"Decreased" is imprecise.

"If you feel less than 10 kicks in two hours, call your doctor as soon as possible."

"In general, healthy babies should complete ten movements within two hours and most babies achieve this in less than 15 minutes."

Decreased Fetal Movement - the bogeyman of pregnant women. Try a Google search and you'll see all kinds of alarming statistics and freaked out women. (I'm closing my Google window now, by the way, lest I accidentally encounter any more stillbirth statistics!)

But what is meant by "decreased"? When you consider that position (of mother and of baby), sleep cycles (ditto) and the relative growth rates of both baby and baby's present container will all impact how much movement the mother feels, it's really hard to judge. Yesterday I managed to mildly freak myself out for most of the afternoon, when I realised at about 12:50 PM that I hadn't felt the usual post-lunch jiggles nor recalled any morning movements in that period between waking up and actually getting up - both normally active times for Fish. As soon as I realised this, of course, I was fighting panic. I had had a similar feeling of "is something wrong?" the night before, at 3 AM during one of my bouts of not-asleep-ness, but Fish very graciously got an immediate case of hiccups that time, which was reassuring.

As the post-lunch movement session was a relatively recent development, I reminded myself that most of the time I had to be lying down to feel something. So in the few minutes before lunch ended, I went to the back room of the office and laid down on the floor. I did feel something, briefly, so I knew I didn't have NO fetal movement...but how to define "decreased"?

A friend of mine in my March group directed me to a page on Babies Online which talked about the 32nd week, stating in the first sentence "Your baby sleeps approximately 90 to 95 percent of the day now." Well, maybe that's why. But two sentences later it also said "Your baby's movements will peak this week." Sounds like I'm not the only confused one.

For a while I did consider using some sick leave, going home early, and doppling. But I stuck it out, as by 3 PM I was getting very occasional movements, and when I got home I laid on the sofa. Martin rubbed my belly and nearly immediately we were getting wriggles and stretches and, I believe, a foot briefly trying to exit my right side. So I was greatly reassured and ended up not doppling at all.

The fourth sentence from Babies Online said "From now on [movements] will change in quantity and quality." I suppose that's what this is. I'll keep an eye on things, of course, and I know to contact my midwife or go to the hospital if I get really concerned. I suspect that this is probably a normal change...it was only a few weeks ago that I would only feel anything while lying down, of course, and I've gotten used to daytime desk-based wriggles since then. Perhaps those movements were the anomaly, and things are moving back to my normal now.

(I think I just felt a wriggle.)

One of the girls in my group was advised by her doctor not to worry as long as she felt ten movements within TWELVE hours. I'm easily hitting that mark.