Counting your baby’s kicks could be a lifesaver, and an app makes it easy

A Southwest Florida baby turns one month old today, but had it not been for his mom’s quick thinking, he might not be here.

Brianna Jaikaran is a new mom and months ago her doctor told her she was experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, around 20 weeks in.

She started counting her baby’s kicks, and she believes it’s that very counting that saved her son’s life, “Something could’ve gone very wrong. I’m very happy that I did it.”

Director of Women and Neonatal Services at Cape Coral Hospital, Nancy Travis, says more moms need to be doing what jaikaran did, “If she had not come in, it could’ve been disastrous for her and terrible for the baby.”

They recommend using an app like Count the Kicks, at 28 weeks, to keep track of everything. It’s pretty simple, you just open the app, select how many babies you’re counting for and you can count away.

“Babies show us that they’re having some signs of distress by how active they are in the mom’s belly,” Travis said.

And that’s exactly what Jaikaran noticed when her baby went from kicking 10 times an hour to just four.

I asked Jaikaran what she thinks would’ve happened if she hadn’t been keeping track, “I don’t even want to think about that. I don’t know.”

That’s why both Jaikaran and Travis say new moms should be using this tool, saying it’s one piece of advice that really needs to be listened to.

Advice Jaikaran says she’s thankful as her little boy lives a healthy life, “To make sure that everything is okay, it’s just a reassuring thing.”

And Jaikaran’s not the only mom with a counting story to tell.You can read lots of babies stories on the Count the Kicks website.