When Can My Husband and Others Feel Baby’s Kick or Move?

It fills a pregnant mother with great excitement when she is able to feel the baby move. The tiny little human moving inside the womb is an indication that your baby is developing. It brings you much closer to the little life inside you! But when can the partner feel the baby move?

While initial movements may be felt around the 20th week, it takes about 24 weeks to begin realising that the baby is actually moving, and that’s when you want to share your experience with others. You need to wait until your baby grows a few more weeks and reaches around 28 to 32 weeks of age, when others too can feel the movement if they put their hands on your belly. Of course, the right moment and the right spot count too. But yes, others can also feel the baby move inside your womb. We will talk about it a little more in this article.

When Can Your Husband or Others Feel the Baby Move?

When a mother senses a life is growing inside her, it lets her tune into her pregnancy completely. Halfway through the second trimester, her question regarding when her partner can feel the baby move can be answered. As it is generally seen that each pregnancy is unique, the activity level and the thickness of the abdominal wall determine when the partner will be able to feel the baby kick. You may begin to feel the movement quite early, but your husband or others can feel the move only when the baby grows bigger.

Factors That Prevent Others From Feeling the Baby Move

The early kicks of the baby are very subtle and quite indistinguishable. But as the pregnancy progresses, several factors are responsible for the movements to be noticeable outside the belly.

1. The Weight of the Mom-to-be

The movement of the baby should be strong and exaggerated to be felt outside. If the mom-to-be is overweight or if her midsection has extra weight, it will be harder to detect a kicking baby.

2. The Position of the Baby

If the baby is facing outward, it is easier to feel the movements. However, if the baby is facing inward, then his kicks and jabs are difficult to notice. You will need to wait until the baby changes the position.

3. The Location of the Placenta

If the placenta is placed behind the uterus (posterior placenta) it will be easier to feel the baby kicks, but if the placenta is positioned between the wall of the belly and the baby, it becomes difficult for others to feel the movements of the baby.

4. Amount of Fluid Around the Baby

If there is less amniotic fluid around your baby, you may not feel your baby move as much.

5. Motherly Experience

If you’ve been pregnant before, you will understand that first “fluttering” sooner in your pregnancy. It is a kind of guessing game this early. It could only be gas! As the feelings become more defined, you will recognise them as baby movements.

Several pregnant ladies track their baby’s movement to report it to the gynaecologist. Some mothers, however, also track what made the baby move to repeat it for their husbands or family members. The excitement to feel the baby is equally high for everyone. You may try the tips given below to make you baby move inside the belly so that your loved ones can feel it.

Tips to Get Your Baby to Move so Others Can Feel It From the Outside

Tired of thinking when can you feel baby kick from outside? Here are some tricks to make your baby kick so that you, your partner and children can share the delight. These do not always work, but there’s no harm in sharing a light moment with your loved ones. 

• The mom-to-be should eat something sweet or drink milk or orange juice. The extra blood sugar will wake up the baby in response. Just a few minutes later, you may feel the baby move.

• The baby wakes up and moves if the pregnant mother has a glass of icy cold water, warm milk or coffee.
• Sometimes the baby kicks very hard when the expectant mom listens to some good music. They are able to hear music even inside the womb. They hear the heartbeat of the mom and also respond if the music is loud.

• If the would-be-mom presses on one side of her belly, then sometimes, the baby responds by moving.

• If the mom-to-be changes her position and lies on her back or belly for a brief duration, then the baby too tries to adjust accordingly and starts kicking and jabbing.

• You may already have a good idea of your baby’s activity through kick counts. Use this to time when your loved ones should try to feel their kicks.

• Tapping or rubbing your belly may make the baby respond by moving, and others can feel it from outside.

Pregnancy calls for a lot of care and attention. When you are trying to make your baby kick or move inside your belly, you need to ensure that you do not cause any harm to him. Here’s what you need to take care of while allowing others to feel the baby from the outside.

Taking Care While Allowing Others to Feel the Baby Move

Every baby moves and makes his presence known uniquely. They determine their own level of fetal activity. In the initial period, the unborn baby’s movements are not strong enough, but by the end of the second trimester, the movements become quite strong. When you do allow your dear ones to touch your belly to feel the baby’s movements, you must take care of the following things:

• If you have kids around, they could get noisy and pushy while touching the belly. This could increase your and your baby’s heart rate. Patience is required as even the slightest careless move can harm the baby in the womb.
• The people around could transfer germs and viruses over when they touch the belly. A good practice is to ask them to sanitise their hands before touching your belly.
• If you are not up for it, which is possible considering the hormonal imbalances, you can stop others from touching your belly.

FAQ

1. What Are the Reasons of Baby Kicking Too Much?

Excessive fetal movement can be a sign of healthy pregnancy. According to research, frequent movement in utero is important, as it allows the baby’s bones, joints, and muscles to develop properly.

But it is recommended to consult with your doctor in case the baby is kicking too much as it may represent fetal seizures.

The peak of excitement is felt by mothers when the baby starts twisting, punching, wriggling, moving, and kicking in the womb. You almost feel like sharing the experience with your partner and closed ones. Some moms are able to feel the flutter or bubble pretty early, and some experience it as the pregnancy progresses. Expectant moms should be very careful when others try to feel the baby move and also remain watchful about the regularity of the movements.

Researches/Resources:

1. Feeling your baby move during pregnancy; utswmed.org; https://utswmed.org/medblog/fetal-movements/

2. Zina Rashed Hijazi, Christine Elizabeth East; Factors affecting maternal perception of fetal movement; National Library of Medicine; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19545457/; July 2009

3. Baby movements in pregnancy; tommys.org; https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-symptom-checker/baby-fetal-movements

4. Quickening in Pregnancy; clevelandclinic.org; https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/22829-quickening-in-pregnancy

5. Alexander E P Heazell, Tomasina Stacey, Louise M O’Brien, et.al; Excessive fetal movements are a sign of fetal compromise which merits further examination; National Library of Medicine; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29406989/ February 2018

Also Read: Baby Kicks At Night during Pregnancy