Meet Henry

• Baby Saves

• 06.01.26

“I first learned about Count the Kicks from a poster in my doctor’s office, and I started counting my baby’s movements around 28 weeks.

At 35 weeks pregnant I woke up feeling pretty normal, but as my day progressed I noticed my back starting to hurt. I tried all the things I would normally do to help and it didn’t seem to be getting any better. 

That afternoon I called my OB and she wanted to make sure it was not contractions, so I went in to get checked. They told me there were no contractions and the baby looks great. I went home and I started to feel really sick. I began to feel feverish and unwell. That is when I realized the baby had been moving non stop since 2 p.m. It was constant kicking in my ribs and headbutting my pelvis pretty much every minute or two. 

I always heard about decreased movement, but wasn’t sure about nonstop movement. I remember my OB-GYN telling me the baby should sleep every couple of hours even in utero. I pulled out my Count the Kicks app and it mentioned some increased movement and any changes from their baseline is a warning sign.

During my visit to Labor & Delivery triage, they were hesitant to admit me since they weren’t sure what was wrong. But since Henry was having decelerations they admitted me, which led to them discovering the kidney infection that was putting us both at risk. 

We were admitted for six days, and for the first few days of my hospitalization I dealt with fevers, nausea, and severe back pain until they found the right antibiotics. I had a rare type of bacteria causing the infection, which led to more severe symptoms. Eventually we were able to go home with a continued IV line for daily antibiotics at an infusion center and at home. I also had to go for regular non-stress tests (NST) and biophysical profiles (BPP).

At 37 weeks I started having decreased movement and I failed a NST. It happened again, but he had a good biophysical profile where they used a stimulator. I kept noticing increased time in my kick counts at home, so they ended up setting an induction. I ended up going into spontaneous labor before my induction. 

Henry was born healthy at 38 weeks and 3 days. When he was born he had an unusually small placenta and was well under his predicted birthweight, likely due to my kidney infection. 

Had I not noticed his frantic distressed movements, I would’ve been more hesitant to get checked out. I have no idea what would have happened to us if Count the Kicks didn’t help me notice the increase and decrease in movements. His non-stop movement is what gave me the courage to go back to the hospital after my first visit. 

My advice would be to count your kicks and trust your gut. You are the only one who knows your baby’s movement.” – Alexis P., Henry’s mom