Fetal Movement: Understanding Decreased Activity in Pregnancy

Question
Hi,
I'm 31 and have 3 children, this baby will be our fourth (I'm due August 31st).  My question is concerning fetal movement.  This baby is very inactive compared to the last 3.  I realize that each pregnancy is different and am wondering if this is a common thing.  I almost never  feel her moving around, she may take an active spurt once or twice a day - some days even that movement is not a lot.  Her heartbeat has been around 144 - 150 at the ob-gyns, so that appears normal.  The end of April I had been running around, playing with our other children and hurt myself (I was around 5 1/2 months).  I pulled a muscle that runs down the left side of my belly and into my inner thigh area, it also hurts at the bottom of my belly across the front of my pelvic bone. This still (after 2 months) causes me pain and is easily re-aggrivated.  I mostly notice it when rolling over in bed, or putting on pants, etc.  any thing that involves picking my legs up to more than just regular walking height. The baby used to move around much more before that. I know babies are very well cushioned in the uterus. I'm just wondering if an injury could have occured from the bouncing/jerking movement of jogging around.  Also I'm curious about the imbilical cord positioning.   Could that restrain the baby's movement? (and why exactly is it that you can never see the imbilical cord in ultrasounds). Unfortunately I live in a small rural area and aren't able to go to a doctor I'm confident in.  Of My last 2 doctors, one no longer delivers babies and the other moved from the area, my new doctor concerns me, she's not thorough, rushes you in and out and nods off any comment at all.  The next closest hospital is one and a half hours away (from start to finish labor with baby number 3 took 2 hours), so I would be afraid I wouldn't make it to the hospital if I travelled that distance.   I'd appreciate any input from you.
Thank you.  

Answer
Most likely, all is well. However, if you believe that you are feeling decreased amounts of fetal movement, you should get a non stress test (NST) at your doctor's office. This lets us see how the baby reacts to its own movements. You should be aware of 10 fetal movements within 10 hours. They do not have to be kicking but can be hiccups, rolling, etc. Pregnancy will exacerbate any muscle aches and pains, so I am not surprised that the accident you had several months ago still hurts your muscles. It should not cause any harm to the fetus, since it is well protected. We do, indeed, see the umbilical cord on sonogram. It appears as short lines on tope of each other. The position of the umbilical cord is insignificant unless there is a tightening of the cord. Remember, it is not important if the cord is wrapped around any structure as long as there is blood flow throughout the cord. I would ask your doctor for a NST if you think you are having less fetal movement.