General awareness of FMs
All ANC women remembered the first time they felt their baby move and
the pattern of their baby’s movements in the recent days. Participant
descriptions of FM patterns were variably associated with time-of-day,
maternal activity and in many cases environmental stimuli such as
maternal hunger, eating, maternal position or touching the abdomen.
‘Normally, I feel it kicking mostly after eating, in the
morning and in the afternoon. When I’m resting the baby starts
kicking…I know what’s normal for my baby.’ (Antenatal)
‘With the stillbirth I had before, it happened that I was
worried then. Now I’m even more alert.’ (Antenatal)
All health providers understood FMs that was line with the following:
‘Fetal movement (‘uchezaji wamtoto’) is the movement felt by
the mother during pregnancy, which normally starts to be felt from the
16th week of gestation age until the time of
delivery.’ (Healthcare provider)