Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘first kicks’

Every pregnant woman looks forward to her unborn baby’s first kick. It’s exciting, tangible evidence that you really do have a baby growing inside you and a reassuring sign that your pregnancy is going well.

The early weeks

Although you won’t feel it, your baby is already quite active by 12 weeks. Her body moves and jerks, she hiccups and exercises her tiny arms and legs. By 16 weeks, her movements are stronger and more complicated. She can punch, kick, squirm, do somersaults and even suck her tiny, fully formed fingers.

Those first kicks

At around 16 weeks, experienced mums-to-be realize that the fluttery sensation in their tummy isn’t wind, but their baby. Women describe this feeling as being like air bubbles, butterfly wings or pinging elastic bands. As first-time mums don’t know what to expect, most won’t recognize these sensations until 20 weeks or later.

Your baby’s private gym

From around 22 weeks, your baby’s movements will become stronger and more frequent. He’s now on her very own exercise regime; bending, stretching and wriggling to strengthen his muscles and bones and develop his motor ability. You may feel a short jab as he kicks the wall of your womb (uterus) or a squirm as he shifts into a more comfy position. There may be a regular pattern to this as babies tend to settle in certain positions. Before 34 weeks, a large proportion of babies will be in the breech position, so you may get some forceful kicks to your bladder or the top of your cervix.

Getting familiar

As your pregnancy progresses, you’ll begin to recognize certain moves: you may feel a series of small jerks as your baby has an attack of hiccups. A sudden noise may make her jump, or she may become active and excitable if you’re angry or frightened, as the hormone adrenaline passes to her via the placenta. Many expectant mums complain their babies are most active when they sit down or when they go to bed – this may be because when you are still and quiet, you are able to identify the kicks more easily.

Preparing for b-day

At around 34 weeks, your baby’s movements will start to get less pronounced because he’s got less space to move around. By this stage, most babies are spending a lot of time in the head-down position, so you may get the odd painful kick in the ribs. Take comfort in the fact that this means he’s getting ready for birth. You’ll soon be meeting a baby whose movements and habits you already know so well.

If the kicks stop

If your baby’s pattern of kicking changes or you don’t feel any movements for a while, it isn’t necessarily a cause for worry. Sometimes, when a baby changes position, his movements may be harder to be recognized or perhaps he’s sleeping while you’re awake.

However, you know your baby better, so if you’re at all concerned about his movements, or lack of them, see your midwife or GP straightaway. The doctor or midwife will listen to his heartbeat to make sure that all is going well. Your midwife can also give you a kick chart, which helps you count your baby’s first 10 movements each day. As long as these 10 kicks happen by roughly the same time each day, you should have nothing to worry about.
By 32 week, your baby will be moving about 375 times a day!

At the end, I want to remind future mothers: the first movement of the small baby is not only an indicator of its condition, but also the unique experience that a woman may have only in this short, but happy period of his life.

Contact your doctor immediately if:

fetal motor activity is ceased for 12 hours or more;
excessive movements in the intensity increase for several hours and does not stop when you change posture.