Any pregnant woman expects the onset of movement and listens to her feelings. And still, every time this feeling comes unexpectedly and gives the expectant mother incomparable feelings of tenderness and love for her baby, who has so clearly declared herself. The baby begins to move in the uterus very early, but the mother still does not feel these light touches to the walls of the uterus.
And only at 18-20 weeks, primiparous women begin to hear the movements of the child. The fetal movement during the second pregnancy is felt earlier, in the period from 16 to 18 weeks. Initially, these are timid, chaotic movements comparable by a mother to swimming a fish or fluttering a butterfly. But over time, the fetal movement during pregnancy becomes more noticeable and rhythmic.
From the 24th week of pregnancy, the movements become distinct and vary from 10 to 40 shocks per minute. In the second half of pregnancy, the movements take a certain rhythm. Not quite accurate, rather approximate enough. But still, these movements make it possible to determine whether the child is sleeping or awake. Sometimes the fetus freezes in the womb for a while - this indicates that it is sleeping. The period of active movements suggests that the baby is developing normally in the womb.
Overly active fetal movements during pregnancy may indicate hypoxia (lack of oxygen). This may be due to the prolonged improper position of the mother when she sleeps on her back or sits with her legs crossed. A supine position causes increased uterine pressure on the aorta, and crossed legs disrupt normal blood circulation in the lower extremities. As a result, the child lacks oxygen and begins to make too active movements. As soon as the mother changes her body position, the fetus returns to normal motor activity.
It happens that hypoxia occurs due to the clamping of the umbilical cord in the womb by the child himself. Then, active movements help restore vascular patency and normal blood flow.
Stirring the fetus during pregnancy allows you to monitor the condition of a growing organism without the availability of diagnostic equipment. After all, every pregnant woman involuntarily notices the movements of the child, even if she is busy with something. She can be alerted by too rapid stirring, or, conversely, lull for a long period.
If the fetal movement during pregnancy causes pain, it is necessary to consult with your doctor.
To control the number of fetal movements, there is a special test. If the mother notices that the child does not move much during the day, she will be asked to take the J. Pearson test. It consists in the fact that for (from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) it is necessary to record all the movements of the fetus on a special schedule. If the test result shows that the number of movements is less than 10 per day, there is a suspicion of oxygen starvation of the fetus. In this case, additional studies are conducted to help identify the pathology.
With a multiple pregnancy, the expectant mother can feel tremors in different parts of the abdomen - this is completely normal. The first movements in pregnancy with twins or triples can cause anxiety in the mother, as they are too active due to the presence of several fetuses in the uterus. To make sure that everything is normal, it is necessary to undergo an ultrasound.
After 32 weeks of pregnancy, the activity of the movements decreases. This is due to the fact that there is less and less space in the uterus for a growing baby. Now he does not push, but sticks out some parts of the body so that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye.
The activity of the baby's movements in the abdomen depends on many factors: time of day, mental and physical condition of the mother, and blood composition. The expectant mother should take care of her health: take food in a timely manner, breathe fresh air, fully relax, abandon bad habits. Then the child will feel great.