Fetal Kick Counts
Starting at 40 weeks (or sooner as directed by your midwife), take time to be still and count your baby’s movements daily. Fetal movement is a positive sign of baby’s well-being.
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How to do kick counts:
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Try to perform kick counts at the same time every day - when your baby usually has one of its active periods. If you aren’t sure when baby is usually most active, try just after you eat a meal.
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Sit or lie down on your left side, with your hands resting on your belly.
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Note what time you start counting.
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Count the number of individual movements you feel until you count 10 movements.
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If your baby moves 10 times in the first hour, you can stop counting. It may take as little as
5-10 minutes to feel 10 kicks, and that’s okay.
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Repeat daily.
What counts as a “kick”?:
• Kick • Turn
• Wiggle • Roll
• Twist • Stretch
**Hiccups do not count as movements**
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If your baby doesn’t move 10 times in the first hour:
The baby may just be sleeping. It’s not always a concern. Try this:
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Drink some juice.
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Walk around for 5 minutes.
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Repeat the kick counts for another hour.
Call your midwife immediately if:
•You do not feel 10 movements in the second hour.
•You suddenly feel baby kick, twist, or turn a lot more than usual. As if the baby is thrashing around,
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We do not need you to turn in any tables or graphs as “homework”, but below are some tools that you may find helpful when you perform the kick counts.
You can write it on a piece of paper:
~ or ~
You can download the free Baby Kicks Monitor app to your phone: