Whether it is your first pregnancy or your fifth, every expecting mother looks forward to the moment they get to feel the baby move for the first time. I remember the awkward sensation with my first pregnancy when I couldn’t determine if the subtle feelings were gas bubbles from the Mexican food I just ate, or the little human inside me kicking to let me know she didn’t appreciate the spicy food.
I was 19 weeks along when I could finally recognize the difference between the digestion of my last meal and my baby kicking and turning in the womb. However, when my best friend was pregnant she said she felt her baby as early as 16 weeks! How is this possible?
The truth is, there is no exact time when you will feel the baby move, it is different for everyone and is influenced by a number of factors. Perhaps the biggest factor is the location of your placenta. It can either be anterior, meaning it is along the front of the uterus, or posterior, which is along the back of the uterus. You can also have a fundal placenta which means it lies on the top rounded part of your uterus, however, this is not as common.
Women with an anterior placenta tend to feel the baby move later in the pregnancy because the placenta acts as a barrier between the top of the stomach and the baby’s kicking feet. Sometimes an anterior placenta also makes it more difficult to find the baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler device. Women with a posterior placenta usually feel the baby earlier in the pregnancy since it is not acting as barrier between baby and the top of the mom’s stomach.
Other factors that influence when you may feel the baby move are the size of the baby, size of the mother (heavier set women may not feel the baby as early), and how “in-tune” you are with recognizing what may just be gas bubbles, or is actually your baby, and if it’s your first pregnancy.
At Mother Nurture Ultrasound we will be able to show you your placenta during the ultrasound and tell you whether it is anterior, posterior, or fundal.
Mother Nurture Ultrasound
803 39th Ave SW, Suite D
Puyallup, WA 98373
phone: 253-777-6263
website: www.MotherNurtureUltrasound.com
