Kick Counting

The MISS foundation encourages this...

What is kick counting?

An expectant mother can distinctly perceive her baby’s specific movement pattern by 24 weeks. Some babies tend to be more active at night, others in the morning or afternoon. Kick counting can be started at 28 weeks in normal pregnancies and as early as 24 weeks for complicated pregnancies. All expectant mothers should discuss kick counting with their healthcare provider.

There are different methods of kick counting and ACOG [American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology] recommends that expectant mothers note the time it takes for their baby to complete ten movements, at approximately the same time each day when the baby is usually most active. Movements include kicks, jabs, rolls, twists, and turns. Each baby and every pregnancy is different. Understanding that babies have sleep cycles can alleviate mothers’ anxiety toward kick counting. In general, healthy babies should complete ten movements within two hours and most babies achieve this in less than 15 minutes. The healthcare provider should be alerted immediately of changes in the baby’s normal pattern or if the baby takes more than two hours to complete ten movements.

Click the post title to see the full article from MISS (Mothers in Sympathy and Support who work to prevent stillbirth). Their website is here.