What are the different fetal movements?
All fetal movements are unique and different! At first you may feel fluttering movements, which later progress to stronger kicks, squirming, rolling and wriggling. There may also be hiccup movements. As such, fetal movements are classified as weak, strong, and rolling.
Here’s how your baby and his/her metal movements develop over time;
Before 9 weeks: All the limbs move as one unit together as the nerves are still developing.
9 weeks: Yawns and stretches are detected on ultrasound.
10 weeks: You may see your baby’s limbs moving separately and tiny startle movements.
11 weeks: Your baby can open his/her mouth and suck the fingers.
12 weeks: You may be able to see your baby swallow amniotic fluid through ultrasound.
13 weeks: By this time, your baby can move his/her arms and legs vigorously and respond to skin touch.
14-20 weeks: An event called ‘quickening’ occurs, whereby you feel your first fetal movements.
20-36 weeks: At this stage, as your baby moves all the joints and spine, all types of fetal movements are felt. While the pattern of movement changes, strong and rolling movements are more frequent.
28 weeks: At this stage, your baby shows a startle reflex, where he/she brings both arms and legs toward the chest when met with sudden movement or loud noise.
Third trimester: Your baby shows a bicycling movement called stepping to turn upside down for a normal delivery.