Nevada ranks 37th among the 50 states for adequate prenatal care, according to America’s Health Rankings 2020 Women and Children’s Report. Technology and persistence may be the best medicine to alter that statistic and prevent stillbirths in our state.
Healthy Birth Day, a non-profit dedicated to educating expectant parents about the importance of tracking fetal movement, has launched the “Count the Kicks” campaign in Nevada, with the help of funding from Health Plan of Nevada. Count the Kicks, an evidence-based stillbirth prevention public health campaign, was created by Healthy Birth Day to build awareness and provide a simple daily method for tracking fetal movement in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Funded through a grant and sponsorship totaling $28,000 from Health Plan of Nevada, the national Count the Kicks initiative provides educational materials to expectant parents, health care providers, birthing hospitals, social services agencies, childbirth educators and others in Nevada, to help empower them to have the kick counting conversation. Expectant parents also have access to the Count the Kicks app, which is available for free in iOS and Google Play app stores, providing expectant parents a simple, non-invasive way to monitor their baby’s well-being every day. The app is available in 12 languages, including English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole, and its features include the ability to rate the strength of a baby’s movements, kick-counting history, daily reminders and the ability to count for single babies and twins.
“We are thankful that UnitedHealthcare has funded this important campaign in Nevada because the more awareness there is for counting kicks, the better chance we have of reducing stillbirths,” said Julia Tayler, Nevada Ambassador, Healthy Birth Day. “Every baby is different, which is why it’s important for expectant parents to get to know what’s normal for their baby. If there is a change in this during the third trimester, this could be a sign of potential problems and an indication that the expectant mom should call her healthcare provider.”
Las Vegas mom, Mariana Falvey, used the Count the Kicks method to track her baby’s activity while in her final trimester and it may have saved her child’s life. “I agreed to go and get a fetal heart monitor check after really looking at the app and seeing the time increase for tracking his movements. It had changed from constant 10-15 minute intervals to almost an hour between movements as the week progressed. Within the hour, I was scheduled and prepped for an emergency Cesarean. If I had waited all weekend until my regular appointment, I truly don’t know if the outcome would have been the same or worse. I cannot express how incredible this app is and continues to be.”
ABOUT HEALTH PLAN OF NEVADA
Health Plan of Nevada is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In Nevada, Health Plan of Nevada offers health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicaid beneficiaries. Health Plan of Nevada is part of UnitedHealthcare, one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit Health Plan of Nevada at www.HealthPlanofNevada.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT COUNT THE KICKS
Healthy Birth Day, Inc. is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that created the Count the Kicks public health campaign. The organization has a growing network of supportive doctors, nurses, hospitals and clinics that give Count the Kicks materials to their patients in 14 states, including Nevada. Count the Kicks has been featured on Good Morning America, Inside Edition and in O Magazine. Count the Kicks has more than 80 baby save stories from moms around the country (including Nevada) who have written in to share how they used Count the Kicks to save their baby’s life. The free Count the Kicks app has been downloaded more than 160,000 times in all 50 states and more than 140 countries. Learn more about their mission to save 7,500 babies every year and make kick counting a common practice in the third trimester of pregnancy at CountTheKicks.org.
