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The child either moves or doesn't. What to do if the baby in the stomach does not move. Diagnosis of fetal activity and heartbeat

Cytomegalovirus

For future parents, the first movements of the fetus in the womb are of great importance. For the first time they are found in the middle of pregnancy.

In the first pregnancy, the movements of the baby begin to be felt later than in the second and subsequent times. Sometimes women who have not given birth yet confuse this phenomenon with muscle spasms, gas formation, etc. Why does this happen? The abdominal wall is stretched and becomes more sensitive.

When does a woman begin to feel fetal movements?

Most expectant mothers are interested in when the baby will start to push. Most often, the first movements are noticed in the middle of the 4th - the beginning of the 5th month. It is impossible to name the exact date, because it is individual. Sometimes the baby starts moving earlier, sometimes a little later. Within the specified two weeks, the onset of movements is considered the norm.


The evolution of sensations in the abdomen of the expectant mother

As the pregnancy progresses and the fetus develops, the nature and frequency of movements change accordingly. This must be monitored in order to consult a doctor in time if alarming signs are detected. It is necessary to inform the specialist when the baby began to move, how actively he does it.

The child does not just move randomly all day, he performs various actions. On ultrasound, they notice how the fetus swallows liquid, rotates its head, twists its arms, touches the umbilical cord, etc. If the child turns over, a change in the shape of the abdomen is observed.

The baby begins to rotate by the 8th month, choosing a permanent position. Most often this is a head down pose. The tremors are so clear that a woman understands when the child is sleeping or awake, what position is comfortable for him, etc.

Closer to childbirth, tremors are more felt in the right side if the child is located upside down. They often cause discomfort, and to avoid it, you can lean forward or lie on your side. Also, in the later stages, the head or buttocks are fixed at the entrance to the small pelvis, the fetus moves less, because it is cramped. However, some babies start pushing harder.

How does the baby move just before birth?

In most cases, the movements become less intense. This is due to two factors:

  • The fetus is already large, but continues to develop. The uterus is able to stretch, but it is not dimensionless. Closer to childbirth, there is little space for the fetus, so it is constrained in movement. Also, at the end of the gestation period, the uterus descends in such a way that the baby is fixed between the pelvic bones, which further limits it.
  • The fetus before childbirth takes a vertical position, when it was previously in a horizontal position - it is in the stomach upside down. Most of the shocks fall on the upper part of the uterus, which is the least sensitive.


The fetus retains constant motor activity, but a pregnant woman experiences completely different sensations in the second and third trimesters. In the second, the stomach “walks with a shaker”, you can see the baby’s foot or hand through the skin. Closer to childbirth, it is no longer possible to notice this.

Why can a child move little or stop doing it?

It is not always bad when the baby began to move less or does not show physical activity at all. There may be physiological reasons for this. In other cases, it is worth thinking about the wrong course of pregnancy. One way or another, when the fetus has stopped pushing, you need to consult a doctor for advice.

Physiological causes

If the child is quiet for a minute, do not immediately run to the hospital. The lack of movement for several hours is a variant of the norm. Most likely, the baby is sleeping. This phenomenon is also explained by other factors: a change in the position of the fetus and the restriction of its movements before childbirth.

If movements are not felt for more than 3 hours, you should try to stir up the baby - for example, eat sweets or drink sweet tea, lie down on your left side for about an hour, take a walk, walk up the stairs. The child must respond to such actions.

As a rule, a woman, towards the end of pregnancy, recognizes the cycles of sleep and wakefulness of the baby, knows all his habits and preferences, so she is not particularly worried when he calms down. Excessive concern for movements in the abdomen, as well as an absolute lack of attention to this phenomenon, is not welcome.

Causes for concern

Sometimes the fetus does not move or moves less actively as a result of a lack of oxygen. This can be indicated by the calmness of the baby during the day, when the mother is awake and knows that he usually does not sleep at this time. In this case, you must consult a doctor. If it is not possible to contact a gynecologist immediately, you should call an ambulance.


