Hiccups

I woke up yesterday morning feeling small rhythmic movements from Baby. At first I thought it was Baby's regular morning kicks but the movements did not seem to stop. Baby's Daddy also woke up and he put his hand on my belly and felt it too. He was quite alarmed when he counted about 50 kicks in a row.

We finally realised that Baby must have been having the hiccups! We had read before that it is not uncommon for babies to be hiccuping in the womb; it was just startling because we had never really felt it before. Anyway, according to the BabyCenter website, it's perfectly normal.

Question
Is it normal for my baby to be hiccupping in the womb?

Expert Answers
Ann Linden, certified nurse-midwife

Yes. Fetal hiccupping is a normal phenomenon that's been felt by many pregnant women and has been observed on many an ultrasound. Your baby may have started hiccupping intermittently beginning in the late first or early second trimester, although you wouldn't have been able to feel the hiccups at that early stage.

Some women notice episodes of hiccups — which feel like a series of little rhythmic movements — a number of times a day, while other women only notice them once in a while.

Hiccupping is common in newborn babies, too, so after you give birth, don't be surprised if your little one hiccups occasionally.