Table 6. Fetal movement strength, frequency, hiccups and busy times by gestation at interview.
| Interview question | Preterm at interview (28+0–36+6 weeks) N = 123 | Term at interview (≥37 weeks) N = 151 | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the last two weeks did the strength of your baby’s movements? | |||
| Increase | 87 (70.7) | 75 (50.0) | 0.005 |
| Decrease | 4 (3.3) | 13 (8.7) | |
| Stay the same | 30 (24.4) | 59 (39.3) | |
| Unsure | 2 (1.6) | 3 (2.0) | |
| In the last two weeks did the frequency of your baby’s movements? | |||
| Increase | 59 (48.0) | 48 (31.8) | 0.02 |
| Decrease | 12 (9.8) | 26 (17.2) | |
| Stay the same | 49 (39.8) | 76 (50.3) | |
| Unsure | 3 (2.4) | 1 (0.7) | |
| During the last two weeks did you notice any time that your baby was more vigorous than usual? | |||
| No | 52 (43.3) | 75 (51.0) | 0.37 |
| Yes, once | 7 (5.8) | 8 (5.4) | |
| Yes, more than once | 56 (46.7) | 62 (42.2) | |
| Yes, unsure frequency | 5 (4.2) | 2 (1.4) | |
| During the last two weeks did you feel your baby having hiccups? | |||
| No | 34 (27.9) | 29 (19.2) | 0.04 |
| Yes | 81 (66.4) | 119 (78.8) | |
| Unsure | 7 (5.7) | 3 (2.0) | |
| If yes, how often? | |||
| Unsure if hiccups | 7 (8.3) | 3 (2.6) | 0.07 |
| Yes, once | 8 (9.5) | 3 (2.6) | |
| Yes, occasionally | 36 (42.9) | 53 (45.7) | |
| Yes, daily | 31 (36.9) | 54 (46.5) | |
| Yes, unsure frequency | 2 (2.4) | 3 (2.6) | |
| In the last two weeks, how many busy times did your baby have in a day? | |||
| 0–2 | 25 (20.3) | 35 (23.3) | 0.29 |
| 3–9 | 79 (64.2) | 101 (67.3) | |
| 10+ | 19 (15.4) | 14 (9.3) | |
| In the last two weeks, on average, how long did these busy times last? | |||
| Longer than before | 67 (42.7) | 58 (31.9) | 0.01 |
| About as long as before | 85 (54.1) | 106 (58.2) | |
| Shorter than before | 5 (3.2) | 18 (9.9) | |
Data are n(%). P value is for comparison between preterm and term.