Doctors use a special device to listen to the fetal heartbeat, which is normally 120-160 beats per minute. If the indicators are generally normal, a cardiotocographic study is performed to assess the contractions of the baby's heart, his general condition and to identify hypoxia.

This examination takes about half an hour. If a motor reaction was not detected during it, the pregnant woman is asked to actively move, then the study is carried out again.

When hypoxia is confirmed, treatment is prescribed, which depends on the severity of the pathology. With minor deviations, pregnancy is constantly monitored, various examinations are periodically carried out. If the symptoms of hypoxia are pronounced, urgent delivery is necessary. Depending on the condition of the pregnant woman, they resort to a caesarean section or induction of labor.

How to check the movements at home?


There are tests to help check the activity of the baby at home. It is recommended to get a card that you can take from a doctor or draw up yourself. Every day, it marks all the movements of the baby for a certain period of time.

The next method is called the Sadowski method. After dinner, the pregnant woman needs to lie on her left side and count the number of movements, taking into account even the most subtle ones. In an hour, the fetus should move 10 times, if the number of movements is less, you need to count them for another hour. You should be concerned if the child moves less than 10 times in 2 hours after eating in the evening.

If the baby does not move in the stomach for a while or moves less, is there anything to worry about? What to do to make the child "wake up" and move?

The first tangible movements of the baby is a unique event for a pregnant woman. Suddenly, the being in the womb becomes physically real, and she comes into direct contact with him without the help of monitors or ultrasound. Over time, pushing becomes a daily routine and a kind of dialogue.

Mom drank coffee or was frightened of something, and the child abruptly begins to twitch her legs and arms. And the future dad is very touched by the well-visible heels and fists traveling along the stomach. Therefore, it is not surprising that prolonged silence and calm often cause parental anxiety. How and when does the baby move in the womb? If the baby does not move in the mother's stomach for a long time, when is it worth sounding the alarm?

The fetus begins to move around the seventh week of pregnancy, but is still too small for the woman to feel anything.

The standard is that palpable movements appear between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy. Thus, if the baby does not move at 18 weeks, you just need to be a little more patient.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that women are very slender and those who have already given birth notice changes within themselves faster. At this stage, this feeling is comparable to bowel movements or "butterflies in the stomach." If during this period, that is, if, say, at 20 weeks it happens that the child does not move for 2 days, no activity is felt, although it used to be regular, there is no reason to panic. The fact is that the fetus is still so small that it can still "go underground."

With 24 weeks pregnancy, the situation is changing: doctors talk about the appearance of stability and regularity in the movements of the baby, which, for example, sleeps all the time, and is very active in the evening. Such patterns need to be observed, because their changes can be an alarming signal.

AT third trimester these are no longer acrobatic stunts, but rather shaking, “rustling”, swarming, spinning or ... hiccups - due to limited space. It happens that a protruding limb hits the mother in the ribs, and then you can gently return it back or change the position of the body so that the child also changes position.

AT last week before birth, there is sometimes a little "silence" of a son or daughter who does not kick as much and moves a little less due to lack of space. However, the activity cannot stop completely. Therefore, if the child does not move for a long time, this is not the norm.

How and what to do to make the child move?

The most common reason, due to which the movements of the fetus are not felt for some time, is simply a banal sound sleep.

Children in the womb usually sleep for a very short time - 20-40 minutes, but they happen to sleep for more than an hour and a half in one "session".

If you are concerned about the baby's low activity, the fact that the baby has not moved for a while, you can try to wake him up. How can I do that?

  • Eat a little, have a snack with something sweet. As a rule, the reception works effectively.
  • Another way to get the baby to move is to drink a glass of very cold water. It will change the internal temperature, and this should provoke the baby to make some movements.
  • You can also try to wake the child up by playing rhythmic music quite loudly (it happens that children, due to a sudden noise, perform an acrobatic “somersault” in the stomach).
  • You can move around yourself, but not too monotonously, because you can get the opposite effect: instead of waking the child (and getting moral relief), you will lull him to sleep.
  • If, despite these efforts, after two hours you still do not feel any movements of the child, then you need to urgently consult a gynecologist.

