Starting to worry about baby's lack of movements (34 weeks), how much does/did yours move please

[SatHereSitting]

Hi I'm 34 + 4 weeks and my baby has barely moved all day again. Since he first started kicking at 19 weeks he seems to have followed a pattern of a few days movement followed by a few days where he is extremely quiet and I may not feel movement all day, so in a way this is not unusual for him.

Just starting to worry now because he is so big, how can I possibly not feel his movements and why would does he go quiet for days on end?

I've mentioned it several times to midwife and she says if I get worried to ring the hospital and go in for a heart trace which I've already done once at 29 weeks and everything was fine. I'm seriously considering ringing them again in a bit, but tbh I can't see how just recording his heartbeat is going to help, I'm worried something else may be wrong.

Just to add I have a heart sounds monitor at home so I know he's alive and my placenta is anterior which I know can cushion movements but surely not when he's this big, I mean I can feel his body if I press on my bump, he's just not moving!!

Just wanted to know if anyone had or was experiencing similar please TIA

DS2 wasn't much of a mover tbh - I did feel him every day though but quite often it would be only once or twice a day (usually in the evenings).

I was slightly worried but then realised that that was his pattern and as long as I felt him at least once a day, I didn't panic. He is now 4 months and doesn't seem that bothered about moving - quite happy to lie on his back!

DS1, otoh, was a realy wriggler - my tummy used to ripple like mad for about an hour every evening. He is now 2.8 and never sits still

I haven't had similar experience, but it did occur to me, if he is rather big, perhaps he hasn't got that much room to move?

The movement usually/virtually always seems to decrease the later you get in pg for this reason, and as you're over 34 weeks this wouldn't be that uncommon. By the time I was this pg with ds1, I never felt kicking, just kind of stretching/squirming!

It might be an idea to call your maternal assessment unit again just to reassure you. They do a heart trace to check for normal rhythms. If there was something abnormal this would pick it up. Has your midwife given you any other suggestions?

Oh yes, Fattipuffs has just reminded me of something - neither of my 2 ever kicked, just riggled/squirmed. I never never experienced those painful kicks that other mothers seemed to.

sathere

If you are worried.. take your midwife's advice and contact the hospital. Lack of movement should always be taken seriously

I know where you are coming from re the hearbeat trace.. that jut tells you baby is ok right at that moment.
If you think there is something more fundamental .. stand your ground and ask for a scan.

Better to over-react that under -react

good luck

I had this with both my pgs. With ds1 I spent the entire pg worried sick that there was something wrong because all the other pg women in my yoga class went on and on about how they couldn't sleep because their babies were kicking so much. I hardly felt a thing. With ds2 it was much the same.I burst into tears in front of the mw at one appointment and she whisked me in for a scan to assure me that everythig was OK.

I can also confirm that this has absolutely no bearing on post-natal behaviour. I now have two DSs who barely sit still

Thanks for the quick replies. Fattipuff I know what you're saying about size but he's always been like this, infact it's only in recent weeks that his movement has become stronger and more frequent IYKWIM, so then when he goes quiet it's more worrying because I felt him so strongly a few days before.

Ceebee that's reasuring to hear,this one does kick though when he has his 'good' days he squirms and kicks really hard, I just don't understand how he can then just barely move for days on end.

I've tried not to worry about it too much as this does seem to be his pattern, but speaking to other pregnant women at antenatal class didn't help, as apparently their babies never stop moving and even the classs leader was concerned. I just don't know what to do, starting to worry somethings maybe not working properly in there, but then how come he's fine other days?? Sorry for rambling

First of all it is irrelevant how much or little someone else's baby moves.

At this stage if the movement pattern changes (to less or more) it needs to be checked by a midwife.

Sorry x posts with frasersmummy and midnight, I think I will demand someone takes this abit more seriously

Movements should not decrease just beacuse there is less room.

You need to speak to the hospital. They can tell a fair bit by looking at the baby's heart rate over a period fo time and they can also do a scan to check how well he is growing and to check the blood flow through the placenta.

Have you rung the hospital yet?

It may be reassuring to read others experiences but nobody can tell what is going on with your baby without monitoring and/or a scan. Please get yourself looked at tonight.

I'm just waiting for dp to come home (due anytime) I feel stupid ringing them though, because the baby is always like this. Last time I'm sure they didn't believe me and made me feel abit like I was over reacting. They hooked me up and gave me this thing to press when I felt movement.

I didn't feel any, so they gave me cold water to drink (didn't do anything, it never does) then they gave me a glucose drink and said this will definately make him move (again it didn't) and they were all at me. I explained that this is what he's like on his quiet days, nothing moves him at all

you need to go to hospital for monitoring - I am not trying to scare you but my baby nearly died at 35 weeks - she stopped moving and it was only me fussing and taking myself off to hospital that saved her life. I too checked on the doppler and could hear her heart rate but that is not enough, her trace was totally flat and it should have rises and falls. Of couse there are other reasons but it is just not worth the risk. I'm pregnant again and have already decided that even if I'm up there being monitored every week I will never sit at home wondering if I really need to go in for 24 hours (as I did) whilst meanwhile my little girl was stuck in awful conditions and needed to be delivered.

I agree with Lenin - screw their reactions! 'Normally' a cold drink or a sugar boost will get a baby moving - I think you need to insist that they check everything as this isn't the case for you.

Oh God - mine (6 months old now and perfectly fine)did exactly the same thing. Used to drive me mad it did. Almost from the begininng of when I felt proper movements he would go quiet for three days then go mad for the next three. Every single week was the same. I used to mention it to the mw and she would say "if you're worried go to the hospital". Thing is I was worried and I wasn't. Because each week was the same and each week he had been ok so it seemed to me to be just his way. But when he hadn't seemed to have moved for days I would worry. I had a Doppler too and used it occasionally to reassure myself (which it did).

At about 35 weeks I got GD and had to go under hospital care whcih included extra monitoring. When they did the weekly heart traces I would be asked to record the movements I felt - well there were many more movements showing up on the trace than I actually felt. And this was my second baby - the first had been totally different and I felt movement all the time.

One mw did say to me its more about changes in patterns than the amunt of movement you feel. So if a baby is active one day and not the next but is always like this you shouldn't worry, but if they are usually really active and then stop being so, that's different. I gave up worrying in the end.

sorry about all the typos - rushing.
Just wanted to say like the others have - it doesn't hurt to get it checked and that's what the day units are there for!

MY son nearly died because a midwife knows best. I demanded every check I wanted the next times.

Please go to the hospital.

Midwives would much rather have you go and baby just be sleeping than worry at home.

I hope you have telephoned the hosiptal by now, I work as a community midwife and baby's movements is the best way of knowing whether your baby is healthy. Movements feel different the further pregnant you are may not feel like like bouncy kicks might just be more shuffles or pokes! .. however it is important to feel baby move at least ten times in a twelve hour period and if less than this you really need to call the hospital. Listening in with your machine only tells you your baby has a heart beat not how well your baby is, a heart monitoring gives a good picture on your baby's health. Its not worth the risk of any thing going wrong call the hospital!..

Dd moved very little and the hospital were concerned about her. She was hypotonic so suppose this may be the reason. I would get it checked.

Oh goodness, cory, so was my DD. The physio said we would probably never know if she was because she didn't move much, or didn't move much because she was hypotonic. Do you know the reason with your DD?

SATHERE..

hope you get some reassurance.. please come back and tell us how you get on

remember to stand your ground for a scan ..no matter what the mw says

Hoping everything is ok for you now - come and let us know when you get a chance. Best Wishes. x