Baby Hiccups or Kicks: Which Do You Count?
If your baby's kicks, rolls and other movements are less than usual, call your maternity unit now, even if you can still feel hiccups. Baby hiccups in the womb feel rhythmic and a little jerky and repeat in one spot for a few minutes, while kicks are irregular and felt around the belly, UT Southwestern Medical Center says. Count the Kicks and Kaiser Permanente say not to count hiccups.
Written by the Bumpi Kicks team at Speed AI Labs LLP. Last updated . General information, not reviewed by a clinician, and not medical advice. How we write and check these pages.
If your baby is moving less, contact your maternity unit now
Call your midwife or maternity unit immediately if your baby is moving less than usual, you cannot feel movement, or the usual pattern changes. Feeling hiccups is not a reason to wait. Do not wait until the next day.
If you cannot reach them, or you are worried about your own health, call your local emergency number.
What the sources say
How hiccups feel
UT Southwestern Medical Center describes fetal hiccups as rhythmic and a little jerky, with a regular rhythm in the same part of the belly, over and over for a few minutes. It says they are normal.
How kicks feel
Kicks, by contrast, are not rhythmic and are felt all around the belly, the same page says. Rolls, swishes and pokes are movements too: Count the Kicks counts kicks, jabs, pokes, rolls and swishes.
Count the Kicks and Kaiser: leave hiccups out
Count the Kicks says not to count hiccups because they are involuntary. Kaiser Permanente says to count every kick, twist or turn but not hiccups.
The Australian guideline: occasional hiccups are normal
The Australian and New Zealand guideline on decreased fetal movements lists occasional short bouts of hiccupping among the movements women normally feel, without saying whether they count towards a number. If your midwife or doctor gave you a method, ask them.
Hiccups are more frequent earlier on
A 1990 study that recorded 45 low-risk pregnancies found hiccups were the main movement of the baby's diaphragm before 26 weeks and grew less frequent later, mostly happening in the baby's active periods. It recorded the babies, not what mothers felt.
Hiccups and the cord
A researcher writing in 2012 suggested that hiccups in the womb might be caused by compression of the umbilical cord. UT Southwestern says that study has several problems, that its author could not find the sheep study it quoted, and that its author has never seen data linking fetal hiccups with poor outcomes. The RCOG's 2026 guideline reports that in case-control studies, feeling hiccups went with a lower risk of stillbirth.
Hiccups and kicks side by side
| Hiccups | Kicks, rolls and other movements | |
|---|---|---|
| Rhythm | Regular, rhythmic jolts (UT Southwestern) | Not rhythmic (UT Southwestern) |
| Where | The same part of the belly, over and over (UT Southwestern) | All around the belly (UT Southwestern) |
| How long | A few minutes at a time (UT Southwestern) | Movements are usually absent during the baby's sleep cycles (RCOG) |
| Counted towards your number | No, say Count the Kicks and Kaiser Permanente; the Australian guideline lists them as normal without saying | Yes: kicks, jabs, pokes, rolls and swishes (Count the Kicks); kicks, twists and turns (Kaiser) |
| When to call | No source we read sets a limit for hiccups; call if you are worried | Now, if movements are less than usual, have stopped or the pattern changes (NHS) |
Common questions
Do hiccups count as kicks?
Count the Kicks and Kaiser Permanente say not to count them, and Count the Kicks says this is because hiccups are involuntary. The Australian guideline lists short bouts of hiccups among normal movements without saying whether they count, so use the method your midwife or doctor gave you.
How do I tell baby hiccups from kicks?
Hiccups have a regular rhythm and repeat in the same spot for a few minutes, UT Southwestern Medical Center says, while kicks are irregular and felt in different places around the belly.
Are daily hiccups in the third trimester a sign of a cord problem?
No source we read says so. UT Southwestern says the idea comes from a 2012 suggestion whose supporting sheep study it could not find, and describes a 2017 study in which about 80% of women in both groups, with and without a stillbirth, remembered feeling hiccups. Slightly more women who had a stillbirth recalled daily hiccups (58% against 44%), but UT Southwestern says so many women report them that they cannot be used as a sign of a problem. The RCOG's 2026 guideline reports that feeling hiccups was linked with a lower risk of stillbirth in case-control studies. Both describe groups of women, not your baby, so if your baby's movements are less than usual, call your maternity unit now.
If I can feel hiccups, is my baby moving enough?
Not necessarily. Hiccups are not counted as movements by Count the Kicks or Kaiser Permanente. If your baby's kicks, rolls or other movements are less than usual, call your maternity unit now, even if you feel hiccups.
When do baby hiccups start?
A 1990 study that recorded 45 low-risk pregnancies found hiccups were the main diaphragm movement before 26 weeks and became less frequent as pregnancy went on. It recorded the babies, not what mothers felt, and no source we read gives a week when women first feel hiccups.
