vena cava can be clamped, which provides the baby with oxygen.

Read also: Cord entanglement: causes and consequences for the baby

To make sure your baby is okay, your doctor may do several tests, such as auscultation, cardiotocography (CTG), and Doppler ultrasound.

Auscultation is a method of assessing the condition of the baby by the sounds that he makes in the womb. The doctor listens to the tone and rhythm of the heartbeat, different noises, monitors their sequence and duration.

CTG (cardiotocography) is an ultrasound examination of the fetus. But unlike conventional ultrasound, during CTG, the tone of the uterus, the heartbeat and the movements of the baby are recorded. Based on the results of this study, the doctor can determine how comfortable the child feels, check the work of his heart and the level of development. If there are deviations in CTG, the specialist may recommend an assessment of the fetal blood flow - dopplerometry.

If indicated, your doctor can choose the right treatment, recommend that the mother rest and get more rest, or even prescribe bed rest.

Pregnancy not only changes the life of a future mother, but also causes many doubts. We will help you deal with all the fears and find answers to the most important questions about motherhood.

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