When should I begin to feel foetal movement?

The reason that no-one has the same information for you is that there is a range of ‘normal’. Most women feel foetal movement (quickening) at 18 weeks if it is their first baby (i.e. 18 weeks from your last menstrual period — LMP). Some second-time mums feel movement earlier because they know what it feels like. The normal range is 16 to 20 weeks (LMP). Foetal movement can feel like ‘little mice tumbling around in your lower abdomen’ or ‘little flutters that stop just as they started’ or ‘gas bubbles’ or any number of different ways women describe it. Generally, if women think they feel something it is usually foetal movement.

One of the difficulties with the idea of certain times being normal to feel the first movement is that we don't all have 28-day cycles, even though certain pregnancy landmarks, including due dates, are calculated as if we all did.

If an intrauterine pregnancy has been confirmed, lower abdominal pain is quite normal. Sometimes it feels almost like menstrual cramps and sometimes it is on the right or left side and is sharp, especially with position changes. The ligaments that support the uterus are stretching with pregnancy and this causes some discomfort. Of course, if the pain comes and goes like contractions or if it is associated with any loss of fluid or blood or with back pain, see your doctor straight away.

Hope this helps.

Peg