If your baby is moving less than usual, or their pattern of movements has changed, contact your midwife, doctor or maternity unit now. Do not wait until tomorrow, and do not use an app to decide.
Call now, even at night
Do not wait until the next day — call immediately, even if it's the middle of the night (NHS). Never go to sleep ignoring a reduction or change in your baby's movements (RCOG).
Maternity units are there around the clock for exactly this. You are never wasting anyone's time.
When to call
Your baby is moving less than usual (NHS). You can't feel your baby moving any more (NHS). There's a change to your baby's usual pattern of movements (NHS). Movements feel weaker than usual (Tommy's). Anything else about your baby's movements worries you — movements that feel different, a pattern that has shifted, or simply a feeling that something is off.
What not to do
Do not wait for the next count, and do not wait for a quiet day to pass. Do not try to trigger movement with cold drinks or sugar to see what happens first. Count the Kicks notes that research has moved away from this idea. Do not rely on a home doppler or a heartbeat app. Hearing a heartbeat does not mean your baby is well (NHS, RCOG, Tommy's). Do not put it down to your placenta. Never assume an anterior placenta is the reason you can't feel your baby move (Tommy's). Do not use a count, a chart or an app to decide. Your sense that something has changed is the signal.
What happens when you call
RCOG describes what to expect, which depends on how far along you are. From 28 weeks, you'll usually be asked about your baby's movements and have an antenatal check-up that includes checking your baby's heartbeat. Your baby's heart rate is usually monitored for at least 20 minutes, and an ultrasound scan may be arranged.
Between 24 and 28 weeks, your midwife or maternity unit will check your baby's heartbeat and give you a full antenatal check-up.
If it happens again
Contact your midwife or maternity unit again, immediately, every time. RCOG is clear that you should never hesitate to get in touch, no matter how many times it happens.
Trust what you notice
Nobody knows your baby's pattern the way you do. If something feels different, that's worth acting on — even if a count looks much like any other, and even if you can't explain why it feels off.
If you think you might be in labour, Bump Pulse has a guide to when to go to the hospital — but reduced movements are a reason to call on their own, labour or not.