Count baby's kicks, increase chances of a healthy delivery
Daily Breeze - Torrance, Calif.
Oct 9, 2006

Sometimes they may give a gentle tap from within the womb, but what fetuses are really known for are the kicks so hard that mothers- to-be have been known to let out an involuntary "Ooof!" Dr. Diep Nguyen figures that all the nudges, punches and punts that some women feel as early as 18 weeks into pregnancy are saying something that the baby is healthy and growing. If that's the case, then why not count those kicks regularly, and keep tabs on your soon-to-be offspring? It might just help save your child's life, Nguyen said.

Many women and plenty of doctors don't even know about the kick- count method, said Nguyen, an obstetriciangynecologist who lives in Manhattan Beach. So Nguyen has created the BabyKick Alliance, dedicated to spreading the word about the kick-count technique, a simple process for women to monitor fetal activity on a daily basis, simply by feeling and counting the movements in a set period of time. But the real subject here is stillbirth, and it's one that Nguyen said pregnant women and their doctors aren't readily discussing.

Of all the things that will be talked about, why is stillbirth given short shrift, sometimes ignored, or actively avoided as a taboo topic among healthy pregnant women? "I just want to start a dialogue. Let's talk about stillbirth in this country," Nguyen said. And because it might be a way to stave off stillbirth, Nguyen has taken it upon herself to start up a national campaign to promote the kick-count method. As a physician at Kaiser hospital in Bellflower, Nguyen has a professional interest in the matter, but her motivation is personal. When Nguyen was 12, her mother had a stillbirth. Her father, in telling his 12-year-old, said the baby looked just like Nguyen.

And three years ago, one of Nguyen's sisters, who was 37 weeks pregnant, noticed one day that her baby didn't seem as active as normal. The sister received immediate medical attention and it was found that the amniotic fluid was gone. Labor was induced, and a healthy baby was born. To Nguyen, her sister's careful attention to her fetus saved the baby's life. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists endorses the kick-count method and there are ongoing studies researching its potential.

There are about 26,000 stillbirths deaths of fetuses of 20 weeks old or more each year in the U.S., Nguyen said. Kick-counting could be a way to greatly reduce those losses, she feels. It's free, noninvasive, and can help get a mother more in tune with her baby-to-be's daily rhythms. It's also a way for mothers to feel they are doing something, to be proactive. If done correctly, it should help reduce a woman's anxiety, not add to it. For high-risk pregnancies, such as twins or for women with diabetes, the BabyKick Alliance recommends that mothers start up at 24 weeks into the pregnancy. The rest should start at 28 weeks.

The first step is to discuss it with your doctor. The physician may be resistant, Nguyen said. "Talk to your doctor. If you doctor doesn't know -- he better look it up." Part of her thrust is to get doctors on board with the technique, and to be ready to act upon it. Next, figure out what time of day your baby is typically active. Relax at the same hour each day, and time how long it takes for the baby to make 10 moves or kicks. Babies are different. Some will take five minutes, some an hour or more. The key is to do it each day at the same time.

If you feel one day that the baby is taking 45 minutes instead of 25, well, wait a bit, have a glass of water, and see if he becomes more active. But if you feel one day that the movement has greatly tapered off or stopped that's the time to seek medical help. It may be nothing, but it may also be the real thing, and intervention might be necessary. The obstetrician might have to deliver the child immediately, Nguyen said.

"We're not saying kick-count is the answer to everything. We're just saying try it," Nguyen said.

For more information, go to www.babykickalliance.org

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