How To Track Baby Kicks

Pick your time based on when your baby is usually active.

How to track baby kicks. Here are some helpful tips. A non stress test should be performed to check the baby s heart rate. Know when to start. The best time to track fetal movement is after you have had a snack or a meal.

This rules out a life threatening emergency. Counting your baby s movements. Try to count kicks at the same time each day. To count movements pick a time when your baby is usually most active often this is right after you ve eaten a meal.

Tracking your kicks using a fetal kick chart or other method. Count each of your baby s movements kicks jabs pokes and rolls as one kick and. Don t count hiccups as kicks. The american congress of obstetricians and gynecologists acog recommends that you time how long it takes you to feel 10 kicks flutters swishes or rolls.

Tips for kick counting. That tends to be after meals in the evening or if you ve just had some sugar. Research shows that babies are often the most active at night. The fetal kick count is the count of any movements that the unborn baby makes such as jabs.

Doctors recommend that pregnant women should begin to start counting kicks during their third. Know about kick counts. This is usually when the baby is most active so it s easier to feel the kicks and keep track. Set aside time for kick counts every day and try for roughly the same time each day when baby tends to be most active.

Ideally you ll want to do the counts at roughly the same time each day then sit quietly or lie on your side and time how long it takes to feel 10 distinct movements kicks punches and whole body movements all count. The american congress of obstetricians and gynaecologists acog recommends that mothers should be charting how long it take to feel 10 movements within two hours at least once a day. If you are counting it helps to chart your baby s kicks so that you can keep track of your baby s normal patterns of movement. Identifying fetal kicks 1.

Once your baby s movements are well established usually by week 28 some doctors recommend keeping track of all those little punches jabs and kicks to make sure your baby is still developing. There are numerous ways to count your baby s movements and numerous opinions on how many movements you are looking for within a certain amount of time. For example your provider may suggest that you choose a time of day when your baby tends to be active. Once you can tell the baby is active lie down on your left side or sit with your feet elevated.