Your Body When Others Can Feel a Baby Move During Pregnancy By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH twitter linkedin Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH is a professor, author, childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor. Learn about our editorial process Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH Fact checked by Fact checked by Andrea Rice on May 05, 2020 facebook twitter linkedin Andrea Rice is an award-winning journalist and a freelance writer, editor, and fact checker specializing in health and wellness. Learn about our editorial process Andrea Rice Updated on May 05, 2020 Print The Image Bank/Getty Images The question of when you'll start feel your baby move quickly leads to wondering when someone else will be able to feel the baby move as well. The first movements, called quickening, are flutters that occur during the second trimester. According to the American Pregnancy Association, it may take an expectant mother anywhere from 13 to 25 weeks to begin feeling the baby move, depending on a number of factors.But it will take longer before someone else can feel the baby kick from the outside. In most cases, you'll have to wait a few more weeks before sharing this exciting experience with your partner, family, or friends. Though it can vary from one pregnancy to another, on average others around you can begin to feel the baby move around the end of the second trimester or near the beginning of the third (weeks 28 to 32), especially if they put their hands on your belly at the right moment and in the right spot. Though you've been feeling movement for several weeks, your baby may still need to get bigger so that their movements can be felt from the outside. However, the movement can often be sporadic, which may seem like your baby is avoiding being felt by anyone but you. Your loved ones may just have to be patient and wait until you are further along in the pregnancy. Why Others Cannot Feel Your Baby Move There are factors that can make it less likely that others can feel your baby move. These include: Extra padding: If you are overweight or carry extra weight around your abdomen, it may take longer to feel the baby because the movements have to be stronger and larger to be felt on the outside. This doesn't mean it's impossible, just less likely earlier on. An anterior placenta: If your placenta is located at the front of your uterus, your baby's movements will need to be bigger and stronger to be felt through the placenta. This will also typically make it later for you to feel your baby move for the first time, let alone others. The position of the baby: Some positions that your baby assumes means their kicks and movements are more easily felt than others. This is not necessarily a bad thing for your baby, just hard to explain to well-meaning, but persistent relatives who really, really want to feel a few baby kicks. Allowing Others to Feel Your Baby Move You may be excited to share your baby's kicks with your partner, relatives, and friends. But some people are reluctant to experience it. They may not want to touch your body in an intimate way to feel the baby move. They may have an aversion they can't explain, even though they are supportive of your pregnancy. If your husband or partner frequently wants to feel your baby kick, this may be welcome, at least in the privacy of your home. But for others, or in public, you may want to set some ground rules and boundaries. You will have to decide how much you are willing to try to let them feel your belly. You might tell them it's allowed once a visit. Simply because you said yes to them feeling the baby move once, does not mean that you have given them an all-access pass. You have complete ownership over your body and say as to who touches you when and where. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Pregnancy Association. First Fetal Movement: Quickening. Bradford BF, Thompson JMD, Heazell AEP, Mccowan LME, Mckinlay CJD. Understanding the associations and significance of fetal movements in overweight or obese pregnant women: a systematic review. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2018;97(1):13-24. doi:10.1111/aogs.13250 Linde A, Georgsson S, Pettersson K, Holmström S, Norberg E, Rådestad I. Fetal movement in late pregnancy - a content analysis of women's experiences of how their unborn baby moved less or differently. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016;16(1):127. doi:10.1186/s12884-016-0922-z Jennings-Edquist G. ABC Life. Dealing with unwanted belly-touching and intrusive questions when you're pregnant. Additional Reading Akkaya H, Büke B. A frequently asked question: Is it normal not to feel my baby's movements yet?. J Chin Med Assoc. 2018;81(8):742-746. doi:10.1016/j.jcma.2017.07.014 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health. Stages of pregnancy. Updated April 18, 2019.