The Magic of Kick Counts
The #1 question I get about kick counts is WHAT is normal? They want to know how long it should take to get their 10 kicks.
The real magic of kick counts is it should start your parenting journey to ask what is normal for YOUR child.
Let’s back it up though.
Kick counts have be studied to show that properly doing kick counts could save 1/4 stillbirths. As a nurse who has cried a the bedside of hundreds of moms who experience that, if I could save even just one or two by explaining how they work — I’m here for it.
Kick counts are done in your third trimester. Why this late in your pregnancy game?
Prior to 28 weeks fetal movement is really hard to predict and can’t be evaluated as well.
You’re going to pick a time of day that you feel baby quick a lot. For me, it was after dinner (but another friend mentioned her baby was crazy after yoga — just make sure it’s something you do daily).
Then, you’re going to note the time. Then, you’ll sit there and feel for baby to move 10 times. Any movements, besides hiccups, count. Then, you note the time again. Maybe it’s 10 minutes, maybe it’s an hour. What is normal for YOU is normal.
Most moms will take that time to just sit and feel fetal movement, clearly if your baby takes an hour, you may not be able to sit for an entire hour, but you’ll want to something where you can feel for baby at the same time.
It’s also a great time to dream and bond with this future baby who will be such an important person in your life!
You can use an app to count the kicks, or you could use your fingers and a notepad or your notes app on your phone to jot down how long it took.
And then the next day you do it again. Maybe it was 11 minutes yesterday, and 15 today, 12, the next day. But let’s say you’re heading into 30 minute on another day. That’s almost double what it normally talks. Just call your provider. See what they recommend to do. Maybe they’ll ask you in to monitor you, or they’ll say to keep watching for a day or so….
Let’s say the next day it takes 45… then you call again. You get the idea. But, maybe it’s almost back to 10 and continues to circle about 15 minutes for another few weeks.
What is normal for YOU, what’s normal for YOUR baby? It really can be a lifesaver for them (and for you).
Let me give you a few more resources for kick counts:
My free cheat sheet is here: https://birdsend.page/forms/844/fhd6oyiyGr
Read a full post on kick counts and why fetal movement is so important: https://pregnurse.com/fetal-movement-kick-counts/
Here’s a favorite video on kick counts:
And a podcast I did on them: https://www.pullingcurls.com/kick-counts-pcp-023/