This article was originally published on June 4, 2017. It was updated on September 16, 2020 by Kirstie Landry.
It can be hard to say when the best part of pregnancy is, but there are some women out there who might feel as though their favorite part of it was feeling their little one move, kick, and squirm inside of them. However, it can be a tricky thing.
Some of an unborn baby's movements can make his or her mother feel very uncomfortable. In addition, when ladies reach the end of their pregnancies, they tend to worry about whether or not their babies are moving enough. After all, that can be a sign that something is wrong.
Many moms try different tips and tricks to get their little bean to start jumping around. Alternatively, a woman's movements throughout the day may put her unborn baby to sleep instead, according to blog.ohiohealth.com. This means that moms should not be too worried if they notice that their babies move less in the daytime than they do at night.
However, if they are concerned about this, they should speak to their doctor about it. Also, if a woman wants to feel her baby move, the best option is to sit or lie down so that they will wake up. This usually leads to sleepless nights, as that is when the baby decides to have a party in the uterus.
If a mom is wondering how to get her baby to move, she should give some of those methods a shot. Here are a few of them.
15 Have Some Candy
If a pregnant woman is wondering how to get her baby to kick more, maybe she should try eating something sweet. That’s right, it is totally OK to eat some candy!
Candy can be a good way for one to encourage their baby to move. Whatever mom eats goes to the baby, so when she eats a fair amount of sugar-filled candy, she may notice an increase of movement.
Adults and children alike will all get a bit of a sugar rush when they eat something sweet. It is because sugar gives them all sorts of energy. This sugar energy will transfer to the baby and give them a little bit of a bounce. Keep in mind though, with a sugar-high comes a pretty big crash, so use with caution! Baby may not crash, but mom sure will!
Furthermore, it is important not to eat too much candy. But according to healthline.com, there is nothing wrong with a pregnant woman enjoying some chocolate. Also, ladies might want to be picky about the candy they choose, since there are some strange and gross candies out there.
14 Eat A Banana
Another reason mom may want to get her little bean moving is if she has an ultrasound coming up. She wants to watch her little one moving around, and if she is hoping to find out the gender, then she will definitely want her little one on the move. One thing moms can try doing to achieve that is to eat a banana.
That might sound like a really strange thing to moms who are encouraging their babies to move, but this is something that may actually work. According to parenting.firstcry.com, it is hard to determine what exactly causes a baby to want to move around more after their mothers have consumed bananas, but it's effective nonetheless. Perhaps it has something to do with the potassium that can be found in them, or the natural sugar in fruits.
However, it is important for moms not to consume too many things that have sugar in them. There are many reasons as to why that is the case.
13 Jumping Jacks
Ladies can try doing some jumping jacks if they wish to get their babies to kick more. This is perfectly safe to do during pregnancy, and it is sometimes a great way to wake that little sleeper up. Although, the baby might be kicking to get their mother to stop.
Some moms who are 20 weeks pregnant might be encouraged to do this if their little one is not cooperating much during prenatal appointments. According to whattoexpect.com, this is the case for at least one woman, and it worked for her, so perhaps it would work for other people as well. Women can also take part in belly dancing while pregnant.
12 Jiggle That Belly
This is another weird method that will get that baby moving. Ladies may even have noticed that people completing ultrasounds on them will probably do this in an attempt to get the little one to move. Moms might think that jiggling bellies sounds silly, but doing it a little bit is another way to get that baby moving.
Any movement of the belly will get that baby moving. If they are asleep, it is most likely going to wake them up. It also may make them a bit uncomfortable so they will want to change positions. If a woman is in her third trimester, the baby won’t have so much freedom to kick and punch, but they will feel the rolls of the baby.
11 Poke It
Much like jiggling the belly, ladies can also give the belly (and baby) a little poke. Again, it is not something that is likely to hurt or harm the baby in any way, but it provides a tad bit of discomfort. The baby may either try to move, or the mom may get a kick back to tell her to stop. Some people will even play this a fun little game with their baby: they will poke and wait for the baby’s response. It is a great way to bond with the baby while in the womb.
When a woman purposefully interacts with her baby in this way, she can sometimes use it to gauge how her baby is lying. Poking her belly is something a mom should definitely try if she is encouraging her little one to move around in her womb.
10 Shine A Light
By the time a woman hits her third trimester, the baby has opened their eyes and is starting to develop their ability to see, according to parents.com. They will react to light, so if ladies shine a flashlight on their bellies, their little ones might move so that they can get away from the light, according to hellomotherhood.com. It sounds like they do not like seeing light, but moms should not worry about this causing them any harm.
The light will not be as bright as if a person shined the flashlight into their own eyes. However, any amount of light will be bright to a baby because the womb is a very dark place.
9 Lie Down
One cool fact about fetal movement is that it can take place long before moms even notice. Something a mom can try if she is wondering how to get her baby to kick more often is lie down. All the movement women do throughout the day creates quite a nice rocking motion that lulls babies to sleep, according to whattoexpect.com.
So, chances are when they are up and moving, their babies are sleeping and not moving. Once a mom stops moving, she will notice that her baby has gone into crazy movement mode.
This is unfortunately one of the many reasons women have a hard time sleeping at night. When the rocking motions stop, the baby wakes up. Sometimes all a woman needs to do is lie down and she should start to feel some movement in her belly.
