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Pregnancy

What if the baby is not kicking a lot?

30 replies

happyspider · 08/05/2003 22:27

I just wanted some sound advice from you experienced mothers, I am a first mum to be and I am nearly there (a few weeks to go...) but my baby has never been very active. I mean, they say that from 30 weeks you should feel him/her constantly.
Well I don't and got so scared once that they monitored me for the whole afternoon as the doctor could not feel the heart either and they were fearing the worse. It turns out that the baby moves, but I don't feel him. In fact they did an emergency scan and even though the baby was moving on the screen, I could not feel anything.
Is it me only or is this normal?
Should I worry?
I haven't seen any thread on this (I think) so I thought to start one.

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doormat · 10/05/2003 19:51

Glad to hear that happyspider. Take care and enjoy.

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happyspider · 10/05/2003 19:48

woozle
I have checked my medical notes and my placenta is in fact anterior like yours, so, if this is the answer I will really be able to enjoy my pregnancy more!

I will monitor my baby's movements by watching my bump from now. (poor little one will have to put up with splashing water and prodding and the odd Mars bars...)

Thanks ladies, you really made a difference as I feel quite relieved now!

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mears · 10/05/2003 14:18

happyspider - it seems your baby is kicking but you just don't feel it. That is not as uncommon as you think. It is good that you can see movement so that is good enough. Relax and enjoy the last few weeks of peace that you will get for a long time

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ninja · 10/05/2003 14:03

happyspider you sound just like me - you're baby's probably loving being rocked to sleep with all your activity! beware it could come early and take some time time to rest (said from bitter experience!) hope you're getting less concerned with all this lovely advice people are giving you

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woozle · 10/05/2003 13:22

Happyspider - don't think this has been mentioned before so do you know which way your placenta is lying.

Mine was lying frontwards (not a tehcnical term you understand) and was effectively a barrier between the baby and my stomach so I felt considerably less kicking than "normal"

Having the heartbeat traced in the way Mears suggests is definately reassuring.

HTH

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happyspider · 10/05/2003 13:21

Thanks Mears and the others, maybe with only 3 and half weeks to go there is no point in buying the home kit, also because I am being monitored more often at the hospital. I actually had a check up yesterday and the doctor said he could feel him move under his hands, but I couldn't feel him...

After your advice I have been prodding my belly... and can see the baby move... and have tried splashing some water on my bump and can see the baby move, but I DON'T FEEL him move.

Strange or what? Guess I don't have a very sensitive belly?
I'll be glad if this means a painless labour...

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mears · 10/05/2003 11:48

I would not recommend buying a fetal heart monitor - i think it would cause more anxiety than it would allay. It can be difficult to locate a heartbeat when you are trained to do it, never mind when you are not.

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cheeky · 10/05/2003 10:50

The address is www.babyechoes.co.uk, if you are still interested after what MrsS said!

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MrsS · 10/05/2003 10:43

Happyspider - not much to add except that I'm sure if there was anything wrong the hospital / midwife would be all over it. I think the fact that you are so active is probably masking the normal movements that us couch potatoes feel

I have heard that the foetal monitors you can buy for home use are not very good.

As you get nearer 40 weeks you get monitored more regularly anyway so you should get some comfort from hearing the baby's heart a little more often.

Best of luck with the rest of your pregnanacy

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happyspider · 10/05/2003 10:28

thanks Cheecky, however I have tried the website and the link's not working ...

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cheeky · 09/05/2003 13:26

Yes grommit, you are right. I have jsut done an internet serach and have found out that a company called baby echoes make foetal heart monitors for home use.

If you want to try one happyspider. you will find their website here

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happyspider · 09/05/2003 12:57

of course I mean a fan of frappuccinos!

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happyspider · 09/05/2003 12:56

Thanks everybody for all the support and replies.

Ninja that is a point. I am so active that my dh worries I do too much.
I go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, walk everywhere and still work, while trying to go out with girlfriends (not clubbing of course, but we go for lunches, movies and theater) whenever I have the time as I think it won't be that easy afterwards.
The only time I feel the baby move without trying is when I am in a meeting or on a conf call. When I try to concentrate hard to feel him move (normally at week ends) I don't feel anything, I have become a fun of frappuccino with lots of crashed ice, that's the only thing that will do the trick at the moment.

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mears · 09/05/2003 11:03

Happyspider - you have said that you are aware of movements at times. Have you been able to associate some kind of pattern? Is the baby more active at certain times of the day? Do you have more than one episode of activity?
There are definately many women out there who do not feel their babies move. As a midwife I have said - do you feel that and often women say they don't. Try not to worry too much. I used to not feel no.4 much because I was too preoccupied. I always found that lying in the bath splashing water prompted movement. All the other suggestions are good too ( first I've heard about the mars bar - I'm a cold water fan myself )
If you are able to find some activity that provokes movement that you can see or feel, you might then feel more relaxed. However, if you get to a point that you are concerned, phone that number and the midwife will do a tracing for you. That is what they are there for, to reassure you. Good luck.

