Daily structured approach to awareness of fetal movements and pregnancy outcome – a prospective study

Akselsson, Anna; Lindgren, Helena; Georgsson, Susanne; Warland, Jane; Pettersson, Karin; Rådestad, Ingela

doi:10.1016/j.srhc.2019.02.002

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Clinicians, when advising and instructing women about the significance of FMs in pregnancy, should ensure that the same standard of information is provided to all women. Evidence suggests that women value information and education that can be acquired from their clinicians, and as many as 84% of women have reported interest in FMC methods 6 , 18 , 39 . As the pattern and characteristics of FMs change closer to term, women should be informed of these changes as this information may help women familiarize themselves with their fetal activity and encourage them to seek immediate assistance, should there be a cause for concern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of formal fetal movement counting on maternal psychological outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AlAmri¹,

Smith²

2022

Eur J Midwifery

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INTRODUCTION Formally counting fetal movements in pregnancy is one of the oldest methods to assess fetal well-being. Although not routinely recommended in contemporary maternity care, due to a lack of evidence of its effectiveness, formal fetal movement counting is still practiced in many birth settings. Requesting women to formally count their fetal movements in a structured, objective way that can potentially improve maternal subjective outcomes such as worry or concern. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of formal fetal movement counting versus no formal counting, on maternal worry, concern or anxiety, and maternal-fetal attachment (MFA). Secondary outcomes were compliance with the intervention (counting method) and hospital admission/attendance for fetal activity concerns. METHODS CINAHL, MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched systematically for eligible studies from inception dates to June 2020, supplemented by searches of trial databases, grey literature and the reference lists of included studies. Randomized controlled and quasi-randomized trials were included in the review. RESULTS Nine studies reported across 15 publications were included involving 70824 pregnant women. The results showed that MFA levels were significantly higher in women who formally counted fetal movements than those who did not (standardized mean difference=0.72; 95% CI: 0.10-1.33, five studies, 1565 women). There were no differences between the groups in maternal anxiety or worry/concern outcomes. Attendance or admission rates for reduced fetal movements, or concern for fetal activity, did not differ between the groups (OR=1.36; 95% CI: 0.97-1.91, three studies, 1947 women). Compliance in completing fetal movement charts varied, ranging 45-90%, although definitions of compliance differed across studies, which may have affected rates. CONCLUSIONS This review has found that formal fetal movement counting in pregnancy has no detrimental effects on maternal psychological or emotional status and positively affects maternal-fetal attachment. Although current evidence does not support the use of formal fetal movement counting for improving perinatal outcomes, such as stillbirth and neonatal death, the results of this review are helpful for clinicians in discussing fetal movements in pregnancy and in discussing the optional methods available to women who may be advised to or choose to objectively assess fetal movements using a formal fetal movement counting method.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of formal fetal movement counting on maternal psychological outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AlAmri¹,

Smith²

2022

Eur J Midwifery

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“…This tool that has been used can be used for evaluation, function and effectiveness in helping to get easy and precise calculations. The results of the study on 1057 health workers proved that 73.8% of subjects stated that the use of tools that assist examinations is beneficial to obtain better examination results (Akselsson, 2020).…”

Section: 2previous Experience and Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

F-KiCo (Fetal-Kick Count) Innovation Needs Analysis for Monitoring Fetal Well-Being and Maternal-Fetal Attachment

Purwati

2023

jika

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Fetal movement is an indicator of fetal well-being that can be monitored independently by pregnant women. Counting fetal movements affects the attention and maternal-fetal attachment which has an impact on health practices and the health of the baby. The problem is that pregnant women don't care about the importance of counting fetal movements and in practice counting they often forget or fall asleep before getting ten counts. Objective: to analyze the experiences and needs of independent fetal well-being monitoring devices by pregnant women that can stimulate maternal-fetal attachment. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted on ten primigravidas at 24-36 weeks' gestation, the instrument was a researcher using an interview guide. Data analysis uses data compaction techniques, data presentation and conclusion/verification. Result: based on coding analysis of keywords, ten categories and four themes were found, namely the perception of the benefits of counting fetal movements; previous experience and behavior; obstacles to the implementation of fetal motion counts; expectations about the method/tool for calculating fetal motion. Conclusion: the findings of the theme underlie the need for the development of a fetal kick count that can be used in monitoring fetal well-being independently by pregnant women and stimulating maternal-fetal attachment.

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“…Methods for assessing FMs in pregnancy are varied and can broadly be categorised as either subjective (passive or unstructured) or objective (active or structured) [ 7 ]. Subjective assessment relies on maternal perception and awareness of FMs rather than any formal or structured approach to monitoring FMs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing fetal movements in pregnancy: A qualitative evidence synthesis of women’s views, perspectives and experiences

Smith

Muldoon

Brady

et al. 2021

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background Raising awareness of the importance of fetal movements (FMs) and advising women on the appropriate action to take if they experience reduced FMs, is important for minimising or avoiding adverse perinatal outcomes. To gain insight and understanding of women’s perspectives of assessing FMs in pregnancy, we conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis. Methods A qualitative evidence synthesis using thematic synthesis was conducted. Studies were eligible if they included pregnant women who were at least 20 weeks gestation and reported qualitative data from women on assessing FMs in pregnancy. MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Social Science Citation Index, from inception to July 2020, were searched. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed by at least two reviewers using an Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI)-Centre quality assessment tool. Data synthesis, using the Thomas and Harden framework, involved line by line coding of extracted data, establishing descriptive themes, and determining analytical themes. Confidence in the findings was assessed using GRADE CER-Qual. Results Nine studies, involving 2193 women, were included in the review. The methodological quality of the studies was overall generally high. The synthesis revealed three dominant themes, and seven sub-themes that reflected women’s perspectives of assessing FMs in pregnancy. These were; 1) How women engage with FMs, with subthemes of informal engagement, formal engagement, and strategies to stimulate FMs; 2) ‘ … like a feather inside my belly’ - articulating and describing FMs, with sub-themes of sensations associated with FMs and timing and frequency of FMs; and 3) FMs and help/health seeking, with sub-themes of information sources and interacting with healthcare professionals. Confidence in the findings was either high or moderate, although two findings were rated low confidence and one very low. Conclusion This qualitative evidence synthesis reveals that women informally engage with FMs during pregnancy. Women commonly adopt strategies to stimulate FMs when concerned. The use of the internet was a common source of obtaining information regarding FMs. Women require better support when contacting healthcare professionals about FMs. As only three of the nine included studies were exclusively qualitative in design, further qualitative studies exploring women’s perspective of assessing FMs in pregnancy are required.

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Daily structured approach to awareness of fetal movements and pregnancy outcome – a prospective study

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

The effect of formal fetal movement counting on maternal psychological outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The effect of formal fetal movement counting on maternal psychological outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

F-KiCo (Fetal-Kick Count) Innovation Needs Analysis for Monitoring Fetal Well-Being and Maternal-Fetal Attachment

Assessing fetal movements in pregnancy: A qualitative evidence synthesis of women’s views, perspectives and experiences

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