Can you feel your baby move at 9 weeks?
Why the flutters at 9 weeks aren't the baby yet, and when you will feel movement in a first, second or third pregnancy, with the NHS and RCOG timings
It's 9 weeks, you're lying still on the sofa, and there it is again: a flicker low down that you'd swear is the baby. If this is your second or third, you're even more sure, because you remember the feeling from last time.
Here's the honest answer, and a table of when you actually will feel them.
Quick answer: Almost certainly not yet. At 9 weeks your baby is about 22mm long and already moving, but far too small for you to feel it. Most people first notice movement between 16 and 24 weeks; in a second or later pregnancy it can be as early as 16 weeks, because you know what you're feeling for. What you're feeling now is your gut.
The numbers behind that:
- At 9 weeks your baby is around 22mm from head to bottom, about the size of a strawberry, according to the NHS.
- The NHS says you should start to feel your baby move between 16 and 24 weeks; with a first baby it might not be until after 20 weeks.
- RCOG says most women first notice movement at 18 to 20 weeks, and if you've been pregnant before it can be as early as 16 weeks.
- If you've never felt your baby move by 24 weeks, RCOG says contact your midwife or maternity unit.
- Your booking appointment is usually between weeks 8 and 12, and the dating scan is at 8 to 14 weeks.
What's happening to your baby at 9 weeks
A lot, none of it feelable. Your baby is around 22mm long from head to bottom, about the size of a strawberry, says the NHS week 9 page.
The face is starting to look like a face, with eyelids, a mouth and a tongue with tiny taste buds. Hands and feet have grooves where the fingers and toes will be, and bones are starting to form. They're moving in there too. It's just that a 22mm baby, tucked down in your pelvis behind a lot of gut, makes no impression on you at all.
Flutters at 9 weeks and what they usually are
Wind. Or digestion, or your pulse, or a muscle twitch. That isn't me being dismissive: the sensation is real, it's just not the baby yet. At 9 weeks the womb is still small and low, and anything you can feel in that part of your tummy is far more likely to be bowel.
Real movement, when it comes, is described by the NHS as a gentle swirling or fluttering, and by RCOG as a kick, flutter, swish or roll.
The old word for it is quickening. It gets noticed lying still and quiet, which is exactly when you'd notice a gut bubble too, so the two get confused. What's different later is that it repeats, in the same place, and starts to feel like it comes from inside the bump rather than your tummy in general. By 20-something weeks you'll be certain. You won't be at 9.
Second and third pregnancies really do notice earlier: RCOG puts it at as early as 16 weeks if you've been pregnant before, against 18 to 20 weeks for most first-timers, and the NHS says a first baby might not be felt until after 20 weeks. Part of that is recognition. You know what a flutter feels like, so you clock it the first time instead of the tenth.
| Weeks | First pregnancy | Second or later pregnancy |
|---|---|---|
| 9 to 15 | Baby is moving; you can't feel it | Same, whatever the flutters say |
| 16 to 17 | The early end of the NHS range; most don't feel anything yet | Possible. RCOG says as early as 16 weeks if you've been pregnant before |
| 18 to 20 | Most people first become aware around here, RCOG says | Usual |
| 20 to 24 | Common for a first baby; the NHS says it might not be until after 20 weeks | If nothing yet, mention it at your next appointment |
| By 24 | If you've never felt movement, contact your midwife or maternity unit (RCOG) | Same |
| Once you know their pattern | At any stage from here, call your midwife or maternity unit straight away if movements slow, stop or change. Don't wait until the next day, even in the middle of the night (NHS) | Same |
Follow your bump. Tell us your due date and we'll send what to expect each week, plus 10% off your first order.
What else you might be feeling at 9 weeks
The NHS list for week 9 is long: extreme tiredness, feeling sick, mood swings, a metallic taste, sore breasts, headaches, going off foods, a sense of smell that's suddenly ridiculous, more discharge, light spotting, cramping, darker patches on your skin, thicker hair and bloating. That last one is the flutter culprit more often than not.
Two dates to have in your head. Your booking appointment usually happens between weeks 8 and 12; your dating scan is at 8 to 14 weeks, and that's what settles your due date. If you're counting weeks from your last period, our due date calculator does it in a second, and the scan may nudge it by a few days.
If you're showing already in a second pregnancy, that's bloating and a body that's done this before, not a 22mm baby. There's a piece on hiding a bump for longer if you're not ready to tell people.
Questions we get asked
What's the earliest you can feel a baby move?
From about 16 weeks, the NHS says, and often not until after 20 weeks with a first baby; earlier if you've been pregnant before, because you know what you're feeling for. At 9 weeks the movements are real, but far too small to reach you.
When do you feel the baby move in a second pregnancy?
Often earlier than the first time: RCOG says as early as 16 weeks if you've been pregnant before, and most people are aware by 18 to 20 weeks. Some notice nothing until later, and that's normal too.
Can you feel flutters at 10 weeks?
Not from the baby. The NHS window for first movements starts at 16 weeks; the bubbles at 10 weeks are digestion.
What do the first movements feel like?
The NHS says a gentle swirling or fluttering; RCOG says a kick, flutter, swish or roll. Later they become proper kicks and jerky movements, and RCOG says the number tends to increase until 32 weeks and then stay about the same, so they shouldn't tail off near the end.
What if I haven't felt anything by 20 weeks?
With a first baby that's common; the NHS says it might not be until after 20 weeks. If you've never felt movement by 24 weeks, RCOG says contact your midwife or maternity unit, who will check your baby's heartbeat.
The pregnancy collection is there for when you get to the buying things stage, which at 9 weeks you don't need to be.
Filed under Pregnancy
