During the third trimester, your baby becomes especially active. Regular movements are a sign of a healthy baby – and counting the kicks (or movements) is a great tool for monitoring your baby’s health during the last several weeks of pregnancy. Although they are sleeping several times throughout the day, a healthy baby should make at least 10 distinct movements or kicks in under two hours.
Depending on the time of day, sometimes it will only take about 10-15 minutes to count all ten kicks, and sometimes it can take closer to an hour. Especially during the last month of pregnancy, when baby starts to run out of room – they should still be moving on a regular basis.
Here is a worksheet that I made to use every day for counting the kicks, along with some simple instructions. (Or if you have a smartphone, you can download the free app from Count the Kicks!) It’s a good idea to do this at around the same time every day (while you’re sitting down after dinner is a great time to do it!!). If you start to notice a drastic change in the movement patterns, or if it takes over two hours to feel ten distinct kicks – CALL YOUR CARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY!! This could be a sign that something is wrong. Many babies lives have been saved by this exercise!!
To learn more, go to CountTheKicks.org
