My son Mason is an IVF baby, and we had experienced loss previously. Because of this and a few complications during his pregnancy, I was monitored closely by my Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist (MFM) and OB-GYN throughout.

My MFM taught me about the importance of baby’s movements.  I later saw a video on Instagram about the Count the Kicks app and downloaded it immediately! I used the app many times, even when I wasn’t worried about my baby, but just to check on his movement and have a baseline of what it was usually like. 

On Dec. 5, 2024, I went to the hospital for potential preeclampsia symptoms. I was dizzy, had blurred vision, pain in my ribs, and swelling. Everything checked out fine though, so they sent me home.

Later that night I felt like something still wasn’t right. I hadn’t felt him move as much that day. I woke up in the middle of the night and used the app to count kicks, but I hadn’t felt a single one in 30 minutes. 

We rushed to the hospital just in case, and ended up in the operating room for a stat cesarean section very shortly after because of Non-Reassuring Fetal Heart Tracing (NRFHT). It turned out to be a placental abruption (I was bleeding into my uterus due to the abruption) and my baby was in distress. We had doctors and nurses come into our room throughout our stay just to tell us how lucky we were that our baby made it. 

My best advice is to please trust your gut when you think something is off. And of course to download Count the Kicks! 

Mason spent 105 days in the NICU, but just recently turned 1! He is perfect and thriving and just the most incredible baby boy.” -Meredith, Mason’s mom

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I first heard of Count the Kicks with my first son through social media. I was super comfortable with it and used it everyday in the third trimester. He came full term with no problems. When I was pregnant with my daughter I started using it again in the third trimester.

One thing the app does really well is explaining that it is more than just the kicks but also the intensity and really knowing your baby’s typical movement patterns. My daughter was very active. Every night she would hit them within a couple of minutes and her kicks were very intense.

At 29.5 weeks I was having a day where I was not noticing a ton of movement and it just felt off. I knew you guys did not recommend doing this, but I ended up eating something sweet to try to get her to move.* I laid down only feeling a couple slight movements and I decided to just head into the ER and get checked. They hooked me up and said that her fetal movement was normal and sent me home. 

I came home that night and I was just in a funk because I still felt like the fetal movement was off and not her normal. I did another kick count that night and it took her maybe an hour when she normally would take 5 minutes. My husband assured me that everything was fine and I had already gone to the ER that day and they told me it was normal. I went back to bed and my family and I went to the pumpkin patch the next day.  

At the pumpkin patch I just started sobbing and told my husband that I need to go back. It was only 10 minutes away and I would be back in an hour. I just needed to insist on getting an ultrasound to clear my mind. When I arrived they hooked me and told me that her movement was normal and that she was reaching the 10 kicks in 2 hours. I insisted that they do an ultrasound. I told them that I knew my baby and I have never felt her this lightly and never takes this long. 

They did an ultrasound and the nurse looked at me and told me that I was 6 centimeters dilated and in active labor. I called my husband to get a neighbor to pick him up because I had left him there and that I was laboring. It all happened so suddenly. I wasn’t even at my normal hospital and they would not let me take the ambulance there.

I gave birth to Esther, and because I was able to be proactive, she was able to get both rounds of lung steroids shots and was able to start treatment for an infection. My pathology test came back and it said there was an infection in my placenta that caused the preterm labor. Because they were able to start us both on antibiotics so early, she was able to kick her infection rather quickly.

The Count the Kicks app is free and so easy to use. I would advise others to make this part of your routine and learn your baby’s normal movement pattern. Without having this data it can be so easy for someone to talk you out of your concerns. The visual will help support why you are there and helps allow the doctors and nurses to take you seriously. Every nurse after Esther was born asked me how I knew something was wrong and I had the app to show to them.She is 32 weeks today and is doing so well, and it is 100% because of Count the Kicks. I don’t know what the outcome would have been without it.” -Lydia C., Esther’s mom

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Around 28 weeks, my doctor suggested using the Count the Kicks app to learn my daughter’s movements. She explained to me the importance of learning when she was most active and what seemed to make her move. Gemma wasn’t a very active baby, but when she was, it was in the morning and when I ate.

