Reduced kicks. Feeling fobbed off

[Superslinger]

My baby kicks a lot over the course of a day. I don't count the kicks because it's so many an hour I wouldn't be able to keep up. But then yesterday there were probably only about 3 periods of movement, then over night I've been up most of the night trying to encourage kicks (drinking cold, sugary stuff, sleeping on left side, POKING etc) and felt absolutely nothing (extremely, extremely unusual as I normal feel her every time I go to the loo - every flipping couple of hours - overnight. This morning has been much the same. There've not only been fewer movements, but the ones I have had have been really gentle, and seem slower - baby just isn't itself it seems.

I've called the midwife team and explained all of the above and they've said unless I've counted the kicks they can't do anything, and that I need to lie on my side, have a cold drink and count the kicks for a few hours if still concerned. i.e. I've got to spend the next few hours what I've been doing since about 8 o'clock last night. They've also said it doesn't matter if when baby kicks it's more gentle. They seem obsessed with this whole 'ten kicks a day' thing, but I was pretty sure that the advice was that you should pay attention to any change to your baby's normal routine? So surely if my baby's behaving very differently then this should be checked out?

Sorry for such a long rant, but just so worried and feel there could be something wrong and it could become much worse if ignored. :(

37w

Hope you're in being monitored OP.

For anyone else reading this - do not bother trying to count any kicks... do not waste time lying on your side, eating chocolate or drinking cold drinks.

If your baby's movements change from what is usual then go immediately to your L&D ward. By change I mean sudden frenzied & increased activity, as well as reduced movements.

I don't mean to scare anyone (though I'm happy to if it saves a baby's life), but if your baby's movements change suddenly, then it's far better to lie, and get seen...

Tami- I completely agree with you!

Op have you been for a ctg? Please let us know I everything is ok.

Hi all, thanks so much for all the responses! Ended up getting DH involved and we called again and lied and said only felt baby once in that period. Got a different midwife on the phone this time and she was completely different - told us to go straight in.

We ended up being monitored for 4 hours! Baby of course immediately kicked as soon as we were strapped in, and I was embarrassed, but lovely midwife said that's exactly what they want to see and we were right to come in. Anyway, heartbeat went under 100 a couple of times so they were worried and showed graph to doctor who kept getting them to re-monitor to make sure it was just sensor losing contact with baby, rather than a true reflection of hb being low. They decided it was just the losing contact option. Then during the course of the last hour (have to say I was relieved at how thorough they were!) hb stayed super-stable for about 20 mins, which they wanted to be sure was just a sleep stage - after a while it went back to varying between about 120 and 170 so they were happy again. Phew! Have to say I nearly burst into very dramatic tears when they pointed out the dips. Not nice when it looks like your fears are justified!

Anyway, in sum, definitely right to lie to be seen. I feel so much better now. Been told to go back in tomorrow for them to test my umbilical flow with doppler (there's is broken so couldn't do today), so definitely feeling looked after now.

For others' info, I made a point of saying to the midwife before I left 'just to clarify, because I'm getting competing advice - should I be worried if number of movements change from my baby's normal, or only if there're fewer than 10 a day?' She said definitely to call if it's unusual for your baby - and that 10 a day really isn't very many (exactly what I thought!)

Thanks again everyone! x

Well done Superslinger, small Sling has a great mummy

Aww glad to hear superslinger... bet you feel better for being taken seriously! Glad you got a nice mw this time!

OP - you did exactly the right thing.

Eugene - I think people are just super sensitive about this. So many people will tell you that babies movements slow at the end of pregnancy. That is dangerous and wrong advice and it is costing babies lives. I know that's not what you were saying but I'm sure you can appreciate why people would feel strongly about it.

Op- I have been thinking about you all night, I'm glad everything is well and ok.

Very well put northernlurker.
I hope my reply to the poster didn't sound nasty, but I know too well How wrong that advice is. I would hate for anyone to lose their baby after following the advice that movements slow down.

Phew superslinger! Well done for sticking to your guns as well - there are great MWs out there but sounds like you spoke to one who was having a really bad day at the office

What a relief! Have been thinking of you. Well done and so very glad everything is fine. My some as born at 26 weeks and the best bit of advice a midwife ever gave me was always trust your instincts if you think something needs to be checked or has varied from normal insist on the drs checking it-you know your baby better than anyone!

