Where you feel your baby move depends on which way they're lying and where your placenta is, and it can change from week to week. Here's what the sources say, and the one thing that matters more than where.
Which way your baby lies
RCOG says that if your baby's back is lying towards the front of your womb, you may feel fewer movements than if their back is lying alongside your own back. Whether your baby is head down or bottom first won't affect whether you can feel them move.
Your baby can change position, so you may start to feel kicks in a different place from one week to the next (Tommy's).
Where your placenta is
If your placenta is at the front of your womb, it may not be so easy to feel your baby's movements (RCOG, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS). Kicks Count, a UK charity, suggests focusing on your sides and lower down, as that's where you're more likely to feel movement with an anterior placenta. Our guide to an anterior placenta has more.
Kicks low down, or up under your ribs
Late in pregnancy, kicks can reach up under your ribs. The NHS and Tommy's week-by-week guides link sore ribs around 35 weeks to your baby kicking and your ribcage making room.
If the pain under your ribs is severe, contact your midwife or doctor: it can be a sign of pre-eclampsia (NHS, Tommy's).
Cleveland Clinic notes that where you feel kicks can hint at your baby's position: if your baby is bottom first (breech), you may feel kicks low in your pelvis rather than under your ribs. Most babies turn head down by 36 weeks.
Why your partner might not feel it
Someone else's hand on your bump might not pick up a movement you feel clearly from the inside (Pregnancy, Birth and Baby).
Where matters less than how often
Feeling kicks in a new place can simply mean your baby has changed position (Tommy's). What matters is your baby's usual pattern: how often you feel them, more than where.
If your baby is moving less than usual, movements feel weaker, or the pattern has changed, contact your midwife, doctor or maternity unit now. Do not wait until tomorrow. What to do.