Leigh-Anne John, a mom of two from Milton, Ont., was obsessive about kick counts when she was pregnant with her daughter, Emily, now 10 months old. ?I counted the hell out of her kicks,? John says. ?Probably even more than I should have.?
John had lost her second child, a daughter named Lily, at 37 weeks due to a large placental blood clot, so her third pregnancy was, understandably, more emotional and nerve–wracking. ?I wasn?t nearly as anxious during my pregnancy with my oldest, Christopher, but after Lily, I was acutely aware of every one of Em?s movements. In addition to the daily counts, if I felt she was a little too quiet, I?d down a glass of juice and start counting the rolls and wiggles.?
For many expectant mothers, the practice of kick counting?which involves counting the number of times a baby moves over a two-hour period, until you log six to 10 movements?is reassuring. It also has the potential to identify an issue with a little one, as decreased movement can be a sign of trouble. While your baby may just be sleeping or in a less obvious position, a drop in fetal movement can also signal anything from low amniotic fluid or a ruptured amniotic sac to a tangled umbilical cord. ?We start asking moms to do kick counts around 28 weeks,? says Katrina Sawatsky, a physician at the Northeast Calgary Women?s Clinic. ?By 28 weeks, moms can differentiate kicks from [their own] gas or indigestion, and the baby is big enough that you will feel movement more often. Befo...