When should I be concerned about fetal movement?

For example, your baby may kick, hiccup, roll, turn, or twist . These movements are common and expected. As your baby grows, these movements will get stronger. But sometimes you might feel a movement that surprises you.

Fetal movements in utero are an expression of fetal well-being. However, a sudden increase of fetal movements is a sign of acute fetal distress, such as in cases of cord complications or abruptio placentae .

Normal fetal movements can be defined as 10 or more fetal movements in 2 hours , felt by a woman when she is lying on her side and focusing on the movement,2–4,6 which may be perceived as ‘any discrete kick, flutter, swish or roll’.

Abnormal forceful, jerky, and periodic fetal movement can be associated with a fetal seizure. The seizures occur repeatedly, usually involving the whole fetal body, and at a frequency that varies from two movements/second in clonic convulsions to several times/minute in lightening convulsions (2, 3).