Sources
These are the sources behind the statements on this page. We opened each one and checked it on the date shown.
- UT Southwestern Medical Center, Fetal hiccups won't harm your baby, they're totally normal! (MedBlog), 8 June 2021
UT Southwestern Medical Center says fetal hiccups are normal, feel rhythmic and a little jerky, and recur in the same part of the belly for a few minutes.
Limits: It says kicks, by contrast, are not rhythmic and are felt all around the belly. It attributes the idea that hiccups may be caused by compression of the umbilical cord to one researcher's 2012 article, says that study has several problems and that the author could not find the sheep study it quoted, describes a 2017 study in which about 80% of women with and without a stillbirth remembered hiccups and slightly more women with a stillbirth recalled daily hiccups (58% against 44%), which it says cannot be used as a marker, and says the author has never seen data linking fetal hiccups with poor outcomes. It does not say whether hiccups count towards a kick count. A hospital blog post, not a guideline.
Checked . Read directly from the source.
- Count the Kicks (Healthy Birth Day, Inc.), Frequently asked questions, no date shown on the page
Count the Kicks says to count kicks, jabs, pokes, rolls or swishes until you reach 10 movements, not hiccups because they are involuntary, and to compare the time it takes with your own average.
Limits: A US non-profit that asks every expectant parent to count daily. It says to call your provider right away if the strength of movements or the time to reach 10 changes, and to go to the nearest hospital if you cannot reach your provider. The page says to begin at 28 weeks, or 26 weeks if you are high-risk or pregnant with multiples, and credits ACOG, linking ACOG Committee Opinion 828. That document does not use the words kick counts or give those weeks, in the text we read on 13 October 2026.
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- Kaiser Permanente, Tracking your baby's movement by counting kicks, 6 July 2022
Kaiser Permanente says to count every kick, twist or turn but not hiccups, and to call your care team if activity suddenly drops, even if a home Doppler finds a heartbeat.
Limits: Its method times how long 10 movements take at about the same time each day. Read in a browser.
Checked . Read directly from the source.
- Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand and Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth, Clinical practice guideline for the care of women with decreased fetal movements with a singleton pregnancy from 28 weeks' gestation, version 2.4, March 2023 (sections 4.1 and 5)
The Australian and New Zealand guideline on decreased fetal movements lists occasional short bouts of hiccupping among the movements women normally perceive, and does not say whether hiccups count towards a number.
Limits: Its background section on stillbirth research says perceiving hiccups has consistently been shown to be reassuring, citing case-control studies of late stillbirth. That describes an association across groups of women. The recommendations still say to contact your care provider about any decrease in strength or frequency, or if movements stop, and that a woman's concern overrides any definition based on numbers.
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- Pillai M, James D. Hiccups and breathing in human fetuses. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1990;65(10 Spec No):1072
In 45 low-risk pregnancies recorded through the second and third trimesters, hiccups were the main diaphragm movement before 26 weeks and grew less frequent later on.
Limits: Read from the abstract. The fall was steepest between 24 and 26 weeks, and hiccups, like fetal breathing movements, happened mainly in active periods. A 1990 study of serial recordings in 45 pregnancies: it describes what the recordings showed, not what mothers felt.
Checked . Read directly from the source.
- Whitworth M, Fisher M, Heazell A, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Reduced Fetal Movements, Green-top Guideline No. 57, second edition. BJOG 2026;133(8):e70-e92, first published 27 April 2026 (section 4)
The RCOG's 2026 guideline reports a meta-analysis of case-control studies in which feeling fetal hiccups was associated with a lower risk of stillbirth (aOR 0.42).
Limits: Evidence level 2++. An association across groups of women in case-control studies, not a test for one baby. The same meta-analysis linked feeling stronger or more frequent movements with a lower risk (aOR 0.18).
Checked . Read directly from the source.
- Whitworth M, Fisher M, Heazell A, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Reduced Fetal Movements, Green-top Guideline No. 57, second edition. BJOG 2026;133(8):e70-e92, first published 27 April 2026 (sections 4 and 5)
The RCOG's 2026 guideline says afternoon and evening are a baby's peak times of activity, and that sleep cycles usually last 20 to 40 minutes and rarely exceed 90 minutes in a healthy baby.
Limits: Evidence levels 2- and 2+. It adds that there is some evidence women feel most movements lying down (but not flat on the back), fewer sitting and fewest standing. It cites an average of 31 movements an hour at term (range 16 to 45), which describes a study, not a number to count to.
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- NHS, Your baby's movements, page last reviewed 8 July 2024
The NHS says to call your midwife or maternity unit immediately if your baby moves less than usual, you cannot feel movement, or the usual pattern changes, and not to wait until the next day.
Limits: NHS advice is written for the UK. Advice elsewhere differs, and your own midwife or doctor comes first.
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