# baby shaking/spasms in utero???help??



## vegetalien (May 28, 2005)

for a while now i've noticed that every once and a while the baby gets the shakes or something. it's feels exactly like as if the baby were vibrating almost and only ever lasts a few seconds. my midwife said she had one other client that mentioned the same thing and got a bunch of tests done and nothing came of it.
i keep reassuring myself that it's probably nothing, but just now while i was sitting here i felt the biggest and strongest one ever...which compelled me to write about it. lately it has been happening almost daily, before that not so often...although it could be that i'm just feeling it more now that the baby is bigger. i'm 32 and a half weeks.

could this be a neurological problem? i mean, if my baby did this outside the womb, i would freak. anyone else ever had experience with this?

rowan


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## radicalmama (Sep 20, 2005)

#1.Are you sure its not baby hiccups?
#2. Have you had an ultrasound to check for any abnormalities?

If I knew the baby was fine, and it wasn't hiccups, it would certainly freak me out. Most likely its nothing...but you might want to check with an O.B. if it really worries you and continues.

Hugs.


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## Satori (Jan 30, 2003)

my dd did that, OB told me it was just her dreaming. She did the same thing on occasion once she was born and it was always while she was dreaming.


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## 2+twins (Apr 20, 2004)

Although my memory is pretty much shot, I feel like I experienced the same thing before (probably in my last pregnancy and both my kids are fine). It's probably just due to the lack of space combined with a baby who has some particularly active moments.


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## MrsMoe (May 17, 2005)

It's the hiccups...


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## sun-shine01 (Aug 9, 2002)

My baby does the same thing and it is very different from the hiccups. Those are very rhythmic and this is just like the op said - very shaky.

I've been feeling this for a while (I'm 36 weeks now).


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## alsoSarah (Apr 29, 2002)

My ds did that, too.... and continued to do it for a while after he was born, too.

I was told that it's a normal thing, having to do with not being neurologically mature yet.

alsoSarah


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## vegetalien (May 28, 2005)

no, definitely not the hiccups, i feel those too but this is quite different. literally a quick shaking, pretty much like a convulsion. but it lasts about a second.

it's reassuing just to hear that some of you have felt the same thing. can i ask how often you feel it?

i have had an ultrasound done...midwife heard a heart arythmia and wanted to get it checked out...turned out to be an imaturity that s/he has since outgrown. everything else also seemed fine.

but that's 2 things now that seem to be an imaturity...i didn't experience any of this kind of thing with my first. i just want this baby to be as healthy as my other was, and now i'm getting nervous









rowan


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## TortelliniMama (Mar 11, 2004)

I don't remember this myself, but I do remember moms on my old birth board mentioning it. Their babies were fine. Their care providers said (if they came up with an explanation) that it was either a neurological development thing that just resolved on its own (IOW, babies just do this in utero, but not all of us feel it) or it's actually something that just wouldn't look as weird, scary, and convulsion-like as it feels when they're on the inside (IOW, they keep doing it after they're born, but you don't notice it, because it doesn't look the way it felt, and it's not a problem).


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## jenny-g (Nov 10, 2005)

I've felt the crazy vibrations. I was like.. what IS THAT?!? It's the weirdest feeling. My U/S showed no problems, and all seems fine, so I"ll bet it's just some.. crazy baby thing. Feels really weird, though. Definitely not hiccups- it's really, really fast.. like an actual vibrating thing!


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## Kiyomi (Apr 11, 2003)

I remember feeling something similar in my pregnancy with DS, now 3.
I was really freaked out at the time, thinking he had epilepsy in utero!
I told my OB about it and she referred to it as the "baby dance", and that it was just fine.
DS was born 8 lb, 8 oz and continues to be fit, healthy and happy.

Hope that helps.


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## etoilech (Mar 25, 2004)

Their nervous system is very immature at this point. I really wouldn't worry about it too, much. My babe also does this every once in a while. As far as testing is concerned there is really no "test" to say conclusively what is going on. I think it's an immature nervous system in combination with lack of space.

Have you ever woken froma nap and then streched and shook at the same time? I have... that's what I think it is.


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## charmcitymama (Jul 6, 2005)

I get this, too, actually.


