One of the greatest emotions of pregnancy is feeling your baby moving in your belly . Furthermore, this activity is a sign of well-being that reassures the expectant mother. As a result, too long a quiet period can be a source of anxiety and worry.
On the other hand, as the pregnancy progresses, the kicks of the future baby can become very energetic, to the point of being annoying or even painful (for example when targeting the ribs!). In this case, it can be useful to stimulate the baby’s movements so that he moves to another position , to find some relief.
Other times, however, it may be necessary to wake up the sleeping fetus to correctly perform an examination , such as an ultrasound or a tracing (an examination that is usually performed at the end of pregnancy to monitor the heartbeat of the unborn child).
In this article, we present you some simple tricks to get the baby moving in the tummy in the second and third trimester. In addition, you will find a small guide on when the first movements of the fetus begin to be felt , how often they should be felt and in which cases it is good to worry and contact the doctor .
The first fetal movements feel like fluttering or bubbles in the belly, so it’s not easy to distinguish them from normal digestive and bowel movements.
Some women expecting their first child do not perceive anything up to 25 weeks: this can happen, for example, when the placenta is positioned between the baby and the anterior abdominal wall ( anterior placenta ).
In any case, if after 24 weeks of pregnancy you still can’t feel your baby’s movements , the recommendation is to consult your gynecologist or midwife to check that everything is going well.
How often should it move?
There is no rule and for this reason, if the fetus moves little, there is no need to be alarmed: some children move much more than others . The important thing is that the future baby does not change the pace of activity once it has reached its “routine”, which generally happens in the third trimester of pregnancy .
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.
