How Early Can You Feel Your Second Baby Move During Pregnancy?

In your second pregnancy, you notice a lot of things are different. These differences can include when you start feeling your baby move.

Your second pregnancy can look different in many ways, including when you feel your baby move. A first-time expecting parent might not feel their baby move until 20 to 22 weeks, but for a second (or more) pregnancy, you might notice movement as early as 16 weeks.

Your baby is moving from early pregnancy on, though typically the fetus is so small that it's difficult to feel until several weeks into the second trimester. The first fetal movements, called quickening, may come a little earlier in your second pregnancy, but whenever they happen, it's an exciting step!

Pregnant mom cuddling her older child

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How Early Can You Feel Your Baby Move?

The fetus begins to flex its arms and legs between weeks 13 and 16 of pregnancy. Sometime after that point, it becomes possible for you to feel your baby's movements. However, the uterus and nearby intestines don't have their own sensory nerves, so any movements of the baby must be vigorous enough to transmit the sensation to the nerve receptors in your abdominal surface or pelvic area.

The earliest movements are often easily confused with your own intestinal gas, digestion, or abdominal contractions. Parents typically describe them as feeling like gentle flutters.

An experienced parent will be looking for these sensations while a first-timer likely doesn't yet know how to distinguish them. However, even in a second pregnancy, people don't usually feel their baby's movements until 16 to 18 weeks at the earliest.

What Do Fetal Movements Feel Like?

Early fetal movements can be hard to detect since your baby is still so small. Many parents describe them as feeling like:

  • Gentle flutters
  • Twinges
  • Bubbles
  • Flickers

Fetal movements won't necessarily feel different in your second pregnancy (though they could), but you may be better at identifying them and distinguishing them from gas or other bodily sensations after you've already experienced them once.

As your pregnancy progresses, fetal movements may increase in intensity and frequency. They may feel more like kicks, waves, or like the baby is tumbling.

Why You Might Not Feel Your Second Baby Sooner

It can be normal not to feel your baby move until later in the pregnancy, even during your second, third, or fourth time around.

Some reasons why you might feel your baby move until later in your second pregnancy include: 

  • Their position: If your baby is tucked into one area and kicking into an open space of amniotic fluid, you're not likely to feel that movement as well as a direct kick to the uterine wall.
  • Less fluid: If there is less amniotic fluid, your baby's ability to move around will be restricted.
  • Placenta placement: An anterior placenta (located in front of the uterus) may block your baby’s kicks. The placenta has no nerves, so kicks need to be larger to be felt.
  • Your weight: If you weigh more than you did in your first pregnancy, the extra padding can make it more difficult to feel the kicks externally.

Concerns About Fetal Movement in a Second Pregnancy

If you're worried about your baby's movements, talk to your doctor or midwife. Your perceptions regarding decreased fetal movement are valid reasons for a follow-up visit. Your doctor has other ways to check that your baby is developing as expected, including ultrasound imaging.

Later in pregnancy, a non-stress test may be used to monitor the accelerations of the fetal heart. This test involves lying down for 20 minutes and wearing a sensor belt that measures the fetal heart rate.

How to Track Baby's Movement

Once you reach 28 weeks, it's important to keep track of your baby's movement. This process, called fetal kick counting, can be reassuring for parents. Many people use the "count-to-10" approach when their baby is most active. During your third trimester, you should typically feel around 10 movements every one or two hours.


Count your baby's movements every day so you know what's normal for you. You should call your health care provider if you count less than 10 movements in two hours or notice your baby is moving less than normal. If they're not moving at all, your baby could be in distress.

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Sources
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  1. Fetal Movement. National Institutes of Health. 2023.

  2. Fetal Origin of Sensorimotor Behavior. Frontiers in Neurorobotics. 2018.

  3. Fetal movement in late pregnancy - a content analysis of women's experiences of how their unborn baby moved less or differently. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2016.

  4. Trans membranous fetal movement and pressure sensing. ScienceDirect. 2020.

  5. Maternal perception of decreased fetal movements from maternal and fetal perspectives, a cohort study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2014.

  6. Prenatal Nonstress Test. National Institutes of Health. 2023.

  7. Computation of Fetal Kicking in Various Fetal Health Examinations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022.

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