What Is Fetal Movement?

Fetal movement refers to the movement of the fetus in the uterine cavity that impacts the uterine wall. The fetus moves in the womb, kicks and hits the wall of the uterus. After 4 months of pregnancy, the fetal activity can be clearly felt. Fetal movement is one of the important contents of clinical prenatal fetal monitoring technology. The number of fetal movements, the speed of the fetus, and the like indicate the safety of the fetus. Although there are many protocols for counting fetal movements in clinical application, the ideal fetal movement count and fetal movement interval have not been determined.

Basic Information

Visiting department

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Multiple groups

fetus

Common symptoms

The fetus reaches out, kicks, and hits the wall of the uterus

Contagious

no

Normal fetal movement

Under normal circumstances, the fetal movement is not less than 3 to 5 times in one hour, and the obvious fetal movement is more than 30 to 40 times in 12 hours. Some fetuses can move about 100 times in 12 hours. As long as the fetal movements are regular, rhythmic, and little changed, it proves that fetal development is normal. The number of fetal movements is not constant. It is a period of active fetal movement at 28 to 38 weeks of gestation, and then weakens slightly until delivery. Pregnant women's movements, postures, emotions, strong sounds, strong light, and touching the abdomen can all cause changes in fetal movement.

Fetal movement type

Fetal movements that can be felt by pregnant women first appear in the middle of the lower abdomen, and there are often several different types.

Fetal movement in early pregnancy

There are several different types of fetal movements in early pregnancy seen on ultrasound. Slightly wavy movements of the germ can be seen at 7-8 weeks of gestation; small tics appear around 9 weeks; more pronounced after 9 weeks; 9-10 weeks Strong tics were seen between them; after 10 weeks, strong movements such as fluttering, floating, and beating appeared.

2. Fetal movement after the second trimester

There are more types, such as startle, whole body exercise, isolated upper or lower limb exercise, flexion and extension of the head, turn of the head, turn around, stretching, mouth opening, touching the face with hands, yawning, yawning, sucking, swallowing, etc. These exercises peaked at 13-15 weeks of gestation and gradually decreased after 17 weeks.

3. Fetal movement after term

After reaching full term, especially after 38 weeks, there is less extensive body movement, and only eye movement, mouth opening, hand movement, and breathing movement can be observed.

Clinical significance of fetal movement

Normal fetal movement indicates that the placenta is functioning well, sufficient oxygen is delivered to the fetus, and the fetus grows and develops in the womb soundly and is moving happily. Observing the fetal movement in early pregnancy is helpful for estimating the prognosis of pregnancy. Counting fetal movements is an economical and convenient way to monitor the status of the fetus. Counting fetal movements (the number of times the fetus kicks) can be used as a means of prenatal fetal monitoring. According to reports, at 7 weeks of pregnancy, the abortion rate of those with fetal movement is only 3%; the abortion rate of those without fetal movement can be as high as 98%. Mid- and late-term fetal movement observations are also more sensitive with ultrasound. Sometimes smaller fetal movements are not noticed by pregnant women, but can be seen by ultrasound.

Fetal movement feeling changes in pregnant women

1. Feeling of first fetal movement

A pregnant woman who is pregnant for the first time may experience fetal movement for the first time around 18-20 weeks. If there is no fetal movement at first, it looks like a butterfly is flapping its wings. Slowly, the fetal movements become more vigorous and more regular.

2. Feeling of fetal movement at 20 to 24 weeks

In these weeks, the fetal movement will be more and more. From this time, until the next ten weeks, the fetal movement will be very active.

3.24 28 weeks feeling of fetal movement

The fetus may start to snoring, so pregnant women occasionally feel the abdomen burst. Now pregnant women can hold up to 700 milliliters of amniotic fluid in the amniotic sac, and the fetus can move freely inside. At this time, the fetus can feel some external stimuli. When the outside world makes a sudden sound, the fetus will jump in the womb. Generally from 28 weeks, the fetal life rhythm is more obvious, he will have cycles of sleep and awakening. Doctors recommend counting fetal movements every day starting at 28 weeks as a self-help means to monitor your baby's health.

4.29 31 weeks feeling of fetal movement

Fetal movement is smaller, but pregnant women can feel it more clearly. The amplitude of the fetal movement is smaller because as the fetus grows, the space in the uterus becomes narrower, and the fetal movement is restricted.

5.32 to 33 weeks of feeling of fetal movement

At this time, the fetal movement will reach its peak. As the fetus gets bigger and stronger, from now on, the frequency of fetal movements will increase significantly, and fetal movement patterns will become more diverse.

Feeling of fetal movement around 6.36 weeks

At this time, the fetus may have curled up with its head down, and placed itself in the final posture. If this is the first child of a pregnant woman, the muscles of the uterus and abdomen will be tighter, they can help the fetus maintain this position. The fetal movement that a pregnant woman can feel is that the fetus pinches the pregnant woman's belly with small arms and calves. Sometimes, the fetus may kick the pregnant woman's ribs sorely.

If it is a second pregnancy, the abdominal muscles of the pregnant woman may relax and not be so strong and strong. Therefore, the fetus may continue to change its posture and fetal position, and may even change until the due date.

7.36 40 weeks feeling of fetal movement

As the fetus grows older, the large-turn fetal movements become less frequent. If the fetus is sucking on his thumb and suddenly finds that the thumb cannot be found, his little head will turn from one side to the other and try to retrieve his thumb. At this time, the pregnant woman will feel this rapid and sudden fetal movement.

In the last two weeks of pregnancy, fetal movement may slow down slightly, and the rate of fetal growth may decrease slightly. These are normal.

Abnormal fetal movement

Not all pregnant women must monitor fetal movements daily, but if the pregnant women themselves feel a significant decrease in fetal movements, they should be informed to actively contact the obstetrician for further fetal monitoring.

If the fetal movement is less than 20 times in 12 hours, it is abnormal; less than 10 times, it indicates that the fetus is dangerous and there is hypoxia in the uterus. If the fetal movement exceeds the normal number within a period of time, frequent fetal movement, or intermittent restlessness, is also a manifestation of intrauterine hypoxia. The number of fetal movements is significantly reduced until it ceases, which is a sign of severe fetal asphyxia in the uterus. Abnormal fetal movement is due to pathological conditions and dysfunction, such as tight umbilical cord around the neck, placental dysfunction, or abnormal medication by pregnant women and adverse external stimuli, etc., resulting in fetal hypoxia in the womb. When the life of the fetus is threatened, the fetus will have abnormal fetal movements, not only in the number of times, but also in nature, such as strong, continuous push-and-twist-like fetal movement or kicking, or even weak fetal movement These are ominous signs. Abnormal fetal movements should be treated promptly. After 28 weeks of gestation, the fetal movement site is mostly in the middle and upper abdomen, and the lower abdomen is rare. If fetal movement often occurs in the lower abdomen, it can be regarded as abnormal, indicating that the fetal position is abnormal, most of which are hip or horizontal position, which is likely to cause labor difficulties. Numerous studies have shown that reduced fetal movement is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in the perinatal period. Reduced fetal movement is an indication of fetal death, and some cases occur within days of reduced fetal movement.