What is fetal movement like at 27 weeks

People often judge the health or growth of the fetus by its movements in the mother's womb. If a fetus is healthy, it will show frequent and regular fetal movements. When fetal movement occurs, the mother can clearly feel it. Generally, fetal movements will gradually appear four months after the baby is formed. So what should fetal movements be like at 27 weeks?

Fetal movement refers to the movement of the fetus in the uterine cavity that impacts the uterine wall. The fetus stretches its hands, kicks its legs, and hits the uterine wall in the uterus. This is fetal movement. After 4 months of pregnancy, the fetal movement can be clearly felt. Fetal movement is one of the important contents in clinical prenatal fetal monitoring technology. The number, speed, strength, etc. of fetal movements indicate the safety of the fetus. Although various fetal movement counting methods are used clinically, the ideal fetal movement count and interval have not yet been determined.

Under normal circumstances, the fetus moves at least 3 to 5 times in 1 hour, and the number of obvious fetal movements in 12 hours is more than 30 to 40 times. Some fetuses can move about 100 times in 12 hours. As long as the fetal movements are regular, rhythmic, and do not vary much, it proves that the fetal development is normal. The number of fetal movements is not constant. During the 28th to 38th week of pregnancy, the fetal movement is active, and then it weakens slightly until delivery. The pregnant woman's movement, posture, emotions, loud noises, strong light, and touching the abdomen can all cause changes in fetal movement.

type

The fetal movements that pregnant women can feel first appear in the middle of the lower abdomen and often have several different types.

1. Fetal movement in early pregnancy

There are several different types of fetal movements in early pregnancy seen by ultrasound. At 7 to 8 weeks of pregnancy, slight wave-like movements of the embryo can be seen; small twitches appear around 9 weeks; they become more obvious after 9 weeks; stronger twitches can be seen between 9 and 10 weeks; and after 10 weeks, stronger movements such as fluttering, floating and jumping appear.

2. Fetal movement after the second trimester

There are more types, such as startle, whole body movement, isolated upper or lower limb movement, flexion and extension of the head, head turning, turning, stretching, opening the mouth, touching the face with hands, burping, yawning, sucking, swallowing, etc. These exercises reach their peak between 13 and 15 weeks of pregnancy and gradually decrease after 17 weeks.

3. Fetal movement after full term

As the baby approaches full term, especially after 38 weeks, there are fewer large-scale body movements, and only eye movements, mouth opening, hand activities, and breathing movements can be observed.

Clinical significance

Normal fetal movement indicates that the placenta is functioning well, that the fetus is receiving sufficient oxygen, that the fetus is growing and developing healthily in the uterus, and that the fetus is moving happily. Observing fetal movements in early pregnancy is helpful in estimating the prognosis of pregnancy. Counting fetal movements is an economical and convenient method to monitor the condition of the fetus. Mothers can count fetal movements (the number of times the fetus kicks) as a means of prenatal fetal monitoring. At 7 weeks of pregnancy, the miscarriage rate is only 3% if there is fetal movement; while the miscarriage rate can be as high as 98% if there is no fetal movement. Ultrasound is also more sensitive in observing fetal movements in the middle and late stages. Sometimes small fetal movements are not felt by the pregnant woman, but can be seen on ultrasound.