One of the wonders of pregnancy is feeling your baby moving inside you. But a baby’s movements in pregnancy can also be a cause of concern for to-be-mothers if they don’t have the right information at their disposal.
So, when does the baby starts kicking? And when do you feel the baby kick? Is the baby moving enough? These are some common concerns first-time mothers may have and rightly so.

Here is information pertaining to a baby’s movements in pregnancy.

Feeling the Movements

Women rarely feel any baby movement in womb during the first trimester. If it is your first pregnancy, you may not recognize slight movement, if any, during this time. The reason for this is that in the first trimester, the movements are very slow or light and therefore difficult to feel. Baby’s can begin to move at 12 weeks. But due to their tiny size, you may not notice any movement. By week 16, or anytime during your second trimester, you may begin to feel the baby kicking in the womb. The movements at the start may feel like something fluttering inside you. This usually occurs between weeks 16 and 19. During weeks 20 and 23, you may feel light jerking movements if the baby has hiccups. From weeks 24 to 31, you may feel the baby kicking in the belly even more strongly. From this time to birth, the baby’s movements in pregnancy take the form of kicks, gentle nudges, pushes and even slight jumps. As your due date nears, your baby’s movements will actually reduce. Any little movement you will feel will be stronger though. But do note that the movements won’t stop and would be consistent at this time. If you notice irregularity in the consistency of the baby’s movements, immediately inform your doctor about it.

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Frequency of Movements

Most first-time mothers can have anxiety over frequency of the baby’s movements in pregnancy. The movements can begin with a few flutters every once in a while. During the second trimester, baby’s can move 20-30 times. You may not feel the same number of movements every day. Some days you will only feel your baby move 10-15 times; at other times your baby can kick and jab inside you 30 times or more. You may not feel movements when the baby is asleep inside the womb. You may feel a slight nudge if the baby rolls during sleep. When levels of your blood sugar changes during the night, your baby may become more active and begin to move more.
As your pregnancy progresses, you will be able to see what is the normal number of movements for you when your baby becomes more active.

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Monitoring the Movements

You don’t necessarily need to monitor the baby’s movements in pregnancy every day unless your doctor asks you to do it. As your pregnancy progresses, you will know if your baby’s movements have become infrequent than what is normal for him or her. If you are concerned, talk to your doctor about it. Your doctor can guide you to count and monitor the movements to check for any complications. Usually, the recommendation is to feel minimum 10 movements in the period of two hours. The best way to do it is by sleeping on your left and counting movements for two hours or as your doctor recommends.
Some women don’t feel their baby’s movements by week 25-26 due to the placentas anterior position. The placenta in front of baby can block you from feeling any pushes or kicks. But instead of worrying about it, talk to your doctor to check for any problems in your womb.

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