fetal movement
1
3.9
- noun
- /ˈfiːtəl ˈmuːvmənt/
- US
:
movimiento fetal
- Fetal movement has been felt by the mother.
Examples
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"She was still kicking when the doctor told me... ...it was something called phantom... ...fetal movement.
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In the eighteenth century, Coke's description "quick with child" (the point at which the child is first able to move, then considered to be the beginning of existence) was equated with "quickening" (the point at which the mother first feels fetal movement).
Academic text (2016) -
I actually like the pre-modern medicine view of this: a woman was 'pregnant' when quickening happened—when fetal movement could be felt, sometime between the 4th and 5th month.
Blog text (7) -
The mother felt her baby's fetal movement for the first time at 16 weeks.
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Many expectant parents find joy in experiencing fetal movement during pregnancy.
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During her check-up, she shared that the fetal movement had become more noticeable in recent days.
Synonyms
1
9.6
The first time a woman feels the baby move inside her
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'fetal' (pertaining to a fetus) plus 'movement' (physical motion) yields 'motion of a fetus', a literal and predictable combination. Although somewhat medical in register, this structure is transparent and readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
The noun fetal movement comes from the image of a tiny baby moving inside the mother's belly. Here fetal means 'unborn baby' and movement are the small kicks and rolls she can feel, so doctors watch these movements to know if the baby is healthy.