Fetal Movement in the 8th Month: What's Normal & When to Worry

Question
I AM GOING INTO MY 8TH MONTH OF PREGNANCY WITH MY FIFTH CHILD.I AM CONCERNED BECAUSE THE BABY HAS NOT BEEN MOVING AS VIGOROUS AS THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. ON SUNDAY TWO NIGHTS AGO IT GAVE ME A VERY HARD KICK ATOP MY PELVIC AREA, BUT THEN IT HAS SEEMED TO CHANGE POSISITIONS ALL TOGETHER. WHAT I MEAN IS THAT FOR  MONTHS I HAVE HAD ALOT OF PRESSURE ABOVE MY PELVIC AREA BUT SINCE THAT NIGHT HE HAS MOVED UPWARD AND HAS NOT MOVED VERY MUCH EVEN AFTER POKING AND PRODING HIM AROUND. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE SOMETHING I SHOULD BE OVERLY CONCERNED ABOUT SINCE ALL OF MY OTHER PREGNANCIES HAVE BEEN NORMAL ?   THANK YOU, I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RESPONSE.

Answer
Hello Kelly. It is quite normal for fetal movement to slow down in the last weeks of pregnancy- there is less room to move. Sounds like your baby made a major shift in position and hopefully it was a positive shift. A midwife would be able to tell you exactly what position the baby is in- but your dr will likely need to use ultrasound to determine the same thing- they really have lost the ability to palpate the belly and locate fetal position- they rely so much on ultrasound- which I have very little faith in. As long as you can detect 10 good movements in a day, things are fine. Hope that helps- Cheri.