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ninja · 09/05/2003 10:29

mine squirmed rather than kicked - are you very active? as this will slow it down. I had days where she was REALLY quiet - the doctors would say if they wre worried I'm sure

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grommit · 09/05/2003 10:27

I also used to panic as dd dis not move that much - less towards the end. I used to lie down quietly on my side and prod until I felt a movment! Ice cold water does also help. I was a size 12 before so not a fat issue! This is a really worrying time - I think I spent my whole pregancy in a panic imagining all sorts!
I think you can buy fetal heart monitor kits for home but no idea how much they would cost or if it is really advisable. Maybe Mears could advise

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eefs · 09/05/2003 09:50

happyspider, i don't think a mother can ever stop worrying about something, so don't feel bad for it.
I used to have periods of time when I couldn't feel ds move, so I'd prod away (to the major disgust of my DP, he was convinced ds would be born with a cauliflower ear!). I think it's like someone else said, your body sometimes get's used to the feeling with out you realising so the kicks don't stand out as much. DS was a perfectly healthy baby, I'm sure yours will be the same. And like you I was size 10/12 before I got pregnant and put on about 3 stone by 30 wks, so maybe it's related to weight gain?

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happyspider · 09/05/2003 09:22

Mars bars? and I was given ice cold water, mmmm
By the way MetroBaby you've hit the nail on the head. I do feel paranoid ringing that number, as I would be doing it constantly.
But you're right, I should just go ahead and call instead of getting very worried.

The other thing that worries me is that I don't know if this means there could be anything wrong with the baby? I have asked this at the hospital and they don't answer, guess they don't know. But the scans have always been very good so far and the baby is big for dates, so they say I shouldn't worry.
Do I worry too much?

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happyspider · 09/05/2003 09:22

Mars bars? and I was given ice cold water, mmmm
By the way MetroBaby you've hit the nail on the head. I do feel paranoid ringing that number, as I would be doing it constantly.
But you're right, I should just go ahead and call instead of getting very worried.

The other thing that worries me is that I don't know if this means there could be anything wrong with the baby? I have asked this at the hospital and they don't answer, guess they don't know. But the scans have always been very good so far and the baby is big for dates, so they say I shouldn't worry.
Do I worry too much?

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happyspider · 09/05/2003 09:20

Mars bars? and I was given ice cold water, mmmm
By the way MetroBaby you've hit the nail on the head. I do feel paranoid ringing that number, as I would be doing it constantly.
But you're right, I should just go ahead and call instead of getting very worried.

The other thing that worries me is that I don't know if this means there could be anything wrong with the baby? I have asked this at the hospital and they don't answer, guess they don't know. But the scans have always been very good so far and the baby is big for dates, so they say I shouldn't worry.
Do I worry too much?

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windmill · 09/05/2003 09:09

I had the same in my first pregnancy, happyspider. Some of it was because I was having strong braxton hicks and I could feel them so strongly that I didn't notice the movements.

EmmaTMG, lying on your left side helps the circulation of the blood so more blood and oxygen gets to the placenta

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Metrobaby · 09/05/2003 09:01

Happyspider - if you get at all worried about the number of kicks in the day ring the number. When I was pg I was really worried about this, but the hospital were so good about it all. I found having extra scans and checks very re-assuring, and I was never made to feel by the staff I was being paranoid or wasting their time at the end of the day.

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EmmaTMG · 09/05/2003 08:19

I'm PG with no 3 now and with both my DS's it was chocolate that sent them into overdrive....oh and what a chore it was to eat it!
In both pregnancies I was told by midwives that eating a Mars bar or 2 while lying down on you left side(don't know why the left is important though) would get the baby doing somersaults, and it's true.

Oh what a hard life it is to be ordered to eat chocolate while lying down.

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happyspider · 09/05/2003 08:10

No offence snowqueen, I have heard that from my midwife already, but she said it was not my case as when I got pregnant I was a size 12.
I have put on nearly three stone so far though, but everybody is reassuring me it is pretty normal.
At the hospital they suggested I sit down in a quiet place with a glass of ice cold water and count the kicks.
If they go below 10 a day, I have an emergency no to call. They were very helpful, but don't know why I cannot feel him as much as other mothers do. The problem now is that the baby goes through periods of being very active so I feel relaxed and happy, and whole days when I have really to concentrate hard to feel the kicks, and of course I get very worried and want to call that number, but then the activity starts again.
It's like being on a rollercoaster!

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snowqueen · 09/05/2003 07:52

I don't know how to put this without offending you happyspider but I think they say that if you are rather large before you get pregnant you won't feel the baby so much. Not trying to say you're obviously really fat though, honest!

Better go now in case I offend you!

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