During pregnancy, it is important that we take into account certain things that help us know if everything is going as it should. Of course, the best way to do this is by going to prenatal appointments.
But in addition to that, there are some things that we ourselves will have to watch out for at this stage. One of them is the movements of the baby in the belly, so today we will talk about them: why it is important to count them and the best apps to keep track of them .
baby’s movements
Although at first we cannot feel them, the baby always moves inside the belly. As the pregnancy progresses and the baby grows, we begin to notice these movements, which we also know as the famous “kicks”.
Usually, the baby’s movements begin to be noticeable in the womb around the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy. Generally speaking, new mothers first notice their child between the 18th and 20th week .
Women who are already mothers begin to notice the first movements from week 16, because in the second pregnancy they are perceived earlier and from week 35, the movements are felt more intensely because the baby has less space in belly.
When and how should we start counting them?
The baby’s movements are considered a sign of fetal well-being, and in late pregnancy they become important for this reason. Although there is no established number of movements that can be considered “normal” since each baby is unique, it is important that each mother knows how her baby moves .
From week 28 to week 30, it is recommended that we begin to keep track of our baby’s movements in the womb, so that it helps us become familiar with its typical movement patterns. Knowing them will help us detect any significant changes that may occur .
The best way to start keeping track of your baby’s movements is to create a routine. Every day, at the same time of day, write down the time you start and count 10 movements of the baby , from a gentle movement to a strong turn or kick, and note the time of that last movement.
It is likely that during the day and while you are doing things you will not perceive them, so to do it more precisely it is advisable to lie down: lying on your left side, and relaxed, you will be able to feel how it moves.
Once we keep this record for several weeks, we can get an idea of our baby’s movement patterns – although we must repeat that these can vary from one day to the next: there will be days that he does the 10 movements in 20 minutes and there will be others where it will take you two hours to do it.
The important thing about keeping this count, however irregular it may be, is that it helps us to be more aware of the baby’s movements and to detect if something is not right. In general, no more than two hours should pass without us noticing movement if the baby is awake .
If you notice that this time has passed and your baby has not moved, try lying on your left side and try to gently stimulate him with music or by eating some food that activates him. If time continues to pass and your baby shows no signs of movement throughout the day, you should go to the emergency room so that the gynecologist can check that everything is fine and there is no loss of fetal well-being.
The best apps to count baby movements
To keep track of your baby’s movements, nothing spectacular is necessary (I wrote down my baby’s movements in a table that I drew on a sheet of paper indicating the day, start time and end time), but we can rely on the technology to do it. We share some apps to keep track of your baby’s movements .
Baby Kicks Monitor
With a simple and clear design, this application works as a kind of stopwatch that starts when you indicate it and you play with each kick or movement that your baby makes. It automatically saves the information and creates a record with all the information.
- Available for iPhone and iPad in the Apple App Store.
Kick counter for your baby
As its name suggests, this counter keeps track of the baby’s movements in a similar way to the previous one: starting a stopwatch for us to record the movements, with the difference that it limits the time to a countdown of two hours. In addition, it allows us to see the record that we have in graphs that we can see by day, week and month.
- Available for Android.
My pregnancy by weeks and baby
Unlike the first applications, this is a more complete one in which, in addition to finding a section to count the baby’s movements, we can fully monitor our pregnancy.
- Available for iPhone.
Cover photo | Matilda Wormwood at Pexels
