Among the most exciting minutes in your pregnancy is when you feel those first little flutters of your baby kicking. These small movements reassure you that your baby is establishing and help you feel closer to the little life within you.
When Will You Feel Your Baby Movement During Pregnancy?
You need to 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 relocation up 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 movement. At first, it might be hard to tell whether your baby has actually moved. Second- and third-time mommies are more adept at differentiating those first baby motions from gas, hunger pangs, and other internal movements.
By your 2nd and third trimesters, the movements must be more distinct, and you’ll have the ability to feel your baby’s kicks, jabs, and elbows. Good, now you feel your baby movement during pregnancy. What is next?
How Often Should I Feel My Baby Moving?
Early in your pregnancy, you might just feel a few flutters every now and then. However as your baby grows– generally by the end of the second trimester – the kicks must grow stronger and more frequent. Studies show that by the 3rd trimester, the baby moves about 30 times each hour.
Babies have the tendency to move more at particular times of the day as they alternate in between alertness and sleep. They are generally most active between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., right as you’re attempting to get to sleep. This rise in activity is due to your altering blood sugar levels. Children likewise can react to noises or touch, and might even kick your partner in the back if you snuggle too close in bed.
Should I Monitor My Baby’s Movement?
Once your baby’s movements are well established (generally by week 28), some physicians recommend keeping track of all those little punches, jabs, and kicks to make sure your baby is still establishing generally. There isn’t any genuine scientific proof to prove whether this technique is a good indication of the baby’s well-being, so talk to your health care carrier to see what she or he advises.
If you are counting, it helps to chart your baby’s kicks so that you can track your baby’s typical patterns of motion. To count motions, pick a time when your baby is typically most active (often, this is right after you’ve eaten a meal). Enter a comfortable position either sitting down in a comfortable chair or lying on your side.
Viewpoint varies as to how to count your baby’s movements, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises noting the time it considers your baby to make 10 movements. You need to feel a minimum of 10 movements within a two-hour period.
If you don’t feel your baby move 10 times by the end of two hours, try again later on in the day. Then if you still can’t feel 10 movements in two hours, or your baby is much less active than typical, call your healthcare carrier, who can inspect your baby’s heart rate and movements.
If You Don’t Feel Your Baby Moving
If you haven’t yet reached 25 weeks and do not feel your baby relocation, or you’re uncertain that what you’re feeling is in fact your baby, do not panic. As your baby grows, you’ll be able to better distinguish his/her movements. You’ll likewise determine at what times of the day your baby is most active. Some infants just naturally move less typically than others.
An absence of motion also might suggest that your baby is asleep. You might feel fewer kicks and jabs after the 32nd week as your baby grows and has less space to move around in the uterus.
If your baby has started to move frequently and you don’t feel a minimum of 10 movements within a two-hour period, or the movements have slowed considerably, it’s time to call your doctor.
Timeline of Baby Movement
Here is an overview of your baby’s possible motions.
- Week 12: Your baby ought to begin to move, but you probably won’t have the ability to feel anything, since 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 may be the baby moving.
- Week 20: By this point in your baby’s development, you may start to truly feel your baby’s first movements, called “quickening.”
- Week 24: The baby’s motions are starting to become more developed. You may likewise start to feel small twitches as your baby hiccups.
- Week 28: Your baby is moving typically now. Some of the kicks and jabs may take your breath away.
- Week 36: Your uterus is getting crowded as the baby grows, and motions ought to slow down a bit.