I agree, don't take no for an answer! Go and get checked, lie if you have to. I had a very active baby both times, and every time I felt reduced movement I was told to go in and get checked out. Most times there was a problem (usually a uti which I am cursed with in pregnancy) the last time I went in was the day before dd arrived, she would move so much I couldn't keep count, and I'd barely felt anything all day. I was monitored and had my first proper contraction as the midwife came in to check the trace. Apparently some babies do go a bit quiet in early labour, but not always!

OP I'm glad that everything is OK :)

blizy (((hugs))) nice to see you xx

HI Superslinger,

i've been foloowing the thread and am so glad everything has turned out ok.

i'm in a similar spot - my baby's movements have slowed down dramatically over the last couple of days and hardly anything today compared to normal. i phoned the midwife and the assessment unit but they were unwilling to do anything because i'm only 25 weeks :/ they said that despite my history of miscarriages and the arrested fetal growth of my son the only thing they would do is listen to the heartbeat. apparently they won't do anything else until 28 weeks. i'm waiting to hear back from the consultant but am really worried about what this means for the baby and worried that no noe else but me seems bothered.

i hope my news turns out to be as good as yours, i'm so pleased for you and well done for pushing your case - when i felt reduced fetal movement with my last baby everyone said it was normal that movements should slow down and that i was worrying too much - it turned out he wasn't growing in the womb and we only found out by accident, otherwise he may well have died so you totally did the right thing

Hx

Sorry everyone - blizy did you have a stillbirth? I apologise if so; I would have been more understanding of your comments. I think the replies just put my back up and then I posted in anger.

OP - glad everything is OK. That's the main thing!

hzgreen - I'm a bit they aren't taking you more seriously given you do have a history. I really hope your news, when they deign to give it to you, is positive.

Thanks everybody, I'm so touched to have found such support. I've had a good word with bump about how many people were worried!

hzgreen, poor you, I've found the earlier in pregnancy you are the more you're made to feel to feel you're the only one who's bothered (and 25 weeks obviously isn't early at all). I didn't have movement concerns earlier on, but I did have a panic once and the attitude seemed to be 'well, it'll "probably" be fine' so I took myself off for a private scan. Not ideal and obviously not equivalent to being properly monitored, but I did find it reassuring. I'm so sorry for your previous losses and problems - do keep us updated with how it goes. I've actually got to wondering whether it's worth 'losing' your notes and lying about dates to be seen properly in a position like yours. Probably rubbish advice as obviously they'd think baby was terribly small when it wasn't etc, but can't help feeling there must be SOME way to be seen properly, especially with a history like yours. x

hi, thanks for your replies, i didn't mean to hijack the thread. i kicked up a s**tstorm (well my version of one!) and got a call today from my consultants secretary to say they have booked me in for a scan on friday which is the earliest they can do becasue the consultant is away on annual leave until then. i'm still feeling the baby move but hardly at all compared to normal so i'm swining between "OMG what;'s wrong!!?" to "am i making this up?"

my hospital and doctors often seem to be hiding behind policy as a way of not taking my concerns serviously which is upsetting and frustrating but hopefully this scan will either highlight something they can treat or show me that everything is ok. i'd rather be a paranoid nuiscence than find there is something wrong :/

i'd rather be a paranoid nuiscence than find there is something wrong :/

hear, hear!

Hijack away (my baby has never stopped bobbing about ever since they put the monitor on - sure yours will be the same from Fri). Well done with getting them to do something! Let us know how it all goes! x

hz you know you can still go in between now and Friday for monitoring. I would, lying all the way to get monitored. Tbh I went in with loss of movement and was induced the next day. No scans offered.

Hi, jsut got back from the hospital and everything is ok! they couldn't explain the reduction in kicks but everything looks good and the blood flow to the placenta is fine! thank goodness for that! the consultant said i did the right thing by going in which was good to hear after the PAU didn't give a toss.

Just like to add my own experience in here- I am 34wks pg now, and when the mw first brought up monitoring movements she was quite clear. They no longer consider 'Count the kicks' to be a reliable gauge and she categorically stated that you know best with regard to what's normal FOR YOU. If it's normally a fairly 'lazy' bump and suddenly starts moving drastically, go in. If it's an evening wriggler and you find you've not felt anything since Neighbours, go in. If things feel different to you and you're not happy GO IN.
I'm in Lincs if this makes any difference.