When will I feel my baby move?

Senior NHS Midwife, Hannah O’Sullivan answers one of the most asked questions from people in early pregnancy: when will I feel my baby move?

Pregnancy is full of defining moments; the positive pregnancy test, running to the toilet to throw up, telling your family and friends, first midwife appointment, seeing a tiny heartbeat and a baked bean sized feotus at a scan. And then things get quiet. Waiting for the next defining moment - feeling those first movements.  It can feel like a lifetime waiting for those first fetal movements!

You may hear this referred to as ‘the quickening’. Quick is an archaic synonym for “living” - and before pregnancy tests and ultrasound scans, feeling a baby move would be the way that women and birthing people confirmed that they were carrying a baby!  

Most pregnant women and people will first feel their baby move somewhere from 16 to 24 weeks gestation. Often in first pregnancies this is at the later end of the spectrum, as you may not recognise the smaller movements as fetal movements - they are often described as feeling like bubbles or flutters when the baby is very small. 

If you have not felt any movements by 24 weeks then the NHS suggests that you get in touch with your midwife for them to listen in to the fetal heart. If you have an anterior placenta (a placenta that has attached at the front of your uterus) you may feel fewer movements than if the placenta is posterior. This is because you cannot feel the placenta, so any little kicks that meet the placenta are unnoticed. As your pregnancy progresses, the movements will be felt to the sides and above and below the placenta more easily.  

Your baby’s movements could be described as flutters, rolls or kicks, and once they become more pronounced as your baby grows bigger they may be visible to other people looking at your bump. Other people may be able to feel the movements by putting a hand on your bump (with your permission of course).

There is no specific number of movements that you ‘should’ feel. Get to recognise your own baby’s pattern of movements - do they always move after breakfast for example?  If you are ever concerned that your baby is not moving as much as you would expect, always contact your maternity unit as it could be a sign that your baby is not well. 

Never use a home doppler to reassure you that your baby is well. It is very easy to mistake your own heart beat for a fetal heart if your are not trained to know the difference. Also, if you are concerned about reduced fetal movements, midwives and doctors will do more than only listen briefly to the baby’s heart rate - please always contact your midwife as soon as you feel concerned. Never wait until the next day - we are always awake all night so don’t worry about waiting until the morning! 

It is a myth that babies move less close to the end of pregnancy. The nature of the movements may change as they no longer have space to really stretch their limbs out to give you a good boot in the ribs for example, but you should continue to feel your baby move in the pattern that you have come to recognise, right up to and during labour.

Written by Senior NHS Midwife, Hannah O’Sullivan

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