'Reduced' movement at 20 week scan - should I worry?

[MoreChilliPlease]

Hi everyone,
We had our 20 week anatomy scan this morning and as far as the sonographer could see, everything looked ok but there were points where she had to really persevere to check everything due to baby refusing to move, for example covering their lips and not rolling over to allow a view of the heart (I had to lie almost completely on my side for her to get a proper view).

The baby certainly was moving at least a little during the scan, kicking legs and reaching down to their feet at one point before covering their face later on.

I wasn't overly worried and the sonographer didn't mention that anything seemed wrong at the end of the scan. However, I've since read over the scan report in my notes and I've noticed that she's reported the feral movement as 'reduced', which seems a little worrying. I did drink an orange juice about 20 minutes before the scan so I'd have expected the baby to be fairly active?

Has anybody else experienced this/had this written down in their notes? I'm quite possibly panicking over nothing and I have definitely felt baby kick since the scan, but at the same time I keep worrying that this is something I should be keeping an eye on. Thanks guys.

Hello

I wouldn't worry - I don't know how the sonographer would gauge 'reduced movements' if they didn't talk to you in detail about how often you feel movement normally. All babies are different in how much they move around. A lot of babies are lazy during the 20 week scan - I know mine was (he was comfy!). I did a lot of shifting around and switching sides to encourage him to move.
I wouldn't read too much into the sonographers notes myself (although I understand entirely that it is difficult to dismiss the worry).

My DD2 wouldn't budge at all during the 20 wk scan, was curled up in a ball with her back facing out and head tucked in, no matter what we did she stayed pretty still the whole time.
We ended up going back at 24 wks as they couldn't get all the measurements, so as long as they have been able to get all the details they needed I wouldn't worry.
I think the sonographer said she had to re-booked 1 in 4 scans that week as the babies weren't cooperating!

I was switching from lying on each side like anything in my 20 week scan to get baby to budge, he was not playing the game. It does seem an odd comment for the sonographer to have noted, I wouldn't be concerned by it.

My DS didn't move at all during the 20 week scan, and was in the wrong position - so we had to go back three weeks later for a rescan.
Fast forward three years and exactly the same story with DD, who refused to move into position at the 20 week scan AND the rescan three weeks later.

It's very normal for babies not to move during scans, so really try not to worry!

what youlemming said

The sonographer actually called the baby a 'wee shite' for not moving and re-booked us for the next week when she had her day off

Even on the second scan they still didn't get all the measurements due to position! Gave up at that point though - what they could see looked fine

Thanks for the replies everyone. I did initially think the same as most of you have said - baby is rarely very active in the morning anyway and seems to prefer early afternoon/evening sessions of activity so far.

I'm trying not to read too much into it, but I've been over analysing baby's lack of movement during every period of seeming inactivity more than I probably need to. Normally I'd be fairly reassured by the fact I have at least felt something despite baby still being quite small but now I feel a bit panicked as there have definitely been days where I've felt baby move more than I have today.

I'm hoping baby has a busy spell later this evening or tomorrow just for a bit of reassurance. I have a cervical scan coming up on Monday anyway so I might just ask if they mind checking in on baby quickly. Thanks again everybody.