The Art Of Counting Kicks

Counting kicks is an art not very widespread among pregnant women. If you ask a pregnant woman how many kicks she has felt, she most likely does not know. It is not a matter of feelings and emotions, in fact it is a very important exercise.

The kick count allows you to determine the movement of the baby in the womb. The fetus must move every day with a regular frequency. Once we begin to identify its rhythm, we can perceive possible disturbances. The legs are not necessarily kicks as such, it can be a twist, hit or lug.

In early pregnancy the baby’s movement is not clearly felt. They can move from their first weeks, but they are so small that mothers cannot perceive their movement. It is possible that we confuse it with gas, it is just an apparent butterfly in the abdomen, but it is very valuable to feel it.

It is not until week 26 that the baby’s movement is most noticeable. However, a woman might not feel it even until the 28th week. On the other hand, some women begin to count kicks as their 20th week of pregnancy passes.

Why is it necessary to count kicks?

The daily movement of the baby is part of its development and the normal evolution of the process. Therefore, keeping a record of kicks provides important information about the health of the fetus. The baby in the womb should not stop moving for no apparent reason. If there is a problem, it is possible to determine it by altering the frequency of your movements.

Information that may not seem relevant can alert the doctor to significant changes. For example, that the baby is not getting enough oxygen or is running out of space in the uterus. So, if we notice any variation in the amount of kicks we feel, it is convenient to discuss it with the doctor.

Experts believe that the earlier problems of this type occur, the likelihood of treating them increases. For this reason, it is convenient to start counting kicks every day from the moment of vivification.

How many kicks did you feel today?

If your pregnancy is advanced and you still do not know anything about the kick count, do not panic, you are still on time. Most likely, if your pregnancy is progressing normally, it is because the baby is fine and there are no alterations.

However, it is recommended that you start this practice. How and when to start? Here are some considerations to follow:

• Plan a time to count kicks. Make sure it’s the same time every day.
• To pick the right time, look ahead to the hours when you seem to be awake and active. If you are not awake, we can gently touch the abdomen to wake it up, have a cold drink or walk around.
• It is recommended that we perform the kick count after eating or snacking, since food could promote their activity. However, when we have consumed caffeine it is preferable to wait about two hours before starting the count. The activity of the fetus could be altered by caffeine, therefore the sample will not be totally reliable.

• There can be many ways to count kicks, your doctor will recommend some. However, the methodology is more or less as follows:
  • Record the start of the count on a graph or clock to determine how long the count took
  • Sit or lie on your right side. Bring your hand to the part of the abdomen that is larger
  • Starts counting kicks until 10 movements are registered
  • Make a record of the time it took to count the 10 kicks, write it down somewhere fixed
  • If in a period of two hours we have not counted ten strokes, it is recommended to wait an hour and start again. It is possible that the baby sleeps while we wait for him, it is not always an inconvenience.

The time in which the goal of 10 kicks is reached can vary from 30 minutes to two hours. However, under normal conditions it should not take more than two hours to achieve the full count. It is estimated that during this exercise the baby could be asleep for up to 40 minutes.

When to consult the doctor?

The kick count allows us to identify some irregularities, which we must consult the doctor immediately. For example, if we notice that as the day goes by, the baby stops feeling more often. It is also advisable to go to the specialist when we cannot feel the baby at any time of the day. Other reasons are the following:

• There has been a noticeable change in the number of kicks felt daily
• After counting twice within two hours each, 10 kicks were not counted
• We have doubts about other data in the movement of the fetus.