When Can My Husband Feel The Baby Move?

Feeling your baby move inside your belly and sharing that joy with your husband is one of most awaited milestones of pregnancy. While an expecting mother can feel the first movements anywhere between 16 and 22 weeks of the pregnancy, it takes longer for the movements to be noticeable enough for your husband to feel the baby move from the outside.

In fact, the first few times you feel your baby move will be an inexplicable blink-and-miss sense of fluttering. As your baby grows and becomes stronger, these movements will become more evident too. By the time you enter the 28th week of your pregnancy, those flutters will be accompanied by strong kicks that can be felt by placing a hand at the right spot on your belly, at the right time. This is the ideal time for your husband to join the party that has hitherto been a secret that you and your baby shared. A lot of times, the baby who has been moving actively in your tummy might just decide to go silent as soon as you husband places his hand on your belly. Well, there isn’t much you can do about it except for being patient and waiting for the right moment.

If you and your partner just cannot seem to contain your eagerness to experience the magical moment of feeling the baby move together, you can try munching on a snack and lying down on your left side. The sudden surge in your blood sugar levels often does the trick of getting your baby to move with all its strength.

By the 26th week, a baby’s hearing is developed enough for it to be able to hear outside noises, apart from your own voice and the noise of the blood circulating inside your body. Talking or singing to your bundle of joy is a great way to get him to spring into action so that your husband can feel the baby move.

However, it is important to always be mindful of the fact that each pregnancy – and the experiences it brings – is unique. Don’t lose heart if your husband cannot feel the baby move even by the time you’ve entered the third trimester. This is usually not a cause for alarm and can happen because of several factors:

• It may take longer for your husband to feel the baby move if you are overweight or are carrying extra weight around your belly. You’ll just have to be patient with your baby’s movements to be strong enough to be felt from outside.

• Anterior placenta is another factor that can hinder the baby’s movement from being felt from the outside. Since the placenta is placed on the front side of your uterus in this case, it acts as a cushion between your baby and your belly. In such cases, it may take longer for both you and your husband to feel the baby move.

• Your baby may be lying in such a position that those tiny kicks and punches are not landing anywhere near the surface of your belly, and so, cannot be felt by your partner.

While none of these is a bad or worrisome sign, you should monitor fetal movements – counting until you’ve clocked at least 10 movements – if you haven’t had any noticeable movements in two hours or so. This is especially important between the end of the second and the beginning of the third trimester. After this, your baby’s movements will not only be easily felt but you’d also be able to see an elbow or knee jutting out at different points around your belly every now and then.

Pro Tip: As your pregnancy advances, get a stethoscope to hear your  baby’s heartbeat with your husband. It feels magical.

Also read: Fetal Movement Week By Week: What To Do When Movements Reduce, What Is Normal And What Is Not

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