[Counting fetal movements in ambulatory prenatal care]

96 healthy late pregnant women with singleton pregnancies counted the fetal movements beginning with the 34th week of pregnancy. The start for this daily counting was in the morning at 9 o'clock a.m. The method used is "count till ten" according to the so-called "Cardiff-system". An other group of 76 healthy late pregnant women started the counting in the evening at 5 o'clock p.m. The time necessary to collect 10 fetal movements is in the evening hours about 2-3 hours shorter than in the morning. The modified Cardiff-system with counting in the evening with start at 5 o'clock p.m. is recommended.