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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT01844011

Promoting Fetal Movement Monitoring: Improving Birth Outcomes

The purpose of the study is to find out the best way to help pregnant women keep track of their baby's movements. During pregnancy, feeling your baby's movements is normal. A decrease in movement can indicate potential problems with your baby's well-being. This study will see if daily electronic reminders and kick count charts help women to better track their baby's movements over the last weeks of pregnancy.

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Key information

Conditions

Fetal Kick Counting

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Mercy Medical Center

Baltimore, Maryland, 21202, United States

About this study

Pregnant women coming to the Hoffman and Associates or the Center for Advanced Fetal Care at Mercy Medical Center for their prenatal care and delivery may join this study. You must be able to receive daily text messages on your cell phone or have access to a computer to check daily emails in order to take part in the study. It is expected that 80 pregnant women will take part in this study. The study will end within a month after the delivery of your baby.

There is some evidence in the published literature suggesting that maternal monitoring of fetal movement may improve fetal mortality rates and infant health. Kick counting is a specific strategy to monitor fetal movement. Kick counts are typically performed in a daily 10-minute increment or until a specified number of "kicks" has been counted. In general, keeping track of kick counts begins in the 28th week of pregnancy, or earlier for high-risk pregnancies. Keeping track of kick counts allows the mother to monitor her baby's normal activity pattern and to identify when the baby's movement may decrease.

This study will be conducted to examine whether daily electronic reminders, sent using either cell phone text messages or computer-based emails, delivered in conjunction with the use of a paper-based kick count chart, increases the likelihood of completion of the paper-based kick count chart as well as knowledge regarding use of kick count methods compared to the paper-based kick count chart alone.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • 24-28 weeks pregnant
  • able to receive daily text messages or emails
  • 18 years of age or older
  • willing to sign informed consent

Exclusion criteria

-unable to sign informed consent

Treatment and study plan

Daily electronic reminders

Other

Women in the intervention arm will be sent either daily text messages on the weekdays on their cell phone or emails on the weekdays reminding them to track kick counts on the chart

Primary outcomes

  1. Completion of Paper Chart

    Time frame: 36 weeks pregnant-1 month status post delivery

    Completion of kick count charts at follow-up prenatal visits

  2. Knowledge of kick counting post delivery

    Time frame: 36 weeks pregnant-1 month status post delivery

    Baseline questionnaire, including knowledge questions regarding monitoring baby's movement and kick count methods can be compared to post-education kick count knowledge questionnaire, week 36 questionnaire and end of study questionnaire

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Mercy Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • First Candle Foundation

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2013
Primary completion
2013
Study completion
2013
First posted
May 1, 2013
Registry last updated
Dec 13, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.