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Maternity Services

Feeling your baby move

Movements Matter: feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well

tommys Movement Matters Campaign

The #movementsmatter campaign, launched by the charity Tommy’s, challenges dangerous myths about baby movement during pregnancy, and tells mums-to-be what to do if they experience a change in their baby's movements. The campaign is supported by NHS England and Kicks Count.

A baby moving during pregnancy can be anything from a flutter, kick, swish or roll and these movements are signs that your baby is well. Most women usually begin to feel their baby move between 16 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

If your baby is unwell, they may save energy by slowing down their movements.

This can be the first sign of a problem.

Two out of three women who had a stillbirth noticed their baby’s movements had slowed down or stopped.

There is no set number of normal movements. Your baby will have their own pattern of movements that you should get to know. From 16-24 weeks on you should feel the baby move more and more up until 32 weeks, then stay roughly the same until you give birth.

It is not true that babies move less towards the end of pregnancy.

You should continue to feel your baby move right up to the time you go into labour and whilst you are in labour too.

Get to know your baby’s normal pattern of movements.

If you are worried about your baby’s movements do not wait until the next day to seek advice. Contact:

Sharoe Green Unit Triage:  01772 524495

Do not try to make your baby move.  If you suspect that movements have slowed, let us know.

Do not use any hand-held monitors, Dopplers or phone apps to check your baby’s heartbeat. Even if you detect a heartbeat, this does not mean your baby is well.

Please watch the video clip and share with your friends and relatives.

There is a leaflet you can download as well: 'Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well'

Never hesitate to contact us for advice, no matter how many times you are worried about your baby’s movements. We are here to help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can find more information about Tommy’s charity via: www.tommys.org

The above leaflet is also available in various other languages:

Albanian: Feeling your baby move is a sigh that they are well in Albanian

Amharic: Feeling your baby move is a sigh that they are well in Amharic

Arabic: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Arabic 

Bengali: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Bengali

Bulgarian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Bulgarian

Chinese: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Chinese

Farsi: Feeling your baby move is a sigh that they are well in Farsi

French: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in French 

German: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in German 

Hindi: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Hindi

Hungarian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Hungarian

Indonesian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Indonesian

Italian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Italian 

Kurdish/SomaliFeeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Kurdish/Somali

Latvian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Latvian

Lithuanian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Lithuanian

Polish: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Polish

Portuguese: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Portuguese

Punjabi: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Punjabi

Romanian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Romanian

Russian: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Russian

Slovak: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Slovak

Sorani: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Sorani

Spanish: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Spanish

Tigrigna: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Tigrigna

Turkish: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Turkish

Urdu: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Urdu

Vietnamese: Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well in Vietnamese

Get in touch

Chorley and South Ribble Hospital

Preston Road

Chorley

PR7 1PP

01257 261222

Royal Preston Hospital

Sharoe Green Lane

Fulwood

Preston

PR2 9HT

01772 716565

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