How to track your baby's movements

What counting can and cannot do

Counting is useful because it makes you notice your baby's pattern. Knowing what is usual is what allows you to recognise a change.

It cannot assess your baby's health. No count, however reassuring, rules out a problem, and a completed count is not a reason to ignore a feeling that something has changed.

Formal counting has not been shown by itself to reduce stillbirth. Awareness of movements and acting quickly on a change is what the evidence supports.

So the purpose of a chart is to build familiarity, not to pass a test. If counting is making you anxious rather than informed, stop counting and simply pay attention to the pattern — that is a legitimate approach and your doctor will support it.

Our kick counter is a plain timer and tally that runs on this site. It records what you tell it, keeps nothing about your baby's health, and says so on the page.

How to do it

Start from around 28 weeks, or earlier if your doctor has advised it for your pregnancy.

Pick the time of day your baby is usually most active, and use roughly the same time each day. For many women that is the evening, or after a meal.

Lie on your side, or sit leaning forward with a hand on the bump. Being still and undistracted makes movements much easier to feel — most 'reduced movement' at a busy time of day is reduced attention.

Count any movement: a kick, a roll, a stretch, a jab. Hiccups are usually excluded because they are involuntary and rhythmic, and they are not a cause for concern.

A common structure is to count until you reach ten movements and note how long that took. Over a week or two you will see your own baby's usual time.

Write it down, or use the tracker. A record is far more useful than a memory when you are trying to describe a change to a midwife at 11 p.m.

And take the record with you if you go in. 'Usually ten in about forty minutes, tonight it took two hours' is a much more useful sentence than 'it feels less'.

When to see a doctor

Contact the maternity unit the same day if: your baby's movements are reduced, slower, weaker or different from their normal; a count takes markedly longer than it usually does; or you simply feel something has changed. Do not wait for a count to complete before calling if you are already worried.

Go immediately for: no movements at all, bleeding, severe abdominal pain, leaking fluid, severe headache with visual changes, or a fall or blow to the abdomen. Call 108 if travel is difficult.

Do not use a home doppler to check instead of going in. A heartbeat does not tell you the baby is well.

Do not delay to try cold water, sugar or prodding first.

This article is general information, not medical advice, and is no substitute for personal medical advice. It has not been reviewed by an obstetrician. No tracker on this site or any other can assess your baby's wellbeing.

Frequently asked questions

Q: When should I start counting? — Around 28 weeks for most pregnancies, or when your doctor advises.

Q: I finished the count but something still feels wrong. — Call anyway. The count does not override your sense of a change, and that instinct is worth taking seriously.

Q: Do hiccups count? — They are usually excluded from a count. They are normal and not a concern.

Q: Counting makes me anxious. — Then stop counting formally and stay aware of the pattern instead. Tell your doctor you are finding it distressing; anxiety in pregnancy is common and there is help for it.