Study: Foetal kick charts ‘of little value’

MATERNITY hospitals should quit asking pregnant women to record the number of times their baby kicks on a foetal kick chart because it is not an accurate method of monitoring how well the baby is doing, according to new research.

Instead, nurses and doctors should rely on the mother’s own instinct on whether she believes foetal movement has decreased.

In addition, Dr Julia Unterscheider, who carried out the study, said there was little value in counting kicks over a set period of time when there was “a lack of clear agreement” among midwives and obstetricians over the number of kicks that may indicate abnormal movement.