8 Talk It Out
There are a lot of fascinating things that take place during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. For example, babies start hearing their first sounds during the second trimester, according to healthline.com. Also, by the time a baby has reached either 25 or 26 weeks of gestation, they can usually react to voices that they hear outside of the womb.
Furthermore, babies who are at that point in gestation will also react when they hear their mothers speaking to them, according to webmd.com. While it is hard to say exactly how this happens, it's possible that a woman's body moves when she is talking, and that movement prompts the baby to move as well.
If moms are wondering how to get their babies to move, then they should try reading them a story. Also, they could try talking to them throughout the day.
7 Get The Adrenaline Going
Sometimes what can get the baby moving is mom doing something that makes her nervous or excited. This all comes down to the adrenaline that is running through the body when in times of anxiety or high-stress. When adrenaline is coursing through her body, it can give her baby a rush too.
But, that does not mean that pregnant women should try doing dangerous things that could harm her and her unborn child, according to healthline.com. There are plenty of safe ways for pregnant women to get their adrenaline going.
It can take something as simple as watching an action-packed movie (or a horror film), or even just thinking about labor. If women choose to use this method when they are trying to get their babies to move, it is important for them to know themselves well so that they know what their bodies react to. Furthermore, they should not push this behavior too far.
6 Sing
If a pregnant woman is encouraging her baby to move, there are a number of effective things that she can try to do. Singing is one of them.
Just like with talking, singing and music is a great way to get an unborn baby moving. But, moms might not feel their babies react to their voices when they sing unless they are more than 20 weeks pregnant.
To be more specific, they might not feel that until they have reached 22 weeks of gestation, according to whattoexpect.com. If moms do not feel like singing, they can also try putting some headphones on their stomachs to see if their babies react to that. On the other hand, it is also important for them to make sure that the music they are playing is not too loud; this can be damaging for an unborn child's developing ears.
5 Eat High Carb Foods
Moms can drink all the cold water or juice that they want, but sometimes what works just as good if not better is food that has a great deal of carbohydrates in it. According to romper.com, foods that have lots of carbs in them can cause unborn babies to become more active.
In addition, there is a misconception that a fetus will start moving in their mother's womb if she eats something spicy, but that does not appear to be the case. However, if she ate a spicy meal that had a lot of carbs in it, then she might notice that her child is a bit more active after she has finished eating.
However, if a mom encourages her baby to move by eating spicy food, there is a chance that the child might enjoy spicy foods later on in their lives. That is because it could make the amniotic fluid that surrounds them in the womb a bit spicier, which exposes them to spicy flavors.
4 Ice Pack
Much like light, babies respond to temperature. One of the weirdest ways for a woman to get her baby to move is to place an ice pack on her belly, according to modphysique.com. This might seem cruel, but it really isn't, and moms who wish to do it should not worry about harming their babies.
When babies are in the womb, they are very warm, so this won't cause anything like a ice burn. They will, however, notice a change in temperature, so they will most likely try and move away from the source of cold. It works much the same as shining a flashlight on the belly.
But ladies who want to do this should not be upset if they do not have an ice pack on hand. There are lots of things that will work. Pregnant women can try using things like frozen vegetables or even just a cold washcloth. Anything that is cold will do the trick.
3 Baby Massage
It is very beneficial to make a massage a part of a newborn’s bedtime routine, but an interesting fact about this is that it can also be done before the baby is even born. Pregnant women all over the world love to rub their belly. They usually do it without even noticing. Many women are starting to rub their belly with the sole purpose of trying to get their little one to kick. According to whattoexpect.com, this is something that really works.
Also, a belly (or baby) massage can be a great way for mom to relax and spend some special time bonding with baby. It is even better if they can get the baby's dad to participate in this activity, then mom can really relax.
Ladies should gently rub their bellies and pay attention to their baby’s movements. Also, they should massage the whole belly and not just where they think the baby is. If dad is helping, he may get to feel a lot of the kicks too.
2 Get On Your Hands And Knees And Rock Back And Forth
A lot of the time, the baby will find a place in the mother’s womb that is very comfortable for her, but not very much for mom-to-be. There are a lot of ways to get a baby to change positions, and the good news is that a lot of these tricks will also work when ladies just want to feel their little ones move.
One weird way mothers-to-be can feel the little kicks is to get on all fours and rock back and forth, according to healthline.com. This kind of movement might be exactly what a woman needs to do if she finds that her baby is in a position that makes her uncomfortable.
1 Have A Nice Bath
If moms have reached 20 weeks gestation, then they should be starting to feel their little one move at least a little bit. Furthermore, if a mom notices that her little one is not moving much, and she wishes to make him or her move (or she just wants to feel it because she enjoys it), then there are plenty of things for her to try doing.
According to parenting.firstcry.com, one of the tricks a woman can try if she is encouraging her baby to move is taking a warm bath. The reason this one may work better than others is that mom is so relaxed. When mom is relaxed she will be more in tune with her baby and notice the movements much more. Often, women are so busy throughout the day that they miss the little kicks of their unborn babies and they only notice the big, painful ones. Women who are carrying unborn babies should do their best to ensure that they get some time to slow down throughout the day and enjoy the movements of their little ones.
Sources: Ohiohealth Blog, Bump + Baby, Healthline, Parenting.firstcry.com, What To Expect, Hello Motherhood, WebMD, Romper, Mod Physique