Somewhere between 16-and 24 weeks into pregnancy, you will start to feel your baby’s first kicks! Did you know that kick counting is a way to check in on your baby’s well-being and bond in pregnancy? Let’s go over how to kick count in pregnancy and why you should kick count for pregnancy!
Trigger warning: Stillbirth.
If your placenta is at the back of your uterus, you may feel movements earlier than women who have an anterior placenta (a placenta at the front of the uterus). To visualize this, imagine if I were to tap your arm with my finger. Now imagine if I try to tap your arm with my finger, but there’s a pillow between my fingertip and your arm; it will take a stronger tap for you to feel it! An anterior placenta will likely cause you to not feel your baby’s kicks until 22-24 weeks of pregnancy.
Why is Kick Counting Important?
A healthy baby will have an average number of kicks that they will keep up with as your pregnancy progresses!
However, if a baby isn’t doing well, their movements often slow down to save energy. A decrease in movements can be an early sign of a problem with your baby.
Therefore, taking note of your baby’s kicks regarding their strength and frequency can be an effective way to bond and have your own check-ins with your baby!
The Count The Kicks was created based on public health research in Norway that demonstrated a 30% reduction in stillbirth by teaching pregnant women how to monitor fetal movement during the third trimester of pregnancy by doing kick counts on a daily basis [1].
In the first 10 years of the Count the Kicks campaign in Iowa, the state’s stillbirth rate went down 32% while rates in the rest of the country remained relatively stagnant [2].
Are Count Kicks Outdated?
In the time of technology everywhere and basically taking over obstetric and midwifery hands-on skills, one might assume that kick counting must be outdated, but it’s certainly not!
Technology can have its flaws, even in healthcare. For example, continuous electronic fetal monitoring, aka, the belly bands often put on women in labor to monitor the baby’s heart rate, have been in use and studied for 5 decades now, “despite evidence suggesting it is ineffectual, prone to interpretive errors, has a 99% false-positive prediction of fetal distress, has increased the incidence of cesarean delivery, has not reduced the rate of cerebral palsy (CP), and has not produced better perinatal outcomes. Nevertheless, EFM remains the most common obstetrical procedure today.” [3]
Needless to say, kick counting is not outdated! The research showing a reduction in stillbirth rates by 32% in Iowa was published in 2023 [2].
Important Facts about Kick Counting
If your placenta is at the back of your uterus, you may feel movements earlier than women who have an anterior placenta (a placenta at the front of the uterus).
To visualize this, imagine if I were to tap your arm with my finger. Now imagine if I try to tap your arm with my finger, but there’s a pillow between my fingertip and your arm; it will take a stronger tap for you to feel it! An anterior placenta will likely cause you to not feel your baby’s kicks until 22-24 weeks of pregnancy.
More facts to know about kick counting include:
- Your baby’s movements should not slow down towards the end of pregnancy
- Having something to eat or drink to stimulate your baby does not work. Instead, one study found increased movement from babies around mealtimes when they were anticipating food or prompting the mother to eat [4].
Are Kick Counts Necessary?
Kick counting in pregnancy can be highly beneficial. In more than 50% of cases of stillbirth, the pregnant woman has identified decreased fetal activity prior to diagnosis of fetal death [5].
But the best part is that kick counting doesn’t need to be driven by fear or anxiety, it can be purely to bond and get to know your baby in one way you can right now.
How Does Kick Counting Work?
Kick counting used to be timing how long it takes to feel 10 movements from the baby. Movements include kicks, flutters, swishes, or rolls. It was ideal to feel those movements within 2 hours.
Now, kick counting is tracking your baby’s unique patterns of movements (quantity, timing, and strength) and calling your midwife or OB whenever their patterns seem to stray from their normal patterns.
Kick counting is a fantastic way to bond with your baby and lean into your motherly intuition.
Use a paper that includes the date, time, and number of movements in a specific length of time. Or, you can purchase this Baby Kicks Tracker from Etsy. Or, download the Count the Kicks Free App!
In addition to kick counting, if you’re interested in learning which position and direction your baby is facing, check out Belly Mapping 101- How to Tell Your Baby’s Position During Pregnancy.
Watch Now on YouTube!
When to Start Kick Counting in Pregnancy?
As mentioned above, you may start feeling your baby’s movements at around 16-24 weeks of your pregnancy.
Countthekicks.org and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend starting kick counting at week 28 in pregnancy, or at week 26 if you have a high-risk pregnancy or are pregnant with multiples [6].
When Should I Call my Midwife or OB?
When in doubt, contact your provider if your baby has a change in movements, patterns, or significant changes in movements or no movements at all.
It’s their job to care for you and your baby, so don’t feel worried about contacting them!
Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below👇🏻
Talk soon, mama!
– Katelyn Lauren
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References:
[1] Tveit JV, Saastad E, Stray-Pedersen B, et al. Reduction of late stillbirth with the introduction of fetal movement information and guidelines – a clinical quality improvement. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2009 Jul;9:32. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2393-9-32. PMID: 19624847; PMCID: PMC2734741.
[2] Heazell, AEP, Holland, F, Wilkinson, J. Information about fetal movements and stillbirth trends: Analysis of time series data. BJOG. 2023; 130(8): 913–922. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17426
[3] Sartwelle T. P. (2012). Electronic Fetal Monitoring: A Defense Lawyer’s View. Reviews in obstetrics & gynecology, 5(3-4), e121–e125.
[4] Bradford, B., Maude, R. Fetal response to maternal hunger and satiation – novel finding from a qualitative descriptive study of maternal perception of fetal movements. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 14, 288 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-14-288
[5] Efkarpidis S, Alexopoulos E, Kean L, Liu D, Fay T: Case-control study of factors associated with intrauterine fetal deaths. Medscape Gen Med. 2004, 6: 53-
[6] Count the Kicks: Frequently Asked Questions
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