Nebraska Group Debuts Count the Kids Campaign

A Nebraska group focused on improving care for moms and babies is partnering with an awareness campaign founded in Iowa to encourage mothers to count their babies’ kicks in the last trimester of pregnancy with the goal of preventing stillbirths.

The Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative will present the partnership with Count the Kicks at a summit today in Lincoln expected to draw more than 75 maternal health care providers from across the state.

Doctors typically counsel moms to monitor their babies’ movements in the late stages of pregnancy and report immediately if patterns change.

Dr. Bob Bonebrake, one of the Nebraska collaborative’s two medical directors and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Methodist Women’s Hospital, said Count the Kicks is a free, easy tool for a woman to familiarize herself with and be cognizant of her baby’s movements. Fetal kick counting has been shown in some studies to be as reliable as or more reliable than some steps doctors can take, he said.

Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska group encourages expecting moms to "Count the Kicks"