Florida Department of Health partners with Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention campaign
Goal to save more than 500 babies every year
The Florida Department of Health is partnering with Count the Kicks, an evidence-based stillbirth prevention public health campaign, to educate and empower pregnant women in Florida about the importance of tracking fetal movement in the third trimester of pregnancy. One out of every 147 pregnancies in Florida end in stillbirth, according to Florida vital statistics. Count the Kicks was launched in April 2020, near the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Count the Kicks teaches the method for, and importance of, tracking fetal movement during the third trimester of pregnancy. Research shows the benefits of expectant moms tracking their baby’s movements daily and learning how long it normally takes their baby to get to 10 movements. After a few days, moms will begin to see a pattern, a normal amount of time it takes their baby to get to 10 movements. If their baby’s “normal” changes during the third trimester, this could be a sign of potential problems and is an indication that the expectant mom should call her healthcare provider.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, expectant moms have reported changes to their regularly scheduled prenatal visits and an increase in telehealth visits. Now is an especially important time for expectant women to track their baby’s movements every day in the third trimester. By doing so, expectant moms will have the peace of mind to know when things are OK and when things have changed.
Punta Gorda mom Brianna Hunt helped save her son Daeo while using Count the Kicks to track her son’s movements. Thanks to her team of medical providers at Cape Coral Hospital-Lee Health, Brianna was familiar with Count the Kicks, and knew to speak up right away when she noticed a change.
“In July of 2018, I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with my son and had been frequently reminded by my medical team to ‘Count the Kicks.’ I did, every day, and was very familiar with my son’s pattern of movement. That is how I knew I needed to go to the hospital when I stopped feeling him move normally one morning. That trip to the hospital saved my son’s life as he was delivered by emergency surgery. Count the Kicks trained me how to save my own son’s life. Every mother should be empowered with that information.”
“I learned about Count the Kicks from attending AWHONN Association Women’s Health Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses meeting and seeing the wonderful materials provided for patient education,” said Nancy Travis, Director of Women’s Services for Lee Health-Cape Coral Hospital. “Our providers and midwives, as well as the nursing staff, have embraced this education and teach all expectant parents about the importance of tracking their baby’s movements. Stories like baby Daeo’s are incredible to highlight what a difference this makes and how babies can be saved by a simple, yet effective tool that can be taught to all expectant women.”
Thanks to the partnership with the Florida Department of Health, maternal health providers, birthing hospitals, social services agencies, childbirth educators and other providers in Florida can order FREE Count the Kicks educational materials (available at www.countthekicks.org) to help them have the kick counting conversation with expectant Florida parents. Since the launch of the campaign last year, more than 313,000 educational pieces have been distributed throughout the state. Count the Kicks also has a free app available in the iOS and Google Play app stores that provides expectant moms a simple, non-invasive way to monitor their baby’s well-being every day. The Count the Kicks app is available in 12 languages, including English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole, and its features include a kick-counting history, daily reminders and the ability to count for single babies and twins. More than 1,500 expectant women have downloaded the app in Florida since the launch.
According to the Florida Department of Health, Division of Public Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, in 2019, approximately 1,515 babies were born still in Florida. In Iowa, where Count the Kicks began, the state’s stillbirth rate dropped by nearly 32 percent in the first 10 years of the campaign (2008-2018). Iowa’s rate went from 33rd worst in the country to one of the lowest, while the country’s rate remained relatively stagnant. The Florida Department of Health is hoping to bring the same success that Iowa has seen to Florida, which would save more than 500 babies in our state each year.