Decrease in movement

Maggie6424 · August 2014

So I went to my 28 week appt Thursday. She said they now recommend that pregnant women get the tdap booster at that appointment, which I already knew about. (Up until about a year ago, the CDC was against giving it to pregnant women.) I want to stress that we are NOT anti-vax by any means. I don't want this to turn into a debate over that. What worries me is that as of Thursday, this kid was moving nonstop when he was awake. Kicks, punches, turns, etc. I could always tell when he was awake. Friday morning, I woke up with DS1 at 6 and couldn't keep my eyes open. I seriously could not stay awake, and we both took a nap at 9am. My arm hurt so bad from the shot that it brought me to tears if something touched it. I've had that shot several times before, and never have I been that sore. Then I noticed that baby wasn't moving much. I paid attention to him all day, and while he would still move, it was so different from his norm. I did check the hb with the dopler and it was ok, but fluctuating higher than normal. Saturday and Sunday were the same. I finally decided to email the doc last night, and am waiting for them to call me. I didn't tell H until last night because I didn't want to worry him. Of course I was attributing it to baby running out of space, and wasn't too worried. Enter hubs' freak out. He's blaming the tdap saying there has to be a reason that the cdc was against giving it during pregnancy and he knew he should have insisted that I wait to get it. Now he's freaking me out, thinking the vaccine hurt the baby somehow and trying to load me up with selenium and iodine. I guess I'm just hoping someone will tell me the decrease in strong movements is normal.

golfingdarwinfish · August 2014

If you are concerned about movement, call your OB; don't wait for him to return a message you senf via e-mail. My MFM has had me go to L&D twice for decreased movement, and on Saturday evening I had 3 MFMs in my triage room post NST and ultrasound, and ALL of them agreed that they would prefer a patient come in for observation, even if it's EOD, than they miss something even once. They also told me that even if I hear LO on the doppler I should call because a heartbeat alone does not imply that LO is "okay".

I'm not touching the comments re: Tdap.

ETA: Also, his heart rate fluctuations could have been because he was moving and you're just not feeling it. Sometimes you can feel less movement because of LO's position, the amount of fluid, etc..

Maggie6424 · August 2014

I just hate looking like that crazy pregnant woman who is constantly calling or being seen because I'm afraid something is wrong.

Emerald27 · August 2014

Absolutely call! You're looking out for your baby. Who cares if you're "that" patient. I get it. I would feel weird about it too, but it's important to follow your instincts and do whatever is best for you and your baby, no matter how silly you might look.

...and I doubt you're their most worrying patient.

Klavanga74 · August 2014

Call! And I agree with PP...if you are thinking you're their most paranoid patient and you're conscious of calling too much...then I seriously doubt that you are! I'm sure they see a lot of people who are a little craaaaazy!! As a matter of fact, I know it because I was in triage last week listening to one of them!

ANGnJON · August 2014

Absolutely get on the phone with your OB office NOW! There is no reason to feel embarrassed or "crazy"! My office said any instance of decreased movement call & they or L&D will check on LO! Better to be safe than sorry! Please keep us posted with an update as you can!

AmandaJean12 · August 2014

Decreased movement is a 100% legit reason to call at this stage. I personally doubt the shot is the cause, but it is obviously making you even more anxious, which probably isn't helping the situation. Go get some peace and reassurance! No one will think that's crazy

victoria+james · August 2014

This is what happened with my LO... moving around like crazy and then one day I couldn't feel much of anything at all.

Mine was definitely not from a vaccine since I hadn't received one at that time.

For me they determined that it was mainly an anterior placenta blocking his movements. It was like this for a few weeks until suddenly a few days ago he must have shifted and is now kicking my sciatic nerve and I can feel him moving really consistently again.

Still call your doctor, but I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone!

Glas43 · August 2014

I agree with all the comments! Call! Better to be on the safe side!!

MrsSarahRenee · August 2014

Echoing the call the doctor. It shouldn't matter to you how you are explaining the decrease in movements...

roundabout2 · August 2014

If you are concerned about decreased movements, go in and get checked for sure.

I had the tdap at my 30 week appt. Everything has been fine with baby since. I heard today that whopping cough is really on the rise right now so I hope this booster I just got will give baby some protection.

Jellybean813 · August 2014

Call. I had the same thing last week. 3 days of markedly decreased movement. I know baby can change position and run out of room, so I tried not to worry. After three days though I started to feel really anxious. They sent me to MFM and everything looked great. It's better to call and know than sit and worry. It's never crazy to be worried about your baby and want to make sure that they are okay. It's better to be sure than to avoid it so you don't look 'crazy'.

And no, it has nothing to do with the vaccine.

Emerald27 · August 2014

Update, OP?

vrj0522 · August 2014

I had 3-4 days a couple of weeks ago where I had remarkable decreased movement, yet baby would still move from time to time. OB recommended eating and lying down and seeing if I could feel her 5-6x in an hour. If I did, I should be fine, if not, I should definitely go in. I was definitely feeling her but it was just so much less and more muffled than it had been up until that point. Honestly looking back I think she just switched positions and that's probably what caused the decrease in feeling her movements. A few days later she was back to normal so I'm guessing she switched back to her original position. A long winded answer but my point is your baby might have just moved to a different position that doesn't allow you to feel movement as easily. However, just everyone else, I agree that calling the dr is the best thing you can do.

Maggie6424 · August 2014

Oh geez. I'm so sorry to post and run! So right after the first responses, I decided that I needed to just call. Of course being a Monday morning I was on hold forever. Then they had me go in for an NST. Then I come back and my boss sticks a newbie with me to train.
So they did the NST and doc says his movement is low, but not enough to warrant admitting me to the hospital. She said to just keep an eye on it and make sure I have 10 movements in 1-2 hours each day. She also said there's no way the booster caused this. However, if you look online there are TONS of stories just like mine. Women get the booster, next day movement drops significantly. Then some lost the baby, some were born fine, and some had major health issues. (Thanks to hubs finding those)
Now granted, I don't know ANY extenuating circumstances on any of those cases, and I usually try not to google things like that for that exact reason. I really don't believe it has anything to do with the shot, it's just scary that his movement changed so much overnight with that being the only thing that changed in the last 24 hours.
@theresat858Again, we're not anti-vax. I don't want this to have ANYTHING to do with that debate.

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