A Waukee Mom says an "app" on her phone, which tracked her unborn baby's movements, likely saved her baby's life.
Emily Eckoff used the "Count the Kicks" app, and noticed her baby's movements slowed. Doctors decided to deliver early. Turn's out, the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck three times. Ruby was born at Mercy Hospital six weeks early, weighing a little over four pounds. She stayed at Mercy's Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit for 20 days, but is healthy and was recently able to go home to her very grateful family.
Dr. Neil Mandsager, is a Maternal Field Medicine Specialist at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines and says beginning at 28 weeks of gestation, mothers should sit down and pay attention to baby's movements for about an hour, and try and detect 10 movements in during that time frame.
Dr. Mandsager says the kicks may vary a little bit from day to day, and can be influenced by factors including what the mother eats and drinks, but he says in general, the mother should be able to determine a normal pattern of movement. He says false alarms are common, but better a false alarm, than no alarm of a potential problem.
Emily Price, of the Count the Kicks non-profit organization says Emily Eckoff was using their free, Count the Kicks app, and her actions potentially saved her baby's life. She says if moms are tracking baby's movements and notice a change, then should seek medical care. The app is free, is in English and Spanish, and sends daily reminders to Mom.