You may hear that "Babies movements decrease as they run out of room in the womb" the closer you get to birth.
Is this truth?
False ⚠️
They move the same amount but are positoned differently so it may feel different and they have a sleep routine of their own at this point.
The character of the movements changes when the pregnancy approaches delivery due to limited space in the uterus, but the frequency and intensity will not normally decrease. In an interview study, 40 term pregnant women with an outcome of a healthy baby described fetal movements during the past week. Almost all experienced fetal movements as “strong and powerful”. Half of the women also described the movements as “large” (involving the whole body of the fetus). Another common description was “slow” as in “slow motion” and “stretching” or “turning”. Some of the women stated that they were surprised how powerfully the fetus moved.
It is widely acknowledged that a pattern of regular movements is associated with fetal wellbeing. Fetal movements can be defined as any discrete kick, flutter, swish or roll and are normally first perceived by the mother between 18 and 20 weeks of gestation. The frequency of fetal movements reaches a plateau in gestational week 32 and stays at that level until birth. There is normally a variation in fetal movements with a wide range in the number of movements per hour. The movements are normally absent during sleep and occur regularly throughout the day and night, normally lasting for 20–40 min. The sleep cycles rarely exceed 90 min in the normal and healthy fetus. Although the movement pattern of the individual fetus is unique, it is general knowledge that decreased fetal movement is associated with adverse outcome.
True Decreased fetal movement is a concern regardless of gestation.
Do not ever feel silly or wrong for reaching out to your provider for reassurance as many times as you need.
Several maternal factors may impair the ability to recognize fetal movement. Amniotic fluid volume, fetal position, having an anterior placenta, smoking, being overweight and nulliparity have been reported as such factors. Maternal factors which may enhance the ability to recognize movement are the opportunity to focus on the fetus and the absence of distracting noises. About 50% of the pregnant women in a study from Norway were sometimes worried about decreased fetal movements.
Conclusion
Women reported changes in fetal movement concerning frequency, intensity, character and duration. The challenge from a clinical perspective is to inform pregnant women about fetal movements with the goal of minimizing unnecessary consultations whilst at the same time diminishing the length of pre-hospital delay if the fetus is at risk of fetal compromise.
Every kick counts 💟
#everykickcounts #dismantlingmisinformedbirthfacts
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4888620/
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