Stillbirth Q & A in Urban Baby & Toddler Magazine

babykick's founder, Dr. Diep Nguyen, answers a reader question in Urban Baby & Toddler. Kick counting, starting at weeks 24-28 of pregnancy, is easy for moms-to-be to do at home. Plus, it can help prevent stillbirth. Here's a look:

I’ve heard that monitoring your baby’s movements may help prevent stillbirth. How?

Every year, stillbirth claims the lives of approximately 26,000 babies – 70 per day – 10 times that of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Research shows that fetal movement is a good indicator of your baby’s well-being. Significant changes in the fetal movement pattern may help identify problems with your pregnancy before the baby’s heart rate is affected. Once the heart beat stops, it is too late.

Setting aside time once a day when your baby is most active to count kicks, turns, swishes, rolls, and jabs may help identify potential problems and could help prevent stillbirth. Doing a daily kick count not only helps you feel confident about your baby’s health, but also gives helpful information to your obstetrical provider. If the information suggests that there may be a problem, this does not necessarily mean that your baby is in trouble. It just means that you may need further care and more tests.

For the latest on the kick count method and stillbirth prevention, visit the Health Care Professionals section at www.babykickalliance.com.

Dr. Diep Nguyen, obstetrician & gynecologist

"Must-Have" Baby Gadget

Popgadget is always up on the latest tech trends for women. Today they called kickTrak a "must-have" baby gadget and explored the importance of kick counting for pregnancy health:

"Dr. Nguyen, who invented the kickTrak, tells us why she invented the product:

'Fetal movement is one of the most important indicators of a baby's health. Studies show that decreased fetal movement can indicate risk for stillbirth. Most babies take less than 15 minutes to make ten movements - jabs, rolls, kicks, twists and turns. Moms should inform their providers if their babies are taking longer than usual or are taking more than 2 hours to complete ten movements. Before kickTrak, moms were advised to keep track of their baby's movements by filling out charts. Several of my patients suggested that there should be an easier way to comply with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' recommendation to track babies health. While moms can still take proactive steps to prevent stillbirth by tracking their sessions with a pen and paper, kickTrak serves as a physical reminder to count kicks once a day. It stores the data from the ten most recent kick counting sessions, so moms can share the vital information with their health care providers. Also, kickTrak allows moms to easily track their pregnancy's progress and counts down to their due date.' "


Read more about why Popgadget thinks kickTrak is a must-have baby gadget.

Pinks & Blues Approved

Learn more about using kickTrak at Pinks & Blues. Audrey loved using it to monitor her baby's movement! Plus, you can enter to win one by visiting Mama Loves Giveaways.

Maternity & Style's Top Pick

kickTrak is a Maternity & Style Top Pick this week-- check it out!

babygooroo on Counting Kicks

Our friends over at babygooroo are busy counting kicks these days. Learn more about kick counting and find out why kickTrak is giving the "tech-envy" by reading more.

Mommywood: Angela Kinsey Using kickTrak

Read about Angela Kinsey using kickTrak on Modern Mom's Mommywood.

Shiny Shiny Reviews kickTrak

Check out Emma's take on kickTrak at Shiny Shiny.

"I really enjoy using it [kickTrak] as it forces me to take some time out and pay attention to my baby's movements. It is recommended that you monitor your baby's activity in the last trimester of pregnancy as a decrease in movement can sometimes be a warning sign of something going wrong. This device gives you a chance to alert your midwife or doctor to any changes. It's a much nicer way of keeping a record rather than using a pen and paper (which doesn't play a nice little tune at the end of each session)."

Stillbirth Prevention in the New York Times

Yesterday's New York Times featured an article about recurrent stillbirth. As our country's least-talked about pregnancy complication, many Americans avoid the topic of stillbirth because it's not easy to discuss. The babykick Foundation is here to change that, and to provide parents-to-be with the necessary knowledge to have healthy pregnancies. We want to bring stillbirth to the forefront of health discussions and are glad to see that it's making national headlines.

Did you know that stillbirth results in the deaths of over 70 babies in the US every day? That's ten times as many as SIDS! Families of stillborn babies fall victim, too— few hospitals offer an autopsy, placental exam or clinical testing after a stillbirth to determine the cause of death. What’s even more shocking is that in 29 states, parents of a stillborn baby receive no recognition—the births are “invisible” without a birth certificate or other legal documentation.

Unfortunately, many of these tragedies are unexplained, but there are ways that pregnant women can help reduce their risk. A simple, safe and effective method that’s been shown to help prevent stillbirth is kick counting. Fetal movement is one of the best indicators of a baby’s health before birth. In general, healthy babies will make ten movements within two hours, but decreased fetal movement is associated with stillbirth and other pregnancy complications. A Massachusetts Quality Improvement Study cited in Harvard’s Forum shows that the rate of stillbirth in pregnancies that were complicated with decreased fetal movement was four-fold above the general population.

The babykick Foundation provides parents with the necessary resources to understand kick counting, including free kick count charts.

kickTrak on The Cradle

The Cradle has just included kickTrak on their Star Wares page. You can win a Jewels & Pinstripes gift bag, just like the one that Jennifer Lopez, Cate Blanchett, Gwen Stefani and Nicole Kidman have by visiting Pregnancy Magazine online.