Kick counter

ACOG's patient guidance and the Count the Kicks program both anchor daily kick counting in the third trimester — from about 28 weeks (some providers suggest 26 weeks in higher-risk pregnancies; follow yours). Once a day is the rhythm: pick the time your baby is usually active, such as after a meal, after something cold to drink, or in the evening, and count at roughly the same time each day. The point of the daily habit isn't the ritual itself — it's that within a week or two you'll know exactly what your baby's normal feels like, which is what makes a change easy to spot.

Any distinct movement you feel: a kick, a jab, a roll, a swish, a stretch, an elbow. Each one counts as one, and a flurry counts as however many separate movements you can distinguish. The one thing that doesn't count is hiccups — those rhythmic, evenly-spaced pulses that go on for minutes are involuntary and don't reflect the baby's activity level. If you have an anterior placenta (a placenta on the front wall), movements can feel muffled and you may notice them a bit later in pregnancy — that's normal, and your own baseline still works exactly the same way.

Most people reach 10 movements within about 30 minutes to 2 hours, and many healthy babies get there far faster. But there is deliberately no pass mark on this page, because the useful comparison isn't against other babies — it's against yours. A baby who always takes 20 minutes and suddenly takes 90 is telling you something, even though 90 minutes might be normal for a different baby. That's why this counter logs your sessions and shows your typical time: your baseline is the reference. And if you're worried at any point, don't finish the count — call your provider.

No — this is one of the most persistent and most dangerous myths in pregnancy. Babies do not run out of room, and they do not slow down before labor. The type of movement changes late in the third trimester — fewer acrobatic flips, more rolls, stretches, and pushes — but the frequency and strength of movement should hold steady right up to and through labor. A genuine slowdown in the last weeks is never "just the baby getting ready": it's a reason to call your provider the same day, because it can be the earliest warning that a baby needs help.

Call your obstetric provider now — the same hour, not the same week. Say the words "decreased fetal movement": every practice knows exactly what to do with that phrase, and the usual response is simply to have you come in for monitoring. If you can't reach your provider, go to labor & delivery; you don't need an appointment or a referral. Do not wait until tomorrow, do not retest with juice or a cold drink, and do not use a home Doppler for reassurance. You will never be wasting anyone's time — being checked and reassured is the system working exactly as designed.

Your sessions are saved only in this browser's local storage, on your own device — a small list of dates, taps, and times, and nothing else. Nothing you do here is sent to us or to anyone: no account, no cloud, no analytics on your counts. The "Delete my data" button under the log erases everything instantly, and clearing your browser data does the same. We treat reproductive data as sensitive by default — if you share this device, use the delete button whenever you want. This tool is educational; it isn't medical advice, and it never replaces calling your provider.