Count the Kicks Launches in Tennessee

Organizational Updates,  State Expansion

• Kimberly Isburg
• 08.28.24

We are excited to announce our partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) to expand the Count the Kicks program to the Volunteer State. Through the partnership, TDH and Count the Kicks will work together to educate expectant parents in Tennessee about the importance of paying attention to their baby’s movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. Research shows at least 1 in four stillbirths can be prevented when expectant parents are educated on how to monitor their baby’s movements once a day starting at 28 weeks.

Thanks to the partnership with TDH, maternal health providers, birthing hospitals, social service agencies, childbirth educators and other providers in Tennessee can order FREE Count the Kicks educational materials to help them have a conversation about baby’s movement patterns with expectant parents. These materials are available in English and Spanish.

“We are working to improve maternal and infant health outcomes across Tennessee,” State Health Commissioner Ralph Alvarado, MD, FACP, said. “Stillbirths have a profound impact on families and preventing these tragedies is a top priority. We are committed to providing expectant mothers and their families with the knowledge and tools necessary to safeguard their pregnancies and support healthier outcomes.”

Stillbirth is commonly defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or greater gestation during pregnancy. It is a national public health crisis that impacts more than 21,000 families in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC. Approximately 539 Tennessee families experience the tragedy of stillbirth each year. For expectant parents in the state, 1 in every 150 pregnancies ends in stillbirth. Racial disparities persist, and a disproportionate number of babies are born still to Black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native families.

Research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology shows a more than 30% reduction in Iowa’s stillbirth rate in the first 10 years of the Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention program at a time when America’s stillbirth rate remained stagnant. The results have led researchers to call for urgent action to address the stillbirth crisis in the U.S. and to study Count the Kicks on a national level. Through this collaboration, TDH is hoping to bring the same success to Tennessee, which would save approximately 172 babies in the state each year. 

See TDH’s 2024 Report on Fetal Death in Tennessee for more information.