Public Awareness Campaign Comes to Nebraska With Goal of Saving Babies

A new partnership has the potential to save hundreds of babies in Nebraska. The Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPQIC) is joining forces with Count the Kicks (countthekicks.org), a public awareness campaign that encourages expectant moms to track their baby’s movements in the third trimester of pregnancy with the goal of delivering a healthy baby and preventing stillbirth. Since the campaign was created in neighboring Iowa in 2008, the state’s stillbirth rate has decreased by 26 percent.

Scientific studies indicate kick counting, a daily record of a baby’s movements (kicks, rolls, punches, jabs) during the third trimester, is an easy, free and reliable way to monitor a baby’s well-being in addition to regular prenatal visits. Healthy Birth Day, the non-profit organization that created Count the Kicks, hears from parents across the country who say their baby was saved because they knew to monitor their baby’s movement and alert their provider when the movement pattern changed.

NPQIC plans to support this campaign by dissemination of the initiative throughout the state of Nebraska. As of Thursday, September 1, doctors’ offices, hospitals and clinics in Nebraska now have access to free Count the Kicks materials by visiting the website countthekicks.org. Maternal healthcare providers are encouraged to learn more about Count the Kicks and share the life-saving message with their patients.