Count the Kicks expands to North Carolina with NCDHHS partnership

North Carolina’s health department is teaming up with Count the Kicks to teach expectant parents how to track fetal movement in the third trimester. The effort targets preventable stillbirths, a problem that affects hundreds of North Carolina families each year.

Why it matters: - The partnership is aimed at reducing stillbirths in North Carolina through earlier recognition of changes in a baby’s movement. - Research cited in the announcement says at least 25% of stillbirths may be preventable. - North Carolina sees 705 stillbirths each year, or about one in every 173 births. - The program’s goal is to save about 176 babies in North Carolina annually.

What happened: - The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with Count the Kicks, an evidence-based stillbirth prevention program. - The announcement was made Oct. 20, 2026, in Raleigh. - The partnership is designed to educate expectant parents about paying attention to fetal movement in the third trimester. - NCDHHS is joining communities that are using Count the Kicks to lower stillbirth rates.

The details: - Count the Kicks offers a free mobile app, a web-based counting platform and a paper chart for tracking fetal movement. - The app is available in 20-plus languages. - After a few days of tracking, expectant parents can see their baby’s normal time to 10 movements. - A change in that pattern during the third trimester can signal a problem and means the expectant parent should contact a health care provider right away. - Maternal health providers, birthing hospitals, social service agencies, childbirth educators and other North Carolina providers can order free educational materials at CountTheKicks.org. - Those materials are available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists a change in a baby’s movements as one of its 15 urgent maternal warning signs. - Research cited in the release says a change in normal movement is sometimes the first or only sign that a pregnancy problem is developing. - Count the Kicks is a program of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on stillbirth prevention. - The app has been downloaded more than 1.6 million times in all 50 states and more than 160 other countries.

Between the lines: - The push comes as stillbirth disparities persist for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native families. - The release also says some age groups, some geographic areas and multiple pregnancies face higher risk. - Tomeka James Isaac, executive director of Jace’s Journey and a Count the Kicks ambassador, said she advocated for the program in North Carolina so families have information to recognize changes in movement and speak up sooner. - Isaac said she hopes the effort leads to earlier conversations, timely care and more babies coming home safely. - The release points to research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology as evidence that Count the Kicks can help prevent stillbirths. - Researchers involved in that work have called for urgent action on the U.S. stillbirth crisis and for a national study of Count the Kicks.

What’s next: - Health professionals and the public can attend a free webinar on Oct. 27 at 12 p.m. EST to learn about North Carolina’s Count the Kicks tools and resources. - North Carolina providers can begin ordering and distributing the free educational materials now. - Healthy Birth Day, Inc. says it will continue expanding the program to more communities across the country.