Hot/Cold/Sweet for baby movements?

[FluffyPumpkin1977]

Hi everyone!

I'm actually seeking advice on behalf of my fellow Yoga mums rather than for myself.

It seems that some of them have received conflicting evidence on what to do if they are concerned about the baby's movements.

One hospital said have something hot/cold or sweet to eat or drink and that this should stimulate movement.

Another hospital said that having something hot/cold/sweet might cause a false sense of security and that anyone who is concerned should not do this and lie down for an hour instead to focus on the baby's movements.

These ladies are about 10 weeks behind me in their pregnancies; I can remember being confused by the advice too.

I reckon that asking women to notice a pattern of movement and if it changes is quite a big ask when most women are busy at work.

What do you lot think?

[KellyTrip]

I would say to ring the midwife or early assessment unit if there are any concerns with movement and they will give advice on what to do next. They are the experts!

[Hfarm91]

I once read have a cold drink..and lay down for an hour and count all movements in that hour. HOWEVER..if anyone was ever slightly concerned to ring up and go for monitoring with midwife/hospital. They would much rather you have a false alarm than not go at all and something bad happen.

[AprilZ]

I remember reading that you should lie down on your left side and count distinct movements - fewer than 10 in 2 hours and you should ring MAU immediately. I wish I could find the link for this! At 28 weeks, i find that if I have a drink (hot or cold) my baby has a good wiggle but I know movement patterns are different for everyone.

I agree with the others that if your friends have any worries they should definitely call MAU anyway and not worry about bothering them unnecessarily.

[FluffyPumpkin1977]

Thanks all. At 37 weeks I sometimes can't sleep for the baby moving regardless of what I eat!

I agree about MAU- these guys' jobs are (partly) to help put our minds at rest.

[Zoe310798]

I was advised to lie down on my left side for two hours and count the movements. Anything less than 10 separate movements (midwife told me that say that two kicks immediately after eachother would be classed as 1 rather than 2 movements) then you should report to maternity triage. If you are still concerned even after feeling 10 movements then phone in for advice, I would always follow my instinct as better to be safe than sorry!