The kickTrak™ Kick Counter
What is kickTrak™
The kickTrak™ smart kick-counter is a safe, non-invasive, hand-held device, which enables moms-to-be to keep a reliable diary of their baby’s movement pattern. It was developed by an OB/GYN specifically to enable expectant women to monitor their pregnancy health.
Creator of the kickTrak, Diep Nguyen, MD, states that, “By using kickTrak as a prevention tool, mothers can count and time movements, and store and recall recent kick count sessions. Noting significant changes in their baby’s movement pattern empowers moms to promptly alert their doctors to potential problems and reduce the risk of stillbirth.”
The kicks, jabs, rolls, twists, and turns felt by mothers are excellent indicators of their baby’s well-being. In fact, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends kick counting, the systematic counting and tracking of fetal movements, as one of the methods to monitor pregnancy health
“The goal of kick counting is not to make moms anxious but to have it be a part of their daily prenatal care,” says Dr. Nguyen. “Medical research supports the daily kick counting method as a simple, effective, harmless and reliable way to screen for fetal well-being.” Kick counting provides a way for mother to check on her baby in between doctor’s visits as well as a bonding time for mothers and their partners as they both proactively protect their baby.
What is Kick Counting?
An expectant mother can distinctly perceive her baby’s specific movement pattern by 24 weeks. Some babies tend to be more active at night, others in the morning or afternoon. Kick counting can be started at 28 weeks in normal pregnancies and as early as 24 weeks for high-risk or complicated pregnancies. All expectant mothers should discuss kick counting with their healthcare provider.
There are different methods of kick counting and ACOG recommends that expectant mothers note the time it takes for their baby to complete ten movements, at approximately the same time each day when the baby is usually most active. Movements include kicks, jabs, rolls, twists, and turns. Each baby and every pregnancy is different. Understanding that babies have sleep cycles can alleviate mothers’ anxiety toward kick counting. In general, healthy babies should complete ten movements within two hours and most babies achieve this in less than 15 minutes. The healthcare provider should be alerted immediately of changes in the baby’s normal pattern or if the baby takes more than two hours to complete ten movements.
Decreased Fetal Movement and Stillbirth
Decreased fetal movement occurs in five percent to ten percent of all pregnancies. A recent study has found that decreased fetal movement is associated with increased risk for stillbirth and concluded that health care providers should be educating women about the importance of fetal movement in an effort to reduce delay in intervention. Even though a stillbirth may not be avoidable, families often feel outraged to learn about kick counting after the fact, as this simple method may have altered their outcome.
According to the National Institutes of Health, stillbirth claims the lives of 26,000 babies-–70 per day—in the United States each year. While stillbirth is a significant public health issue, it remains a silent subject in the United States. Stillbirth is the unexpected death of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy. More than half of all stillbirths happen after 28 weeks and most of those happen after 36 weeks in an otherwise normal pregnancy.
Why Use kickTrak?
“In this time of increasing pre-term birth and increased managed care it is important to encourage mothers to become ever more engaged with the progress and health of their pregnancy. kickTrak is a proven methodology, and when used on a regular basis as suggested, will provide increased mother, baby and physician communication, which is beneficial for everyone. I am confident that kickTrak will become standard of care.” JAMES C. CAILLOUETTE, M.D, Clinical Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
It is best to systematically record daily kick counting to learn about the baby’s baseline movement rather than rely on memory recall, which makes kickTrak the perfect tool for doing so. kickTrak makes kick counting easy and convenient, and ensures the reliability of the records. A mother’s familiarity with her baby’s movements helps identify changes that may indicate potential pregnancy problems, which can allow her provider to institute timely intervention.
kickTrak™ is small enough to fit inside a small purse, and solves the problem of searching for papers, pencils and misplaced kick count charts. The screen is bilingual, in English or Spanish, and kickTrak is built to last through multiple pregnancies. As soon as a mother knows of her pregnancy she can begin using kickTrak to track her progress, which keeps her in-sync with her doctor regarding her due date. At 24 weeks to 28 weeks gestation she can begin her daily use of kickTrak to keep a reliable diary of her baby’s movements. And, after counting down the last 99 days of the pregnancy, kickTrak will time contractions when labor begins.
For Further Information:
babykick
P.O. Box 1568
Manhattan Beach, CA 90267
1-877-422-2954
© 2007 Now You Know Media, Inc