If the baby in the stomach does not move actively and regularly enough, the anxiety of this signal depends on the gestational age and the individual “movement schedule”. But in any case, you should not panic, because these special movements can be tritely “missed”. Because few people have the opportunity, having discarded all their affairs, to sit quietly for hours and listen to what is happening inside. First you need to take measures so that the child moves. However, if doubts remain, it is still better to urgently contact a medical institution in order to dispel or confirm them and begin to act.

The child rarely moves in the stomach - this is a cause for concern for many mothers, especially those who are expecting their first baby, because from the 18-20th week of pregnancy, fetal movements are already noticeable and, perhaps, quite active; the baby makes itself felt at least 10 times a day - that's how often the baby should move in the stomach.

At first, the mother feels erratic movements, but over time, closer to childbirth, with their help, the baby begins to communicate with his mother, expressing his pleasure or joy, anger or anxiety. Depending on the time of day, the child becomes less or more active, but if you are worried that the child is not moving much, or the previously active fetus has “calmed down”, this may be a reason to consult a gynecologist for advice. In the meantime, let's look at the main reasons why the baby stopped moving actively in the stomach.

Why does the child rarely move?

Perhaps your concern is completely in vain, because, for example, leading an active lifestyle during pregnancy, you may simply not notice how the baby kicks in the tummy. This is for the second trimester. But there are other reasons why the baby is not actively moving in the uterus.

1. The character of the baby is manifested even in the womb, there are fidgets who make themselves felt every hour, and there are also calm children who do not move very actively from the very beginning. You should sound the alarm just when the activity of the baby has sharply declined.

2. In the last weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is already quite large, and there is very little space for it in the uterus - this can also explain why the baby moves badly in the mother's stomach.

3. Know that the future son or daughter is sensitive to your mood - if the pregnant woman is calm, then the child may quiet down. It also happens that from the active movements of the mother, the fetus, especially the 6-7-month-old, simply falls asleep, and therefore stops moving.

Diagnosis of fetal activity and heartbeat

If the baby is not actively moving in the abdomen, or you notice that there is no fetal movement for more than 12 hours, you need to urgently see a doctor and undergo an CGT procedure. It is done from the 26th week of pregnancy, it is completely safe and allows you to record your baby's heartbeat. After KGT, the doctor will give an opinion on the child's condition and, if necessary, prescribe the necessary therapy or recommend to lie down for preservation. One way or another, take the state of pregnancy with joy, eat healthy food, get positive emotions and walk more in the fresh air. And then, after the time set by nature, you will give birth to a healthy and active baby.

The first tremors of the baby occur at the 13th week of pregnancy, but they are so small that the mother does not notice it. Primiparous first movements are noted in the period of 19-20 weeks, and mothers with experience at 17-18. Fetal movements are an indicator that the baby is developing, but the absence is alarming.

What determines the frequency of fetal movements

The frequency of movements made by the baby depends on many factors. Conventionally, they can be divided into physiological and abnormal.

Physiological include:

  • emerging character;
  • desire to eat;
  • mother's stay with a stuffy room;
  • the presence of loud bass in the room. For example, when listening to music with a high frequency;
  • the position of the mother is comfortable or uncomfortable for the child.

Smooth, painless tremors are an indicator of the normal well-being of the baby. Their number depends on the experience of motherhood.

From anomalous reasons:

  • acute hypoxia;
  • the threat of premature labor;
  • polyhydramnios;
  • infection.

At the same time, the tremors are rough and painful; in later periods, a pathological process can be suspected due to the violent behavior of the baby. However, you can determine the cause of activity or calm after consulting a doctor and.

In the first trimester, there are no tremors due to the small stature and weight of the baby.

In the second trimester, starting from the 18th week, the first weak movements appear, which increase with the course of pregnancy. From 24 weeks the child is active.

At the end of the second trimester, the mother is able to control the movements of the fetus by stroking the abdomen and talking with the unborn child.

