Throughout the pregnancy, a mother-to-be is in anticipation of her baby's movements, especially when the bump starts to show. Doctors say that monitoring the baby's movements is key to understanding whether they are doing fine inside, or if there is something alarming that needs to be evaluated by a professional.
But, for first-time mothers, there is a lot of confusion regarding what is and what is not normal when it comes to the baby's movements. Should they be kicking this much? Are they feeling any kind of discomfort? Why are they not kicking at all? Are they asleep, or is something wrong? These are some common questions that doctors get asked all the time.
On Instagram, Dr Amina Khalid, an obstetrician-gynaecologist explained that it is not normal for a baby to move less towards the end of the pregnancy. "In my practice, this is something I have heard way too often from the to-be mommies in their third trimester, and to top it all, have even heard them validate it to others. But please know this isn't the case," she wrote.
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Explaining further, she said a mother may start to feel the baby's movements from 16-20 weeks of pregnancy. The movements will increase till 32 weeks, after which the frequency will remain almost the same. Sometimes, mothers are told that babies move less because as they grow, there is less space in the uterus for them to move around. Rubbishing this, Dr Amina said, "You mean to say the uterus that grows five times in size in pregnancy has less space for the baby?"
"If your baby is moving less than usual, you need to take it as an alarming sign. Also, there is no normal number of movements for the baby. What's normal for you might not be normal for another," said the doctor, adding that there will be certain times of the day when your baby is more active than other times.
According to the expert, towards the end of the pregnancy, the baby is snuggly placed within the uterus, so while the type of movements may change, the frequency and intensity will not. "There will be certain times in the day when your baby isn't moving. That is because they sleep, too! You can't expect them to be moving 24X7. These sleep cycles of your baby keep occurring regularly throughout day and night -- lasting for about 20-40 minutes, but rarely above 90 minutes."
The doctor added that it is always advisable for a pregnant woman to get herself checked if she has noticed that her baby is not moving as much as they would normally do. "It could mean that they are in impending danger," she warned, adding that about 50 per cent of those who had stillbirths perceived decreased fetal movements beforehand.
