What causes small fetal movements?

During pregnancy, mothers will often feel the unborn baby moving in their belly. This is professionally called fetal movement. However, sometimes some mothers will feel that the amplitude of the fetal movement has become smaller. Many mothers who do not know the reason will be anxious and worried. Is there something wrong with the baby? If you encounter a similar situation, you can take the following methods to solve it.

What are the reasons for small fetal movement?

Abnormal fetal movement is usually caused by the following reasons: tight umbilical cord around the neck, placental dysfunction, or abnormal medication by the pregnant mother and adverse external influences, which can cause the fetus to suffer from hypoxia in the uterus. When the life of the fetus is threatened, the fetus will show abnormal fetal movements, not only in frequency but also in nature, such as violent, continuous pushing and twisting fetal movements or kicking, or even weak fetal movements. These are all ominous signs.

If you notice abnormal fetal movement, you should seek medical attention immediately. Generally, pregnant mothers monitor fetal movements every day. If they find that the fetal movements are less than 20 times in 12 hours, it means that the fetal movements are too few and they need to contact their obstetrician. The closer they are to delivery, the more attention they should pay to the fetal movements.

Symptoms of fetal movement in different stages:

1. Fetal movement in early pregnancy

There are several different types of fetal movements seen by ultrasound in the early stages of pregnancy. At 7 to 8 weeks of pregnancy, subtle 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, turning back, turning around, expanding, 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 fluctuations in body movements, and only eye movements, mouth opening, hand movements, and breathing movements can be observed.

Finally, babies with different personalities will also cause differences in fetal movements. Some babies love to move, so the fetal movement is particularly obvious; some babies are relatively quiet, so the fetal movement is not obvious. The baby in the mother's belly is like a little athlete, doing various stretching exercises in the belly every day. Mothers can enjoy this unique fetal movement and look forward to the arrival of the little life.