In the trimester, activity gradually fades away - the fetus grows, increases and it is difficult and crowded for him to make movements, but they do not completely disappear.

The child has a well-defined pattern of wakefulness and sleep.

Norms and control over the movement of the child

From the 24th week of gestation, the average fetal tremors are 10-15 times a day.

Active movements appear in the afternoon, and often at night.

Sleep is 18 hours, and the duration of 1 period of sleep is from 3 to 4 hours. At this time, the baby makes the minimum number of movements that the woman does not feel.

You can track the number of fetal movements yourself. There is a whole scheme for this.

  1. Keep a diary for notes;
  2. Starting at 28 weeks, conduct a movement test.

The essence of the method is to count 10 fetal movements twice a day. From 9 am to 9 pm, and from 9 pm to 9 am. You can test daily.

Example, the first activity of the fetus at 9.20, then at 11.40, 3 - at 12.15, etc. 10 movement - at 17.35 - 1 part of the test is over, the table indicates 2 times 9.20 and 17.35. The second part of the test is counting from 9 pm to 9 am.

According to this technique, it is possible to constantly monitor the activity of the baby. An alarm signal is the complete absence of movement for 12 hours, or excessive activity.

The bigger the baby becomes, the stronger its movements, and there is a feeling that the baby is dancing in the womb.

Such frequent occurrences indicate a pathological course of pregnancy.

What to do in the absence of movements, and why the child does not move in the stomach

The absence of movements heard by the mother is not an indication that the baby is not active. Quite often, movements are recorded on ultrasound, but for some reason the mother does not feel them.

There are ways to "wake up" the baby:

  1. Stroke the belly with patting movements. If the gestational age is over 28 weeks, the baby understands the warmth from touch and pushes to the place where the hand of mom or dad is located.
  2. You can have a sweet hour with a chocolate bar or chocolates. The glucose present enters the bloodstream to the baby and causes him to be active, but sometimes this method is ineffective.
  3. A glass of cold water should cause a change in internal temperature and provoke the baby to move.
  4. Turn on loud music that your child likes.

If it is not possible to cause fetal activity for two or more hours, it is necessary to go for a consultation with an obstetrician-gynecologist. He will be able to listen to the fetal heartbeat and measure its activity using a device for.

The most terrible reason for the absence of tremors is intrauterine fetal death.

Causes of fading

In subsequent trimesters

  • Infectious processes, in particular sexually transmitted;
  • Acute fetal hypoxia. These include: entanglement with the umbilical artery, oligohydramnios, polyhydramnios;
  • with the development of severe;
  • cardiac pathologies, especially poorly supplying blood to the heart muscle of the fetus;
  • genetic diseases;
  • Endocrine disorders (,).

It is possible to identify the main cause after ultrasound diagnostics and post-mortem examination of the post-mortem biomaterial.

If the baby moves a little in the womb, there are several reasons for that:

  • Small term;
  • Baby health problems.

Symptoms

  • complete absence of fetal movements throughout the day;
  • pain in the lower abdomen;
  • frequent urge to go to the toilet;
  • the appearance of bleeding;
  • feeling of nausea with bouts of vomiting;
  • temperature rise;
  • soreness of the mammary glands.

Pregnancy after frozen

It is possible to get pregnant and give birth after a frozen pregnancy. However, the process of pregnancy planning is entrusted to the doctor.

First of all, it is necessary to identify the cause of intrauterine fetal death.

The result is clarified in the histological examination of the drug and pathoanatomical autopsy. Only after establishing the cause, it is necessary to begin treatment.

It is important to note that persistent miscarriages increase the risk of recurrent fetal freezing by 38%.

After the ST, you should not rush to get pregnant. It is necessary to undergo a full examination, restore the hormonal background, and be treated if necessary.

In the recovery phase, she needs the support of the physical and moral plan.

The optimal term for re-pregnancy is 24 months, but it can decrease or increase.

It depends on the gestational age, when the pregnancy was terminated and the reasons for its termination.