Is it normal to have a decrease in fetal movement at 34 weeks of pregnancy?

For an expectant mother, the process of pregnancy is both difficult and happy. Watching the belly grow bigger day by day and thinking about the baby's growth in the belly, every fetal movement brings happiness and surprise to expectant mothers. So what is the normal fetal movement index? Is it normal to have decreased fetal movement in the 34th week of pregnancy? Let’s learn together today.

The reduction of fetal movement in expectant mothers cannot be ignored. What is fetal movement? The movement of the fetus in the uterus is called fetal movement. Fetal movement is a sign that the fetus is doing well in the uterus. During a normal 18-20 week pregnancy, pregnant women can feel fetal movements, 3-5 times per hour. The more weeks of pregnancy, the more active the fetal movements, but they decrease in the late stages of pregnancy. Generally, fetal movement reaches its peak after 28-32 weeks of pregnancy and gradually decreases after 38 weeks. Fetal movements are relatively even between 8 and 12 in the morning, are least between 2 and 3 in the afternoon, then gradually increase, and reach their highest between 8 and 11 in the evening.

Fetal movement is an important indicator for understanding the condition of the fetus in the uterus. Fetal movement can be used to understand the condition of the fetus in the uterus. Reduced fetal movement is a signal of fetal intrauterine hypoxia. Reduced fetal movement is common in weakened placental function and chronic intrauterine fetal hypoxia, and is an important indicator of fetal distress. After fetal movement completely stops, the fetal heart rate will also disappear within 24-48 hours. Therefore, pregnant women should pay attention to this and go to the hospital in time to avoid missing the rescue opportunity. However, frequent fetal movement is often a precursor symptom of the disappearance of fetal movement and should also be taken seriously.

Pregnant women should start counting fetal movements from the 7th month of pregnancy. This is the most feasible and simplest way for pregnant women to self-monitor the safety of the fetus in the uterus at home. The method of fetal movement monitoring is: from the seventh month of pregnancy to before delivery, observe for one hour each morning, noon and evening. Multiply the total number of fetal movements in three hours by 4, which is the number of fetal movements in 12 hours. The normal number of fetal movements is about 30 times within 12 hours. If it drops below 20 times, or less than 3 times per hour, it means that there is abnormality in the fetus and you should go to the hospital for examination immediately.

So for expectant mothers, we must face up to our fetal movements. Once the fetal movement is too frequent or decreases, you must go to the hospital for examination in time to avoid irreparable consequences due to your own negligence. Pregnancy is a difficult and happy process. As long as we treat it carefully, we will be able to safely welcome the arrival of a little angel.