Kick Count Tracker

Many babies reach 10 movements within 30 minutes to 2 hours. Your baby's typical time is the most useful benchmark. A session that is much slower than usual is worth acting on.

Contact your maternity unit or midwife straight away. Do not wait until the next day, and do not use a home doppler to reassure yourself. Reduced movements can be a sign your baby needs to be checked. You will never be wasting anyone's time. In Singapore, call or go to the delivery suite of the hospital where you're booked, any time of day or night.

A baby who is well moves regularly. A reduction or change in your baby's usual pattern can sometimes be an early sign that they need checking. That's why midwives and doctors ask you to get to know your own baby's pattern from around 28 weeks, and to report any change straight away rather than waiting.

1. Choose a time when your baby is usually active, often in the evening.
2. Lie on your left side or sit comfortably with your feet up.
3. Tap the button for each kick, roll, swish or flutter. A continuous run of movement counts as one.
4. Stop when you reach 10. The tool saves how long it took.

Many people feel 10 movements well within two hours; your own typical time is the most useful benchmark. If you haven't felt 10 movements in two hours, contact your maternity unit.

• Placenta at the front (anterior placenta) can cushion kicks, especially earlier in pregnancy.
• Being busy: you may not notice movements while working or walking.
• Baby's position and sleep cycles, which usually last 20–40 minutes and rarely more than 90.

None of these should cause a lasting drop in movements. If movements are reduced, call even if you have an anterior placenta.

• "Babies move less near the end." Not true. The type of movement may change as space gets tighter, but the frequency should not drop.
• "Drink something cold and wait." Don't delay. If you're worried, call your maternity unit.
• "A home doppler will reassure me." A heartbeat doesn't tell you whether your baby is well. Home dopplers are not recommended.

You'll usually be asked to come in. Staff will check your baby's heart rate, often with a monitoring trace, and may arrange a scan. Most of the time everything is fine and you'll go home reassured. You will never be wasting anyone's time.

If you're booked at KKH and are 22 weeks or more, KKH asks you to go straight to its Delivery Suite (Level 2, Women's Tower) for leaking fluid, vaginal bleeding or signs of labour, rather than the Urgent O&G Centre. Other hospitals have their own numbers and arrangements, so save yours in your phone now. In an emergency, call 995. If movements have slowed down or changed, don't wait for your next check-up: call the hospital where you're booked and they'll tell you where to go.

Every baby has their own rhythm. Some are most active after you eat, others when you lie down at night. Over the first week or two of counting, the 14-day chart shows how long it usually takes your baby to reach 10 movements and when you tend to count. That personal baseline is what makes this tool useful: a session that takes much longer than usual, or a day when movements just feel different, is your signal to call.

Most maternity units suggest becoming aware of your baby's movements from around 24–28 weeks and continuing right up to labour. Count once a day at a similar time. Many people reach 10 movements in well under an hour; the tool warns you if two hours pass without reaching 10. If your midwife has given you a different plan, follow theirs.

Your sessions are saved on this device. Download a PDF or CSV of your history to show your midwife, and use Back up if you're changing phones. If you have to call about reduced movements, having your recent pattern to hand can help the team.

With twins, it can be hard to tell who is moving. Get to know the overall pattern and where you usually feel each baby, and call if anything changes. In the final weeks, as space gets tighter, movements may feel more like rolls and pushes than sharp kicks, but you should still feel your baby move as often as before, right up to and during labour.