The importance of counting your baby’s movements

After 32 weeks of pregnancy, counting your baby’s movements is a simple way that you can play an important part in helping us check the health of your baby. Some babies are more active than others and each baby tends to have its own activity level. The total number of fetal movements is important only if there are less than 6 movements in 2 hour period once per day or if there is a change in the usual pattern of your baby’s movements. Using a Kick Count Chart will help you keep track of baby’s movements.

It is very important that if you do not feel your baby move at least 6 times in a 2 hour period once a day that you speak to a healthcare provider. Please call the Birth Unit at 613-721-2000, ext. 2127. You will be given further instructions at that time.

How to use a Kick Count Chart

The best time of the day to do the kick count is in the early evening when you are lying down or reclined. However, if you know a particular time of the day when your baby is most active then that would be the best time for you to count your baby’s movements. Fetal movements may be felt as a kick, twist, roll, punch or stretch. Do not include hiccups.

In the “Start time” box for the day that you are counting, mark down your ‘START’ time. Each time you feel your baby move, place a tick in the numbered boxes. Continue to do this until you feel 6 movements. After you feel 6 movements mark down your ‘END’ time. There is an example below to help get you started. The above example would show that you started counting your baby’s movements at 6:00 pm and at 6:45 pm you stopped counting because your baby had moved 6 times.

Kick Count Chart