The app brought a sense of relief during my pregnancy. With her being my first, my mental state would have deteriorated because I was always thinking there was something wrong. It gave me a piece of mind every time she would reach her kick count. I would have not been able to make it through my pregnancy without it.

A day before I turned 34 weeks, I was in an accident and fell through my apartment floor. At first, I thought I was fine, so I didn’t go in to get checked right away. After some time had passed, I noticed Gemma wasn’t moving like she normally would. I opened my app and realized she was not moving at all.

I decided to go to the hospital to get checked. After Gemma failed her stress test and heart rate began to drop my providers decided it would be best to deliver her immediately by emergency c cesarean section. Later, they confirmed it was because of the trauma of my fall.

Gemma was born not breathing and after some complications and a NICU stay, today Gemma is happy and healthy.” -Aliyah K., Gemma’s mom

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Once there we learned that my blood pressure was slightly elevated. I also had a very mild headache — more annoying than anything. While we were being monitored, Felicity had a couple episodes of heart decelerations. Shortly after the second one, the doctor came in to say that my lab work was indicative of the onset of HELLP Syndrome and my blood pressure was way too high, although I had no traditional symptoms. I had no idea I was so sick! They started me on magnesium pretty much immediately. 

We were informed that delivery was the best course of action for both of us and on Jan. 19, 2025 at 32 weeks and 4 days, we welcomed Felicity via cesarean section at 4 pounds, 5 ounces.

The Count the Kicks app is a valuable tool to communicate with providers and for them to have a good understanding of what’s going on. I’m positive that having that information on deck helped us both get where we needed to go and have a good outcome.” – Liz A., Felicity’s Mom

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I found Count the Kicks on Instagram a couple of years ago with a suggested baby save story. I ended up scrolling through the feed and reading all the stories. I had already had my first child, but knew I wanted more. My first birth experience was pretty traumatic, and I knew I wanted things to be different the next time I was pregnant. I continued to follow Count the Kicks. Reading all those stories of other moms trusting their bodies and their babies reminded me how powerful it is to trust your instincts.

When I got pregnant with Henry, I knew I wanted to ask questions, understand my body, and really know my baby. From the very beginning, Henry was a wiggle worm! Every ultrasound we had he was doing flips and rolls. Once I could feel him move, it wasn’t sweet little kicks – it was full-on punches.

My pregnancy was considered high-risk because I have Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), which put me at higher risk for incompetent cervix. I got bi-weekly ultrasounds until 24 weeks, when I graduated from high-risk checks because everything looked good and Henry was growing well.

At 24 weeks and 2 days, I sat down at the end of a busy day and realized Henry wasn’t moving nearly as much as he usually did. I tried a few things that would normally get him moving (like playing music). When that didn’t work, I called my OB-GYN. They said it was too early to depend on kicks and that I should just relax. But I couldn’t. I decided to go into Labor and Delivery just to ease my mind.

Upon arrival, my blood pressure was 181/110. I was immediately admitted and placed on continuous monitoring. Henry was really active, and had a reputation at the hospital because he would not stay still. After a round of steroid shots, a magnesium drip, and blood pressure medication, they decided to send me up to maternity to be monitored for the night and to get ready to go home the next day. I was taken off the monitors as everyone seemed happy with how both of us were doing.

On Saturday, April 19 around 8 a.m. I woke up in the hospital with a weird feeling. I still cannot explain it. Henry wasn’t moving at all and something just felt wrong. I called in the nurse and asked if she could just put me back on the monitors for a few minutes just to ease my mind.

She found his heartbeat, but it was dangerously low. She called the doctor in, and within minutes we were being rushed down to the OR for an emergency cesarean section. As I was being wheeled down my nurse took my hand and said “Mama, you just saved his life.”

Henry was born at 9:45 a.m. at just 25 weeks and 4 days. They discovered that my blood pressure had spiked, and it was so high that Henry suffered a brain bleed in utero due to preeclampsia. He is now 2 months old (34 weeks adjusted), making great progress, and has the entire NICU wrapped around his little finger.

It is so important to know your baby and know their activity. I would have rather come in 50 times and have nothing wrong than not come in and have something be wrong.” -Amanda B., Henry’s mom

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