Baby moving too much?

[Beaubeagle]

Posting for traffic.

I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant. I've felt movement for a number of weeks now and have noticed a pattern where there isn't much movement overnight (unless I go to the loo, then I get a couple of kicks before the baby settles).

Since 10pm last night the baby has literally not stopped moving! My stomach feels like a washing machine and I'm having so many big kicks and movements. This has kept me awake all night and I'm exhausted. It's absolutely not the norm.

A quick Google shows that an increase in movement can be fetal distress but doesn't specify from what week. I called my local MAC at 5am for advice and the midwife told me there is no such thing as too much movement.

5 hours later the baby is still moving. Do I call back or just accept that this is ok??

When I was pregnant with second DD, she moved CONSTANTLY, even when she was born she constantly fidgeted for the first couple of days - completely normal and nothing wrong with her. X

Both of mine have been constant movers. I remember being surprised by someone at antenatal class saying they felt their baby every couple of hours. I barely went 10 mins without having the crap kicked out of me by either of mine!

But if you're worried about it then just demand to be seen at triage. Better to be safe than sorry. It may just be baby has changed position.

Oh and overnight they were at their worse. You do get used to it and manage to sleep through it!

I was asked to come in once when DS1 had started moving a lot more than usual.

(He was completely fine though)

Did you have something very sugary? Have you moved around more than usual today?

It's possible that the baby is a bit bigger and you can feel more, or that the baby has just changed its hanits and is having more awake time through the night.
Also are you calm? The only time I remember notable movement was after I had been in a nasty confrontation with a man over a driving incident.

The advice is to go in for any change in movement. This is a change from the normal. Please don’t take risks, call triage

Nothing sugary, no caffeine. Nothing unusual all day. I did have a very small portion of Chinese takeaway at around 8:30pm but didn’t eat much because I wasn’t hungry.

This isn’t my first baby but I have had 7 mc, so I am a little anxious. The massive increase in movement is very unusual though.

Maybe its just as you are getting further along? Im 28 weeks and noticed a big difference over last couple of weeks of being able to feel more movement more frequently.

I got in touch with my community midwives once because I thought my baby was moving more than normal. They advised me to contact my birth hospital if it continued or the movements felt like she was thrashing about. She was fine that day, but when I contacted my birth hospital again (OOH for community midwives) they basically told me the same thing as told you OP, and said that at my stage, about 30 weeks I think, baby still had lots of room to move around.

It’s very frustrating when you receive conflicting advice.

The advice from Kicks Count (a brilliant charity, with a focus on healthy fetal movements) is to get seen. A gradual increase in movement at this stage is normal, but a sudden increase should definitely be checked.
It doesn't mean something is wrong, but as it can, a midwife should always check.

Honestly if your worried just ring back and explain that your concerned that there's such a change in movements, they really won't mind you ringing- you won't be wasting their time and it might put your mind at rest 😊

Have a look at the works of Kicks Count (previously Count the Kicks I think). Please insist on being checked.

Yeah OP I think if only for your own peace of mind please go and get checked if you possibly can.

Thank you all. I’ve been down to MAC to be checked out. Despite the baby still going absolutely crazy, they’ve given me the all clear. No reason as to why this is happening, they’ve said to monitor and if it doesn’t settle in a few days time, to go back. They have no immediate worries though.

Feeling much more reassured now!

That's great news @Beaubeagle , glad to hear they've asked you to come back if needed too. 🙂

That's great to hear OP. Glad you were able to put your mind at rest.

You did the right thing. Get any change in movements checked. More than likely baby had just moved position and you can feel more now, but you ate right that increase movements can signal fetal distress, and if the midwives fob you off, tell them you are worried and need to be seen.