Decode Your Baby's Kicks: A Guide to Fetal Movement

For a pregnant woman, it’s a special feeling to experience the baby kicking. While it definitely indicates that your child has reached a new milestone, it also indicates that your journey has reached a new level. For most of the new parents, its a moment of anxiety and curiosity and they really want to decipher the scientific part of it. What is important to understand is that these kicks often are associated with the symptoms which determine the health of the fetus inside the mother's womb. Also, some times as first-time mothers we also confuse between cramping and bowel movements with kicks.

Facts About Baby Kicking During Pregnancy

• Kicks Indicate Good Development & Health: A healthy baby kicks between 15 to 20 times a day. Reduced fetal movements can be concerning because it might mean that the foetus is not getting sufficient nutrition or oxygen. Immediately see the doctor.  
  • ParentuneTip: Reduced kicks might not always indicate trouble. Sometimes babies also rest as long as 40 to 50 minutes. Also after the 36th week of pregnancy, there might be reduced foetal movement, due to less availability of space. Hence don't panic and consult your doctor. 
• Not All Movements Are Kicks: Not all movements you feel is kicking. Babies spend plenty of time moving their hands and exploring the uterus, changing sides, hiccuping etc. Babies are busy you know! Hence try and not confuse cramps and bowel movements with kicks. [Also Read: Is It Safe To Take Lexapro During pregnancy?]
• The Kicks Are In Response To Your Environment: Usually, babies will kick more after a meal. Within the womb, they try to stretch their limbs to relax or move, and hence you feel the kicking. A baby might also move or kick in response to external stimuli like sound, light or even food you’re eating.
• Babies Start Kicking as Early as 9 weeks: Kicking that starts after nine weeks is only picked up by an ultrasound; a mother can sense movement after 18 to 19 weeks.
• Babies kick when you sleep on the left side: When an expecting mother lies on her left, it boosts the blood supply to the fetus. As a result, there is an improvement in the baby’s movements, and you experience an increase in kicking.

We know there’s no better feeling than the movement of life inside you! What happened when you felt your baby kick for the first time? Let us know in the comments below.