A pregnant mother starts feeling the kicks of her baby from around 18 to 22 weeks of gestation. First-time mothers may feel these movements at around 22 or sometimes at 25 weeks of pregnancy. But in later pregnancies, she can feel baby kicks as early as 17 weeks.
Normal count of baby kicks in a day
The number of kicks felt by a mother in a day varies from person to person and from one pregnancy to another. But there are definitely guidelines regarding fetal kicks by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists).
Once a mother starts recognizing her fetal movements, she starts noticing a pattern in them and can relate it to differentiate between normal and something not okay.
When is the baby kick count tracker used?
If a mother comes to the doctor saying she has not been satisfied with the fetal movements, her statement must be taken seriously and she is given a fetal kick count chart. This form is filled by the mother and given proper instructions on how to fill it accurately.
While handing over the chart, we always advise the mother to be very careful with the baby’s kick count. This is the first indication of the fetal condition. The number and nature of kicks in a day is one of the ways we are reminded that the baby is doing well inside. If he is not doing well, the doctor becomes alert and wants to prevent pregnancy complications leading to stillbirth.
Description of a baby kick count tracker
It is important to make an easy description of the fetal kick count tracker to the mother because she is the one filling that form out. We are basically interested in knowing the duration a baby takes to give ten kicks to her mother according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
- At first, we mention the identity of the mother and her basic obstetric formula along with the gestation at which the baby kicks are started to be counted.
- We make track of baby kicks week by week. This is essential because, with increasing gestation, the number of kicks per day may reduce.
- Mention the starting date and the pregnancy week.
- The left column is given for starting and ending times of the tracking. For example, if a mother starts counting the kicks of her baby at 10:10 am and her ten kicks are completed at 2:32 pm, she will write this accurate time in the starting and ending time in the respective box.
- Every day of the week, she notices this time and writes it down under the specific day.
- At the end of the day, she also mentions the duration in which her baby completed its 10 kicks. For example in the above, the baby took 4 hours and 22 minutes to complete ten kicks. In this way, the baby kick count tracker is completed for a week.
- She fills in all the weeks given by her doctor and at the end of the chart tells her doctor.
