Fetal Movement Assessment
Section snippets
Fetal Movements as a Sign of Fetal Well-Being
Maternal perception of fetal movements (FM) is the oldest and most commonly used method to assess fetal well-being.1 In most communities today, it is performed as unstructured screening to which almost all pregnant women adhere. Among women who have delivered a live-born baby, more than 99% agreed with the statement that it was important to them to feel the baby move every day.2 When they screen themselves as “positive” for decreased fetal movements (DFM), most will present their concerns to
Studies of Stillbirth Prevention by Fetal Movement Counting
There have only been two studies in total populations (all pregnancies) and two studies in mixed low-risk and high-risk populations evaluating the effect of FMC for all versus no FMC. In the total population studies, both were conducted as prospective cohorts with a control period followed by an intervention period. In 1986, Westgate and Jamieson in New Zealand reported a relative risk of stillbirth of 0.76 (0.55-1.04), and 0.56 (0.35-0.90) for stillbirths perceived as avoidable.6 In 1989,
Methods and Alarm Limits for Maternal Fetal Movement Counting
The concept of maternal FMC in the third trimester is based on the presumption that maternal perception of FM accurately reflects fetal activity or at least gross fetal body or limb movements. A range of methodologies from piezo-electric crystals to ultrasound scanning have been used for objective measures of FM, but every method has its limitations and a “gold standard” is difficult to define. In comparison with the ultrasound, the mean proportion of FM perceived by the mother ranges from 37
Any Future for Formal Fetal Movement Counting?
While self-screened women who present with concerns for DFM do manage to identify a high-risk population, the ongoing fetal movement screening overall still achieves limited success. An important limitation to the efficacy of screening using FM may be substandard management of mother's concerns for DFM, as we discuss elsewhere in this issue of Seminars in Perinatology. Currently, far too many women do not seem to appreciate the importance of fetal activity, and stillbirths are often preceded by
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Cited by (74)
Mindfetalness: a qualitative method for self-assessment of fetal movements
2023, Clinica e Investigacion en Ginecologia y ObstetriciaDecreased fetal movements—the utility of ultrasound to identify infants at risk and prevent stillbirth is poor
2023, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology MFMA Wearable System for In-Home and Long-Term Assessment of Fetal Movement
2020, IRBMCitation Excerpt :Ultrasound is usually regarded as the gold standard for fetal movement monitoring, but the disadvantage of this technology is that it is only accessible in a clinical setting, and an experienced clinician is needed to manipulate the ultrasound device. 2) Maternal perception of fetal movements, which is the oldest and most commonly used method to assess fetal well-being [7]. A pregnant woman may first feel her baby's movement from weeks 25 of the pregnancy or even a few weeks earlier.
The problem with counting fetal movements
2020, Women and BirthReduced fetal movements is twin pregnancies and the association with adverse neonatal outcomes
2020, European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive BiologyDecreased fetal movements: Perinatal and long-term neurological outcomes
2019, European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive BiologyCitation Excerpt :Adequate perception of activity is an indicator of fetal wellbeing whereas abnormal degree of movement raises concern for fetal compromise [3]. Thus, while there is no consensus for the optimal definition of decreased fetal movements (DFM) [9], women are encouraged to report decrease of them [10,11]. Studies that have addressed the clinical significance of DFM have had inconsistent findings.
This work was supported in part by The Norwegian Research Council, The Norwegian Women's Public Health Association, The Norwegian Medical Association, and Unexpected Child Death Society of Norway.