Dealing with reduced movement in late pregnancy

[weeblueberry]

I'm 37+5 and the baby has stopped kicking me quite so ferociously as she used to. She's still wiggling away in there but it definitely feels more muted than it used to.

I know this is normal for this period as she's running out of room but I still feel a little uneasy even though I know most people go through this.

How do you actually convince yourself everything is still okay when changes like this happen?

Go to your midwife, she will know if it's normal or not. It probably is just because it's a tight space and if she's wriggling that's good but I would always seek medical advice as if it is a problem the baby needs out sooner rather than later. x

have a look at the countthekicks website, has advise on this.

I went and got monitored when I was 37 weeks. They take any changes in movement very seriously. Within 30 minutes I knew my baby's heart rate was good, her movements were normal and she seemed contented. From then on the differences in movement were classed as the 'new normal' in my mind. Seriously, don't leave it. Ask your MW - it was the only thing that put my mind at ease.

If you think there might be anything wrong, even if you think you might be silly, ask for an ultrasound. I had reduced movements around 37 weeks,had an ultrasound and the cord was tightly wrapped around my baby's neck. Had to have a emergency section in the end!

this is why i was induced with ds and dd, ds at 39 weeks and dd on her due date. they both stopped moving but would do a few kicks during monitoring but then go silent again. in the end the docs got paranoid. but they were both born healthy and are both at school now x

Definitely get checked, but with DD midwife told me at this stage movement slows as the baby prepares for birth.

Thanks everyone. The plan was to watch it for a few hours and see what happened. Of course at this point she woke up and started going mad so all is okay. There's been quite a lot of movement this afternoon so I'm not 'concerned' anymore.

I appreciate everyone's advice though

Glad it's all ok! If you start to worry again, my midwife said to have a serve of icecream or a sugary drink (like a can of soft drink, not just a tea with sugar!) and give it half an hour to start moving happily about. If nothing much is happening within an hour, then head in for a check.

Glad it's all ok.

For the record, what Yoni's midwife told her is utter utter tosh. Babies' movements do not slow down to 'prepare for birth'. They may change due to reduced space (rolling rather than sharp jabs for example) but a reduction in movements should always always be checked out. There's some guidance on this by the Royal College of Obstetrics or the like - don't have time to find it now but it discredits this 'getting ready for birth' theory entirely.

I got checked over twice with DD and three times with DS: every time all was fine, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Glad it's okay too.
But wanted to second what bicycle said, reduced movements towards the end of pregnancy is a myth, and should always be checked out.
I got checked over in my last pregnancy and the midwives were very happy that I came to be monitored, rather than take the risk that something could be going wrong.