When Do You Feel the Baby Move?

When will I feel my baby move for the first time?

Usually somewhere between 16 and 24 weeks. The NHS gives that window, and adds that if this is your first baby you might not feel movements until after 20 weeks. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is more specific: most women first notice movements at 18 to 20 weeks, in a first pregnancy you may not notice them until after 20 weeks, and if you have been pregnant before you may feel them as early as 16 weeks.

Our week guides for 16 weeks and 20 weeks pregnant sit either side of the usual window. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service says you will usually feel your baby moving by 20 weeks, or earlier if this is not your first pregnancy, and that movements should become regular by 28 weeks.

In the largest recent study, researchers in Thessaloniki asked 2,009 women with a single baby to record when they first felt movement. The average was 19 weeks and 73.3% first noticed it between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days; the earliest reports were at 14 weeks.

What do first movements feel like?

The NHS describes them as a gentle swirling or fluttering, with kicks and jerky movements coming later. The RCOG's list is "a kick, flutter, swish or roll". Pregnancy, Birth and Baby adds "butterflies in your tummy", bubbling, tumbling and tiny kicks, and notes these early sensations are also called quickening.

Because they are gentle and irregular, the first few are easy to dismiss. With an average of 19 weeks in the largest study, not being sure you have felt anything at 18 weeks is entirely ordinary.

First baby or second: why timing differs

The difference is smaller than people expect. In the Greek cohort, women who had given birth before felt movements at 18.6 weeks on average and first-time mothers at 19.4 weeks, a gap of under a week. A 1985 study of 200 women found much the same: 19.04 weeks for first pregnancies and 17.4 weeks for later ones. It also found a wide spread in both groups, from 15 to 22 weeks in a first pregnancy and 14 to 22 weeks in later ones, and concluded that the date of quickening is of limited value for working out how far along you are.

Two other things pushed first movements later in the Greek study: higher body mass index and older age.

Anterior placenta: why you may feel less, and later

Where your placenta sits matters more than most people are told. The RCOG says that if your placenta is at the front of your womb, it may not be so easy to feel your baby's movements. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby puts timings on it: with an anterior placenta, movement tends to be felt at around 20 weeks and may not feel as strong; with a posterior placenta, at the back, movements are often felt earlier and may feel stronger. More on what placenta position changes: anterior placenta.

A small 1984 study of 112 women measured the effect. With an anterior placenta, quickening came at an average of 19 weeks in first pregnancies and 17 weeks 5 days in later ones; with a posterior placenta, at 18 weeks and 16 weeks 1 day. In the 2022 Greek cohort, an anterior placenta roughly doubled the odds of feeling movements later.

The NHS 20-week scan checks your placenta, so your scan report is where to find out which you have. Our page on the 20-week scan explains what else it looks at.

The RCOG notes two related points. If your baby's back is lying at the front of your womb, you may feel fewer movements than if it lies alongside your own back. Whether your baby is head down or bottom first does not affect whether you can feel them move.

Can my partner feel the baby move from the outside?

Usually later than you can. None of the national sources we checked gives a week for it. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says that as pregnancy continues, kicks, jabs and stretches are felt more easily, which is when a hand on the bump is more likely to catch them.

From first flutters to a pattern you know

The early weeks are irregular. What matters later is your baby's own pattern. The RCOG says the number of movements tends to increase until 32 weeks and then stays about the same, although the type of movement may change nearer your due date. Babies sleep in spells that "mostly last between 20 and 40 minutes, and are rarely longer than 90 minutes", and afternoons and evenings are usually their busiest times.

There is no target. The NHS says there is no set number of movements you should feel each day and you do not need to count kicks; the important thing is to get to know your baby's usual pattern. The RCOG says there is not enough evidence to recommend routine movement charts. In the UK, NICE asks midwives to ask about your baby's movements at every appointment after 24 weeks.

Movements do not wind down before birth. The NHS says you should feel your baby move right up to and during labour. Our pages on kicks that hurt in late pregnancy and reduced fetal movements cover the later weeks.

When to call your midwife about movements

If you have not felt your baby move by 24 weeks, the NHS says to tell your midwife, who will check your baby's heartbeat and movements. The RCOG adds that a scan may be arranged.

Once you know your baby's pattern, the NHS says to call your midwife or maternity unit immediately if:

• your baby is moving less than usual
• you cannot feel your baby moving any more
• there is a change to your baby's usual pattern of movements

"Do not wait until the next day — call immediately, even if it's the middle of the night." The RCOG says to call again however many times it happens.

Two things not to do. The NHS says not to use a home doppler to check the heartbeat yourself: "Even if you hear a heartbeat, this does not mean your baby is well." And Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says having something to eat or drink does not help stimulate your baby to move, so do not try that before calling.

Frequently asked questions

When do you feel the baby move in a second pregnancy?

Usually a little earlier. The RCOG says you may feel movements from as early as 16 weeks if you have been pregnant before. In a study of 2,009 women, those who had given birth before felt movements at 18.6 weeks on average, against 19.4 weeks in a first pregnancy, so on average the difference is under a week.

When do you feel the baby move in a third or fourth pregnancy?

The sources do not separate third or fourth pregnancies from second ones. The RCOG's guidance for anyone who has been pregnant before is that movements may be felt from as early as 16 weeks. Placenta position, body mass index and age also affect timing, so a later pregnancy is not always earlier.

When do you feel the baby move with an anterior placenta?

Often a little later and more softly. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says movements tend to be felt at around 20 weeks with an anterior placenta and may not feel as strong. If you have felt nothing by 24 weeks, tell your midwife, whatever your placenta position.

When do you feel the baby move with a posterior placenta?

Often earlier. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says that with a posterior placenta, at the back of the womb, movements are often felt earlier in pregnancy and may feel stronger. In a 1984 study, women with a posterior placenta felt first movements one to two weeks earlier on average than those with an anterior one.