18 Weeks- Sudden increase in movements

[SandyBeach2498]

Hello,
I am 18+1 today. I have felt slight flutters since around 16 weeks. About an hour ago I all of a sudden felt an increase in movements. They felt stronger and were way more frequent. They also felt quite different too. They felt like pulses and then some of them even felt like slight rolls.I am scared the baby is in distress. It is currently night time here so i can unfortunately not get in touch with my midwife just to put my mind at ease so i thought until then maybe could someone help/give advice. I read another thread on here which said about how it is too early to track movements but in the back of my mind i do not want to leave it and possibly risk something being wrong. Anyone have any idea of wether this is normal?
Thank you in advance for your replies

Have you had a cold drink recently? Eaten something very sugary? 18 weeks is very early to be monitoring movement, especially if its your first pregnancy, but you could ring the early pregnancy unit at your hospital if you're worried.

It sounds very normal to me. Reduced movements later in pregnancy would be a concern, but increased movement is generally a good thing!

I get that it's alarming when something feels odd though. Are you in the UK? If so, no harm in ringing 111 or an out-of-hours GP, to put your mind at rest.

If it were me, I'd assume that because of baby's size now you're better able to feel the movements and they're just being particularly active. My DD was always a night owl when I was pregnant and would start her acrobatics as I was trying to get to sleep.

As PP said though, if you're worried, see if you can contact the EPU local to you or the relevant department at the hospital. Is there an OOH midwife or a midwife led unit you could contact?

I had this! It scared me so much but had my 20week scan and baby was fine. Guess he was really just having a party in there or maybe hiccups?? Try not to worry. Increase in movement is generally a good thing. Just wait until they get harder!

Might be good to get checked if something unusual is happening. Even if just to put your mind at rest.

My movements tend to go from nothing, to sudden intense bursts, to nothing again. I was told not to worry about tracking them at all until 24 weeks. If you are really concerned it's worth phoning the helpline though, better to be safe than sorry

It could be that baby has moved into a different position, meaning that you’re feeling them more. Always get checked if you’re feeling unsure but I would say that could be the reason :)

Also the pulse like feelings could be hiccups, you can feel these clearly at times. Although not sure how much at 18weeks

Thank you Everyone. You have helped put my mind at ease. The movements have calmed down now. I am going to ring midwife tomorrow just to let her know as I would rather pass it on just incase and maybe they can reassure me some more. There is not an OOH unfortunately so it would just be 111 as i am in the Uk, yes. Hopefully it is just as all of you say, maybe baby moving into different position or baby getting bigger or maybe even having a party yes!. Yes i did think it was too early to track them but because i had not had any so continuous and so noticeable before i panicked and always think the worst which is not good i know. Thank you all again for your replies I really appreciate it.