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## Metasequoia (Jun 7, 2005)

Both of my Dd's did that, I don't think I've noticed it yet with this one.....
What the previous poster said about dreaming, that was like a lightbulb going on, of course! You know when your child is sound asleep & they do those little flutter's? I bet that's what they're doing in utero - makes perfect sense. It IS different than when they have hiccups.


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## HappiLeigh (Mar 30, 2005)

This may not be very helpful, but I am inclined to agree with the PPs who say it has to do with sleeping or waking, because it turns out I do it, DH does it and dear cat does it too. I actually took cat to the vet over it, because I thought he was having convulsions.







: Anyway, since that time (after the vet told me it's totally normal), I've noticed that DH and I have both done it in our sleep/nearly sleep.


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## vegetalien (May 28, 2005)

thanks everyone so much for your responses. i am starting to feel reassured!


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## seeingeyecat (Oct 17, 2005)

My baby did this very often for a few weeks (from around 31 until 35 weeks). There was another thread here about it a little while ago. Other pregnant mommas and my midwife say they experienced the same thing. It's like tremmer that lasts about 2 seconds. I think it's normal. It seems very common!


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## Persephone (Apr 8, 2004)

I've experienced it too. More often earlier in the pregnancy. Most of the time it lasts for a couple of seconds. Once it lasted for much longer than that, and I was very worried. I talked to my midwife about it, and she has said it's most likely nothing to worry about, so I'm trying really hard not to worry. This thread is reassuring.


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## Nature (Mar 12, 2005)

This has happened in all my pregnancies, and there has been nothing wrong. I attribute the "spastic" movements to just immature neurological functions. When I asked my OB she said that those movements happen a lot when baby loses its thumb and turns their head from side to side quickly rooting for it. To us it can feel very jerky and spastic.

I do know they are not the hiccups. Those feel distinctly different.


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## because (Sep 11, 2003)

Yeah, NOT hiccups, I agree.

DD never did this but I remember reading about it and thinking it sounded freaky. #2 did it fairly often for a while but I haven't felt it in a while (I'm 35.5 weeks).

Weird but apparently normal.


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## BakingMama (Oct 18, 2005)

Interesting thread. I have recently noticed these little vibrations the last several days. Could be different than what others are talking about.
It's only when I'm sitting or standing still that I notice them. They are very soft and fast and only last about 5 sec or so. I never thought they were hiccups because hiccups are much more noticeable and are spaced out.
I experience these little vibrations off and on throughout the day, I haven't really counted how many but they are very deep in my pelvis. My dh said maybe they were from the babe pinching a nerve? But haven't heard anyone on here say it could be that. I'm going to ask my MW this week.


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## LolaEight (May 31, 2004)

I had this with both of mine. It was like a little vibration, and lasted for a couple of seconds.

When they came out, I saw what it was. When they would straighted out their leg, it would shake, vibrate, for a couple of seconds. It lasted for a couple of months, then went away.

I asked my ped about it, and he said he had seen it before, and not to worry. People would see it when they stretched, and would say, "what are they doing!?" It was just "their" thing!

It will be interesting to see if this is what your little baby is doing!!! Forgive me. I didn't read the other posts, so sorry if this is repeating what someone else has already said!!!!


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## esposito1979 (Aug 26, 2016)

vegetalien said:


> for a while now i've noticed that every once and a while the baby gets the shakes or something. it's feels exactly like as if the baby were vibrating almost and only ever lasts a few seconds. my midwife said she had one other client that mentioned the same thing and got a bunch of tests done and nothing came of it.
> i keep reassuring myself that it's probably nothing, but just now while i was sitting here i felt the biggest and strongest one ever...which compelled me to write about it. lately it has been happening almost daily, before that not so often...although it could be that i'm just feeling it more now that the baby is bigger. i'm 32 and a half weeks.
> 
> could this be a neurological problem? i mean, if my baby did this outside the womb, i would freak. anyone else ever had experience with this?
> ...


Hello. I know I'm a little late to be joining in but just wondered if anyone had an update after the birth? Mine little boy does exactly the same thing and it got me wondering. Hope everything turned out fine. Thank you. Sara.


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