Factors Affecting Maternal Perception of Fetal Movement

Abstract

Maternal perception of fetal movement is an important screening method for fetal well-being, as decreased fetal movement is associated with a range of pregnancy pathologies and poor pregnancy outcomes. An understanding of factors that may affect perception could help clinicians to determine the importance of maternal reports of decreased fetal movement. This review considers factors that may affect maternal perception of fetal movement and the sensitivity of maternal perception of fetal movements in comparison with ultrasound and other objective methods of movement detection. There is conflicting evidence on whether parity, gestational age, overweight and obesity, and placental location affect perception. This may be related to the small sample sizes of available studies and lack of consistent definitions of factors that may affect the ability of mothers to perceive movement. There is some evidence that psychological factors and duration of fetal movement may affect perception, and that strong movements and those including trunk movement are more likely to be perceived. The proportion of fetal breathing movements that mothers perceive has not been investigated. Research is also lacking as to whether there needs to be contact of fetal part(s) with maternal structures for movement to be perceived, and whether fetal position, amniotic fluid volume, maternal position, sedatives, or other drugs affect movement perception.

Third Trimester Fetal Heart Rate and Doppler Middle Cerebral Artery Blood Flow Velocity Characteristics During Prenatal Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Exposure

“…With increasing growth restriction, fetal biophysical variables including movement and tone are impaired (30). Fetal movements did not differ between groups, however these estimates were based on maternal perceptions of fetal movement, which may underestimate fetal movements (31).…”

Maternal perception of decreased fetal movements from maternal and fetal perspectives, a cohort study

“…Very few studies have assessed the influence of simultaneous maternal and fetal factors on mother’s self-reports of fetal movement perception. Research is lacking regarding whether fetal and maternal positions affect the maternal perception of fetal movements [10], and there are only a few studies that have conflicting evidence on whether parity, obesity, placental location and amniotic fluid volume affect this perception [10]. …”

Maternal obesity

“…Kindsteils wie auch die Durchführung der Leopold-Handgriffe zur Haltungs-und Lagebestimmung sind erschwert. Hinzu kommt, dass nach Ansicht einiger Autoren offenbar auch die maternale Wahrnehmung fetaler Bewegungen durch Fettleibigkeit negativ beeinflusst wird, was die Einschätzung abnehmender Kindsbewegungen erschwert[14].…”