Will fetal movement decrease when pregnant women are tired?

Pregnant women will experience many changes in the process of preparing for pregnancy and need to be cautious at all times. For example, they will experience loss of appetite, vomiting and nausea at the beginning, and their stomachs will become heavier day by day. There will be a certain physical and psychological burden. If they are not carefully cared for, some pregnant women may even suffer from prenatal depression. Therefore, the changes of pregnant women during pregnancy need to be paid enough attention. Some pregnant women will feel that the fetal movement decreases when they are tired. What causes this change?

Pregnant women will feel the fetal movement for the first time around 18-20 weeks of pregnancy. In the late pregnancy, fetal movements will become more and more frequent. When a pregnant mother feels fetal movement for the first time, it is the happiest and most exciting moment in her life. So, when do fetal movements begin to decrease? Let’s take a look together.

When do fetal movements begin to decrease?

Fetal movement refers to the movement of the fetus in the uterine cavity that impacts the uterine wall. After 4 months of pregnancy, that is, from the 5th month, the mother can clearly feel the movement of the fetus. The fetus stretches its hands, kicks its legs, and hits the uterine wall in the uterus. This is fetal movement. The number, speed, strength, etc. of fetal movements indicate the safety of the fetus. Normal obvious fetal movements should be no less than 3 to 5 times per hour, and more than 30 to 40 times in 12 hours. However, due to the large individual differences among fetuses, some fetuses may 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. 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.

Generally speaking, fetal movement begins between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy. The initial fetal movement is very slight, like intestinal peristalsis. As the pregnancy progresses, the fetal movement becomes stronger and stronger, and the pregnant woman feels it more and more obviously. It reaches a peak at 28 to 32 weeks, decreases slightly after 37 to 38 weeks, and in the last month of pregnancy, the fetus grows and fills the uterine cavity, and the fetal movement actually decreases slightly.

The number of fetal movements is not constant. The 28-38 weeks of pregnancy is the period of active fetal movement, which weakens slightly until delivery. The pregnant woman's movement, posture, emotions, loud noises, strong light, and touching the abdomen can cause changes in fetal movement.

How much fetal movement is normal

Pregnant women should start counting fetal movements every day after the 28th week of pregnancy. Expectant mothers can choose to count the number of fetal movements about 1-2 hours after breakfast or dinner. Continuous fetal movement is naturally counted as one time, and a fetal movement after a pause is counted as two times. Since fetal movements are more obvious after meals, it is more suitable for fetal movement calculation. Normally, it should be easy to count 10 fetal movements within two hours, with little variation, which indicates that the fetal development is normal. But as long as the fetal movement is regular and rhythmic.

If the fetal movement count is less than ten times within two hours, you should suspect a problem and continue counting the fetal movements. If after 6 hours of continuous observation, the number of fetal movements is still less than ten times within two hours, you must go to the hospital for examination. According to statistics, counting fetal movements can detect 89%-90% of abnormalities, which is quite useful.

After 34 weeks, the calculation method needs to be modified. Observe for at least an hour after each meal and before going to bed, and it is considered passed if there are at least 4 fetal movements.

Note that the normal time the fetus remains motionless should not exceed 75 minutes. Therefore, if you feel that the fetus has not moved for more than one and a half hours, you should eat some snacks, touch your belly, or even pat your belly, or push the baby, and put a walkman on your belly to play music for him. If none of the above methods work, you should go to the hospital for a check-up.