Thinking I've flattened my baby????

[FirstTimerWhaleWoman]

Hi there,

This is my first time posting here, although I've been reading the posts on here and they've been very helpful.

this is my first PG after MC a year ago. V traumatic time in my life, and understandably I am a paranoid wreck in this PG to say the least.

I'm 29 wks and I've noticed a change in the way that my babay moves. During the 2nd tri I had lots of healthy kicks and flips, and basically this put my mind at rest that it's ok. But as soon as 27 weeks hit, I noticed a change in its movements. I rarely get the healthy kicks, and all I get is the baby moving around inside me. I freak out every morning thinking that I've squashed it during my sleep, and am usually in a state if it doesn't move after the first few hours.

I really feel on edge ALL the time, v worried about everything I do from bending down to turning too quickly. Am I alone in feeling like this, a freak, or is this justified?

Please some advice... esp on waking and thinking I've squashed it.... some reassurance or anything.

thanks!

do you sleep on your front? have you spoken to mw?

you cannot squash your baby

if a pregnant woman's body was so badly designed, the human race would have died out long ago !

your baby is floating in a lovely warm sea of amniotic fluid, still has room to wiggle and move and turn, is also protected by the membranes, the uterus itself, a thick muscular organ, then your organs, fat, and skin

so there is a lot there to protect little one

baby is moving differently as space is running out, also, baby might be sleeping at different times, and you are hyper aware of it

i imagine a lot of this is linked to your miscarriage, maybe you feel you did something, or didn;t do something that caused it?

when you say you don;t get healthy kicks, do you mean, you get less kicks or different ones?

when did you last see your midwife, and did you talk to her ?

Don't have much advice to give but did not wnat you to go unanswered. Don't think it is possible to squash a baby by rolling round when you are alseep - they are fairly well cushioned in there!

Also with both of mine the way they moved changed during the pregnancy and ds hardly moved at all. However, if you are worried, ring up your midwife and talk to her - they should be able to address any concerns you have.

You are not alone in feeling the way you do and I think the midwives are more than used to it. Hopefully if you talk to them you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy without worrying so much.

Hello
I don't have any pearls of wisdom but wanted to say that a think I might have squashed my baby by lying on my tummy etc. Felt it with first 2 pregnancies and both DD's fine, still a thought I have now and then in this my 3rd preganncy. Us pregnant mothers are all mad doncha know! You and that baby are going to be fine though, I can tell you that.

by about 30 weeks my ds movements felt more like squirming (is that a word???) than definate kicks, think they run out of room to kick to much after a while. do you sleep with pillows under your bump? i always used pillows to support the bump and stop me rolling over.

talk through your worries with your mw as the other girls have said, and try to relax (hard I know), sleeping and moving around will not harm your baby in anyway!

btw I only ever had one kick when PG with DS, the rest was just gentle movements.

Poor you; I've been there, I do understand. Do talk to your midwife, but try not to worry. I spent the whole second half of my pregnancy worried that dd didn't move enough and rarely kicked. I think what you feel varies according to volume of uterine fluid, baby's position etc.

Funnily enough, the only time dd DID kick hard was when I slept on my front. I NEVER sleep on my front usually, but for some strange reason kept trying to in pregnancy. She would let me know exactly what she thought about that. It's hard to believe post-MC, but they're tough little critters and i've never heard of one getting squashed.

Hi FTWW. I am trying to remember my pregnancies and as I recall there was a point at which they stopped kicking and were reduced to writhing, due to lack of space for kicking. As they got bigger they couldn't do so much of the acrobatics. I don't think normal kinds of movement can be harmful (some people - not me!- go jogging throughout their pregnancies). I think it must be quite hard to squash them. Anyway I can quite understand why you are anxious (anxiety in pregnancy is very normal...). But I'm sure your midwife can reassure you if needed.

I woke up spreadeagled on my tummy at about 30 weeks - god knows how I managed to lever myself into that position in my sleep. I was convinced I must've squashed the baby with my enormous weight but all was well.

Does your local hospital have a foetal medicine unit? Ours does, and you can self refer if you're worried. I did this a couple of times when I was pg after a m/c when I was convinced there was something wrong. The staff were wonderful, hooked me up to a monitor for half an hour, patted me kindly on the head in a long suffering sort of way, gave me a cup of tea and sent me home until the next time my poor baby was asleep and I got in a panic. Try drinking a glass of very cold water - that often used to wake mine up. They bot now insist on going into the sea when it's mid winter - I wonder if there's a connection.......!

Dear lovely mothers,

thank you all so much for your replies! Honestly, I am glad that I am not the only one.

I don't sleep on my stomach, but sometimes wake up and find myself on my back. I try cushions, but to be honest I get so uncomfortable every 5 minutes that I am constantly changing positions and the pillows with me. DH starts huffing and puffing as he's up @ 5am for work, so they all end up on the floor or I end up in the spare room.

I agree with lulumama thast most of the anxiety is linked to the MC, especially as it was a missed mc. I do still feel responsible for it happening and I know that's something I need to work through. And when this little one doesn't move, it brings it all back.

My midwife has the bedside manner and compassion of simon cowell... therefore not that approachable. My only source of comfort is this site and that God awful magazine/ book thing "Emma's Diary" so you can imagine.

Thanks for the advice guys! It honestly helps to know that I am not the only one.

snort at midwife / simon cowell comparison!! poor you ! bin emma;s diary, start reading books that actually look at the psychology and physiology of birth and give you the confidence to believe that you can carry ,nurture and birth this baby.....!

IMO Ina May Gaskin, Sheila Kitzinger, Penny Simkin, Janet Balaskas all write brilliantly, some of it is a bit 'hippyish' but the messsage is the same ..'your body was designed for this, and can do this!' , found them very inspiring myself x

all the best