Listen to babykick's Founder, Dr. Diep Nguyen, discuss kick counting. Tune into Moms Everywhere! Or read more from Moms Everywhere below.
Fetal Movement Counts. When your baby moves while you are pregnant is a very important indicator of the overall well-being of your baby, did you know that? This week is specially dedicated for all the pregnant moms and pregnant moms-to-be. We have with us this week Dr. Diep Nguyen, OB/GYN in Los Angeles, California (who is also a mom of three and works full-time in her private practice) who has created a fantastic and practical tool to help pregnant moms keep track of their babies movements after 28 weeks of pregnancy. It’s called the kickTrak! Very simple name, very simple to do.
Dr. Nguyen wanted to increase the awareness in one of least talked about complications during pregnancy- stillbirth. The definition of a stillbirth is having a fetal death in utero (while you are pregnant) after 20 weeks gestation (pregnant). Medical journals from Harvard University, the World Health Organization (WHO) and many others have indicated that when there is decrease in fetal movement, there is a fourfold increase risk in having a stillbirth. Many of your OB/Gyn’s encourage you to keep track of your babies movements. There must be at least 10 counts of movement in less than 15 minutes is recommended, however, if you do not count 10 movements in 2 hours, you must call your physician immediately.
Dr. Nguyen has created the kickTrak, a very small device to help moms keep track of the baby’s movements and has an internal memory, in case Mommy brain has set in. She has also created another website, babykickalliance.org where moms receive a fetal kick chart online and can find out as much information as they need to learn how important their baby’s movements are.
A few of the risk factors for moms who may be at risk for stillbirths are:
- Smoking
- Infertility
- Hypertension
- Being of African American descent
- Obese
- Never had a baby before
- Low socioeconomic status
This is not to say that if you have the above risk factors, you will have a stillbirth. You should discuss this with your OB/Gyn and find out what you need to do to make sure your baby is healthy. What tests do you need, how frequent should you be doing the fetal kick charts, etc. Talk with your provider!!! If anything, this should encourage you to seek regular prenatal care.
Check out the following websites for more information:
You will find out more information about your pregnancy and keeping your baby healthy during the next 40 weeks than you had ever imagined. Dr. Diep Nguyen certainly is passionate about the care of women and their unborn babies and has devoted a great deal of her expertise to help us moms! Tell everyone you know about Kick Track and BabyKick.com!
