Monitor movement

• 1). Pay attention to when you first feel your baby start to move. You should feel movement by 22 weeks of pregnancy.
  
  
• 2). Begin to monitor your baby's movement daily when you reach your third trimester of pregnancy. Choose a time of day when your baby is active, and pay attention to your baby's movements during a two-hour period. If possible, lie down on your side during these two hours so you can focus on your baby's movement.
  
  
• 3). Count the number of kicks and movements that you feel. You should feel at least ten movements during a two-hour period of activity.
  
  
• 4). Call your doctor if you do not feel at least ten movements in two hours or if it takes longer every day for your baby's movements to reach ten. These could be indications that your baby is stressed.
  
  

Fetal heart rate

• 1). Wait until you are at least 20 weeks pregnant. Before that time, you must ask your doctor to use a Doppler in order to hear your baby's heartbeat.
  
  
• 2). Lie on your left side or on your back with your back and knees elevated.
  
  
• 3). Feel your belly for a firm, flat surface. This should be the baby's back, which is the best place to hear a heartbeat.
  
  
• 4). Press a stethoscope over the surface of the baby's back and listen.
  
  
• 5). Move the stethoscope around while continuing to listen if you do not hear a heartbeat at first.
  
  
• 6). Count the number of beats you hear in a 15-second period and then multiply by four. This gives you the heart rate per minute. A healthy fetus should have a heart rate between 110 and 180 beats per minute. A rate that is far out of this range may indicate fetal stress.
  
  
• 7). Call your doctor if you cannot find the heartbeat or if you think the number of beats per minute is out of the normal range. Finding a fetal heartbeat can be difficult at home, so do not be seriously concerned unless your doctor is unable to find a heartbeat.