Decreased fetal movement @ almost 40 weeks

[JFTB1177]

Anyone have this happen? I don't remember it happening with my other kids. I'll be 40 weeks in 2 days, and for the last few days I have noticed much less movement. I have a doppler and hr was 128, but I read in one article on the net to not rely on home dopplers to assess fetal health. When I woke up this morning baby was moving like crazy, but for most of today, nothing. I did just have some lunch and right after got a few hard punches, but now all is quiet again... should I call my doc?

Baby just moved while I was typing this, still, the movements aren't what they used to be... is this normal, am I just paranoid? I am planning (my 2nd) VBAC and don't want to put myself in a "high risk" category unneccessarily, kwim? I have a doc appt tomorrow morning, should I just wait until then? Also, I had an u/s thsi past Thurs (doc wanted to see est weight and position so I did it to appease him- everything seemed fine then too).

[Tmama]

Personally, I think it may be just the fact that you are nearing the end of your pregnancy and baby is just simply running out of space.  Therefore, the movement won't be as crazy as before when they had more room to swim around.  That's just the first thing that came to my mind, as I am no midwife or OB.  I know with me (this is my second) I have quiet stretches and then at night, he is having a party...but I'm only 29 weeks, so he's got more room than your baby, kwim?  Have a glass of OJ and lay on your left side for a while and that should stir up some movement.  I'm sure everything is fine and before you know it, that baby will be here!  However, do what you feel comfortable with and if you truly feel something isn't right, give them a call and they can reassure you better than I!

Hope that helped!  Good Luck and try to relax!

[bri276]

Most of the time it means nothing, sometimes it means something.  What I did was ask for a NST.  NST alone isn't really good enough to tell if there's an issue, so I gave myself contractions during it by doing nipple stimulation.  I watched the monitor myself to make sure the baby's heart rate was recovering normally after contractions.  But- my mw's office was very, very easy to get into for something like that and I'm very prone to contractions from nipple stim.

I'll give you the disclaimer that I'm ultra paranoid while pregnant (know too many people with losses) and that's what *I* needed to do to feel comfortable.  Babies can absolutely have lazy days or be in a weird position and nothing is wrong. 

[pregnant@40]

 I second getting the NST. It's noninvasive & easy to do, and you can see if the baby is actually moving even if you don't feel it.

[JFTB1177]

Originally Posted by Tmama 

Have a glass of OJ and lay on your left side for a while and that should stir up some movement.  

I drank some juice and laid down on my left side, like you said and def felt movement! It was more like "rolling" movements. I actually fell asleep for almost an hour and when I woke up I felt some more movements. I checked the hr again and it was around 132 after I woke up. I have felt some smaller movements since then... do you think I'm okay to wait until my appt tomorrow morning?

Thank you guys for responding! You know how it is when worry sets in.

Btw, I heard loud heart tones on my right side before my nap, and when I woke up (after sleeping on my left side), I couldn't find heart tones on the right but found them right away on the left, loud and clear. I'm thinking baby switched sides while I was sleeping?

[jenniferadurham]

I remember at almost 39 weeks my MW said at least 10 movements per hour....baby just doesn't have room anymore. I personally wouldn't worry.

[StephandOwen]

Trust your instincts. If you feel something might be wrong, don't feel bad about getting checked. I was 39 weeks 5 days with ds when I realized his movement had slowed waaay down. I did the whole "drink juice and lay on left side", "eat something sugary", "take a relaxing bath", etc and still wasn't feeling movement. I called my the OB floor at the hospital (after hours for the dr) and they said to come on in and they would check for a heartbeat. I came in and ds was fine, but it turned out I had high blood pressure and was spilling protein (later told pre-e). I ended up having to stay and be induced. I'm glad I listened to my instincts. That happened on a Wednesday. I had just seen my midwife on Monday and everything was fine. I wasn't scheduled to see her again until the following Monday- 5 days away. Anything could have happened in 5 days.

[smeep]

Yeah, I suggest just going with your instincts. Babies often slow down toward the end because of lack of room (this baby has - still lots of movement but it's not so wham-wham-quick-punch-caffeinated movements as it is slower but strong movements. Also, with DS, he slowed down significantly the day I went for my ultrasound (41w3d - just to make sure everything looked good). The tech and doctor FREAKED out about it and pounded my belly (I almost puked, ugh) and freaked out telling me to go to the birth center to be induced immediately, not even to stop at home to get my bag, and they'd call my midwife to tell her I was on my way. Umm...if it's so immediate that I can't swing by the house then I need to be going to the hospital for pitocin because, helloooo, out-of-hospital centers can't do any inductions that are THAT immediate.  Anyway, so when we left my mom (who was there with me) suggested that it was just baby slowing down because we thought I was in early labour and that all of us slowed down when she went into labour. We went home and then called my midwife who agreed, called her backup OB to ask him and he agreed as well. He was born 12 hours after that ultrasound with zero induction or anything to "help" it along.

So, yeah, just trust your instincts. Don't worry too much. And I would probably rely on a home doppler well before I relied on EFM. 

[JFTB1177]

Thanks again ladies, and for sharing your stories! I just got back from a doc appt, hr was 142 and everything looks good. I am 1 cm dialated (big deal for me lol) after nothing for weeks so maybe it is early labor?? Or not. I've had more movement today than I did yesterday but will def keep on top of it. I am scheduled for a NST on Friday as well as a BPP.