Fetal Movement Awareness and Counting

Be aware of your baby’s movements. Take time to get to know your baby’s active and
sleep cycles. From 24 – 32 weeks babies are very active and you will feel lots of
movements. This appears to slow down in the third trimester when your baby has
developed more pronounced wake and sleep cycles. Getting to know your baby’s activity
will help you know if it changes. A decrease in fetal movements can be a sign that your
baby needs further evaluation.

If you are concerned about how much your baby is moving do the following:

 Get in a comfortable position, reclined or laying on your left side

 Write down the date and start time
 Make a note of every movement you feel, when you reach 10 movements write down
the time again, it may take up to one hour to feel 10 movements.
 If after one hour there are less than 10 movements continue to count for another hour
 If after two hours there are less than 10 movements call your midwife
 Alternately, if you do these counts around the same time every day and you notice it
takes longer than usual to get those 10 movements, call your midwife.

Date Start Time Movements End Time Time Elapsed

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If you feel that your baby is not moving as usual do not hesitate to call your midwife. Decreased
fetal movement is one of the first signs that your baby is not getting enough oxygen and there
are further tests to determine the well-being of your baby and put your mind at ease if
necessary.

References
The Canadian Perinatal Programs Coalition (2009). Fundamentals of fetal health surveillance: A self-learning manual (4th ed.). Canada: The
Perinatal Services BC.
King, T.L., Brucker, M.C., Kriebs, J.M., Fahey, J.O., Gegor, C.L., & Varney, H. (2013). Varney’s midwifery (5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Learning
Miller, L.A., Miller, D.A, & Cypher, R.L. (2017). Mosby’s pocket guide to fetal monitoring: A multidisciplinary approach (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO:
Elsevier.
Update by Skaidre Brown 10/6/17