Know Your Bump – In Support of Kicks Count

At Bump, Baby & You, we are passionate about raising awareness. Fetal movements and what to do in case of concern is an incredibly vital aspect of pregnancy, with organisations such as Kicks Count promoting well publicised campaigns, and with the NHS advice telling mums to seek assistance.

Yet, too many mums are still torn when it happens to them. Worried about bothering the hospital. Got a midwife appointment in the morning, so it can wait, right? Standoffish woman on the phone thinks I’m exaggerating, so I’ll just leave it as I don’t want to cause a fuss. The ladies I asked online said it’s ‘normal’, so it’ll be fine.

Lots of mummies from our private Facebook group have joined forces with the team at Bump, Baby & You to get their personal experiences out there for the sake of raising awareness and drawing attention to the correct course of action that worried mums should take.

In turn, we are working in support of the awareness organisation Kicks Count to bring this vital information to our followers.

Story 5 – Gemma’s Story

You know your own body!

Back in September 2016 just a matter of weeks after our wedding, Cae & I unfortunately lost our first baby. It happened in the first trimester and when I fell pregnant in January this year with our little girl, I knew I would be a worrier and I do have anxiety. Every little niggle or pain and I would resort to Google, which can either be your best friend or worst enemy!

Fortunately, my pregnancy has been pretty smooth and symptom wise, I’ve been extremely lucky and had a lovely time. As our pregnancy progressed they emphasized the importance of baby’s movements and I can remember feeling those first few flutters around 19 weeks which turned into little kicks around 22 weeks.

Our little girl is extremely active and it feels like she kicks harder than a footballer! So it’s been easy to deduce a pattern and monitor. She usually wakes me up in the middle of the night (I take that opportunity to empty my bladder) and she’s awake kicking about when I wake up in the morning.

However, one day last week I woke up and couldn’t feel any movement at all. I did everything they tell you: drink something cold, lie on your left side etc

But could feel nothing at all, no rolling or anything. I thought I could leave it and see how it goes but then realised I had been asleep overnight as well and hadn’t felt her move since the previous evening. Now,I know it’s pretty easy to feel like you’re being a pain and bothering the midwives. DON’T!

It was about 11am and I called my mum to take me to the hospital. They were fantastic and really understanding! They placed me on a monitor straight away and there her little heartbeat was ❤

I was on the monitor for about 30 minutes and 20 minutes in her littler heartbeat jumped up by 10 per minute and then she started kicking away. My theory is that she woke up and thought what the hell is all that noise!

But I’m glad I went. Thy were very thorough and checked the fluid around her on a scan and her growth and she’s a perfect little baby. She’s obviously just a little wench and fancied scaring mammy. But I imagine that worry will be there for all her life ❤

Now I’m not against Dopplers, I think they are a nice little novelty. But that’s all they are. A novelty. So please don’t use these for reassurance. Just because you can detect a heartbeat does not mean your baby is well. But even I heard so many conflicting stories that it’s natural to feel confused about what to do. I was told things like:

❥ She shouldn’t sleep longer than 90 minutes at a time – wrong!

❥ I should feel 10 movements in a 2 hour period – wrong!

❥ Their movements slow down or stop towards the end of the third trimester – wrong!

The best advice I can give, is don’t listen to anyone else’s advice. You, as a woman and a mother, know your own body. If you don’t feel comfortable or happy with the baby’s movements, please just call the maternity ward and get seen. It may be nothing, you may think you’re worrying about nothing or being over cautious due to a previous miscarriage like myself . Everything may be fine and your baby may just be sleeping like mine was. But it’s so important to get checked out.

It’s never a waste of time. At the end of the day, the midwives and hospital want mammy-to-be to be relaxed and well, as well as baby ❤

Written by Gemma Louise Seabourne for her blog, I Was Told There Would Be Glowing.

Thank you for reading Gemma’s story.

Please take her message on board; seek immediate help if you are worried about your baby. Don’t be afraid to bother your hospital, but at the same time don’t be fobbed off – listen to your baby and your body.

You can see the NHS advice for reduced movement here, and the Kicks Count advice here.

Get to know your baby’s pattern, and seek immediate help if your baby’s movements alter in any way! Do NOT under any circumstances trust a home doppler.

Kicks Count, so Know Your Bump.