Unfortunately, at 32 weeks I had a reduced movement scare experience. My level of anxiety cannot even be explained.
But first it’s important to know what to look out for to understand if it’s something you should have checked.
What to look out for as reduced movements
By the third trimester your baby will have a movement pattern in which it moves. It will also have distinguished timings where it will move.
By then you will have figured what movement pattern and time of day is specific for your baby.
If the movement strength, pattern or timing reduces. This is when you must to go in for a check.
Never think you are waisting your midwives time. It is crucial you force yourself to go in for a check.
The bigger the baby gets the more movement you should regularly feel as there is less space in your tummy.
My reduced movements experience
I tested GBS positive which is an UTI that I have had throughout my pregnancy non-stop. So nothing was new there.
It was 3pm and this is a time when my little one always kicks and moves. However, on this particular day I didn’t feel anything.
I finished work by 5pm and I still hadn’t felt anything. So I thought let me have some sugar, lay down and see if anything changes. I thought that maybe the baby was resting.
I felt one very light movement at 9pm but nothing as I usually feel.
I went to bed and thought I would probably feel something in the morning.
When I woke up I didn’t feel anything till about 2 pm that afternoon whilst I was at work. The movements were very light rather the usual movements.
Please don’t do this if you even have a doubt!!! Call your midwife team immediately and head there to have an assessment.
The movements felt like they had gone back to what they used to be. Up until the next day when I felt no movement for 4 hours.
So, I decided to go and get checked.
I explained to the midwife what happened and she told me to never wait this long.
They assessed my vitals , blood pressure, heart rate and fever. All was in the norm.
They used an ultrasound probe (transducer) which was fastened to my belly. It sends the sounds of your baby’s heart to a computer. The rate and pattern of your baby’s heart rate are shown on a screen and printed on paper.
Fetal heart rate monitoring was used to:
- measure the fetal heart rate as the baby moves.
- measure the fetal heart rate along with uterine contractions.
With a specific algorithm the computer releases once it is satisfied with the results.
In my case, luckily everything seemed in the norm, but I learnt a lot from it.
I will never wait this long to get checked because as the midwife told me it’s better to be safe than sorry.
It is important to get a reduction or change in movement pattern assessed. As the medical team will be able to know if something is not ok with the baby and act as swiftly as possible.
I hope you don’t go through this anxiety, but I hope this post helps you.
