Lesley Gilchrist, the Harrogate-based midwife featured on Channel 4’s series ‘One Born Every Minute’ and author of The Bump, Birth & Baby Bible advises on the utmost importance of assessing in-utero movement throughout your pregnancy.
Without wishing to be alarmist, there is no disputing the fact that more babies are lost due to mothers not realizing the importance of a decrease in their baby’s movement than any other single problem in pregnancy.
The important message here is that if you feel that your baby has moved less today than yesterday or that he/she has not moved as expected today (for example, if he/she is usually very active in the morning but you’ve not yet felt any movement), phone the delivery suite of your local hospital and they should ask you to call in to be checked over.
A reduction in your baby’s movements isn’t always indicative of a problem but the only way to know for sure is to get checked over by a midwife or doctor as soon as you notice a reduction in movement.
As your baby grows you’ll become aware of flutters at around 18-20 weeks of pregnancy. If this is your first baby this may be later or if it’s a subsequent baby maybe as early as 16 weeks. As your pregnancy progresses, you will begin to notice that your baby has a regular sleep, rest and movement pattern. The sleep cycles will last from anything from 20-40 minutes but not usually longer than 90 minutes and during that time you will probably not feel any movements. During other times you may feel the odd kick or ‘swoosh’ and this is usually during his rest period.
The movement period is the pattern that you will notice most, with more vigorous and sustained sensations. The pattern of activity will increase through your pregnancy and by 32 weeks of pregnancy you should notice that it is fairly consistent. Although the type of movements may change as you get towards the end of your pregnancy, once you get to 32 weeks of pregnancy the pattern of movements (how long they last and how often you get them) should not be less than the previous day.
If you notice that your baby seems not to be moving as much as before it’s therefore very important that you contact the delivery suite of the hospital you are booked in at for advice. Please don’t be tempted to use a hand held heart beat monitor to listen yourself. You may find your own heart beat by mistake, and even if you do find your baby’s, that in itself is not a sign that all is necessarily well. If you imagine that the hand held heart beat monitor is like taking a photograph, it only captures that point in time and is not indicator of how your baby has been coping for the hours beforehand. At the hospital you can be attached to a monitor that records your baby’s heartbeat for at least 20 minutes. This is like taking a video recording of your baby and illustrates not only how the baby is coping now but how he/she was coping earlier on in the day. The monitor will determine if all is well which should provide reassurance and if there is cause for concern, your midwife or obstetrician can then make a plan for you and your baby’s care based on that. Your prompt response in getting the situation brought to their attention bodes well for a positive outcome.