Fetal movements awareness and management is a really important issue in relation to reducing stillbirth and it was a privilege to collaborate with Sands on this initiative. We hope that this work will be a springboard for further research and policy changes to improve the quality and safety of maternity care.
Dr Tomasina Stacey, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Maternal Health Research
12 May 2025
New report highlights the need for improved communication around babies' movements in pregnancy
It was published in collaboration with Sands, the UK's leading pregnancy and baby loss charity.
The report, published on Monday 12 May, sheds light on how healthcare professionals and parents discuss fetal movements during pregnancy. It identifies key gaps and opportunities for improvement in UK maternity care.
'Improving information and guidance about fetal movements: a horizon scanning project Learning and Impact Report' is the result of work that explored how awareness and communication around babies' movements can be strengthened to support safer pregnancies.
Through extensive engagement with parents, healthcare professionals and key stakeholders, the project identified significant variation in how fetal movement is discussed and understood.
The parents who took part - both bereaved and non-bereaved - described feeling uncertain about what kinds of movements are normal and when to seek medical advice. This uncertainty often persists even in pregnancies that receive regular antenatal care.
A bereaved mother who took part in the project said, 'In every pregnancy I’ve had, I’ve never really known when I should be feeling it. I’ve never really known what kind of pattern I should be looking out for.'
Fetal movements are known to be a potential indicator of complications in late pregnancy. While the care women should receive is established, the report findings show that there is currently a knowledge gap about which approaches to sharing information and guidance are most helpful and accessible for parents.
The report findings highlight the need for more consistent guidance and professional training, as well as better public messaging that is both empowering and informative for expectant parents. The report also lays out suggested priority actions for improvement across healthcare, research, and policy.
The full report is available to download from Sands’ website.
As part of our long-standing commitment to saving babies' lives in the UK, raising awareness of the importance of monitoring babies' movements is a vital element of improving maternity safety. This latest work reveals the complexity of the issue and the need for more nuanced, evidence-informed conversations between healthcare professionals and parents.
Clea Harmer, Chief Executive of Sands
In this story
Senior Lecturer and PhD Coordinator (Division of Methodologies)