{"id":191004,"date":"2025-12-05T15:42:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/?p=191004"},"modified":"2025-12-05T15:42:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:42:37","slug":"what-are-phantom-kicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/what-are-phantom-kicks\/","title":{"rendered":"What are phantom kicks? Is it normal to feel &#8216;kicking&#8217; when I&#8217;m no longer pregnant?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Is it in your head or are you actually feeling baby kicks after you&rsquo;re no longer pregnant? Known as phantom kicks, these fluttering sensations in the belly can happen after giving birth or experiencing pregnancy loss.<\/p><p>&ldquo;Occurring days, months or even years after pregnancy, phantom kicks are the continued perception of fetal movement,&rdquo; explains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pediatrix.com\/find-care\/doctors\/Jordan-Sarah-1619139342\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Sarah Jordan<\/a>, board-certified OB-GYN and medical director at Pediatrix Medical Group in Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p><p>Here, Jordan and other experts explain what phantom kicks are, what causes them and what to do if you&rsquo;re experiencing them.&nbsp;<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-custom-dynamic-list key-takeaways-block\"><h3>Key takeaways<\/h3><div class=\"key-takeaways-container\"><ul><li>Phantom kicks are the sensation of fetal movement after pregnancy, often caused by nerve memory, postpartum bodily changes or the body misinterpreting normal gastrointestinal activity. They&rsquo;re common, can occur months or years after birth and typically aren&rsquo;t medically concerning.<\/li><li>Anyone postpartum can experience phantom kicks, with many feeling them within the first several years after delivery &mdash; and some even decades later. Because research is limited, the exact cause remains unclear.<\/li><li>While usually harmless physically, phantom kicks can be emotionally triggering, especially after pregnancy loss. If they increase in frequency or cause distress, talking with an OB-GYN or mental health professional is recommended.<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-phantom-kicks\" data-toc-id=\"de9e81c2\">What are phantom kicks?<\/h2><p>Phantom kicks are the perceived feeling of a baby&rsquo;s movement, or a baby&rsquo;s kicks, in your belly when you&rsquo;re no longer pregnant, explains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugwatch.com\/contributors\/christine-greves-m-d\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Christine Greves<\/a>, a board-certified OB-GYN in Orlando.<\/p><p>&ldquo;There are limited studies on phantom kicks, so not a ton is known,&rdquo; Greves says. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s important to keep in mind, the mind is incredibly powerful, and certain nerve receptors and nerves have memory, similar to [the sensation of] phantom limbs.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p><p>Studies have found that between 80-100% of amputees have experienced <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/17684875\/#:~:text=Phantom%20limb%20syndrome%20is%20a,course%2C%20often%20resistant%20to%20treatment.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">phantom limb syndrome<\/a>, a condition in which people experience sensations in a limb that doesn&rsquo;t exist.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-phantom-kicks-caused-by\" data-toc-id=\"ad0ed603\">What are phantom kicks caused by?<\/h2><p>There are several theories as to what causes phantom kicks, notes Jordan.<\/p><p>&ldquo;One theory is that, as the uterus grows during pregnancy, nerve receptors grow as well, leading to the sensation of phantom kicks after delivery,&rdquo; she explains. &ldquo;It also may be a part of the normal postpartum recovery process, as the body remodels muscle and connective tissue after delivery.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&ldquo;One theory is that, as the uterus grows during pregnancy, nerve receptors grow as well, leading to the sensation of phantom kicks after delivery.&rdquo;<\/p><cite>&mdash; Dr. Sarah Jordan, OB-GYN and medical director<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure><p>&ldquo;It also could be secondary to the body misinterpreting other normal bodily functions,&rdquo; notes Jordan, &ldquo;such as gastrointestinal motility [digestion, essentially] and gas movement.&rdquo;<\/p><p>All of this being said, both Jordan and Greves note that &ldquo;no one knows for sure&rdquo; what causes phantom kicks.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-experiences-phantom-kicks\" data-toc-id=\"85574c8d\">Who experiences phantom kicks?<\/h2><p>According to Jordan, anyone can experience phantom kicks after pregnancy, but it&rsquo;s most common in recently postpartum women.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;Most folks will stop feeling phantom kicks in the months after birth, but some can experience them for several years,&rdquo; she explains. &ldquo;On average, they are experienced within the first seven years after delivery.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&ldquo;Most folks will stop feeling phantom kicks in the months after birth, but some can experience them for several years.&rdquo;<\/p><cite>&mdash; Dr. Sarah Jordan<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure><p>One <a href=\"https:\/\/osf.io\/preprints\/psyarxiv\/6qad9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2019 study<\/a> found that, out of 197 women surveyed, 40% said they felt phantom kicks after giving birth the first time and, on average, up to 6.8 years postpartum. One woman in the study reported feeling phantom kicks up to <em>28 years<\/em> after giving birth.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-should-i-worry-about-phantom-kicks\" data-toc-id=\"c123c85e\">When should I worry about phantom kicks?<\/h2><p>Physically, phantom kicks generally aren&rsquo;t anything to be concerned about, says Jordan. &ldquo;However,&rdquo; she notes, &ldquo;if they are becoming more frequent, it is a good idea to make an appointment with your OB-GYN for an evaluation.&rdquo;<\/p><p>Concerns about phantom kicks more so surround mental health &mdash; particularly for people who have experienced pregnancy or child loss.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;If someone has experienced a loss after previously feeling their baby move, feeling movement can stir up feelings and make the grieving process difficult,&rdquo; says Greves.<\/p><p>&ldquo;Feeling false pregnancy symptoms, including phantom kicks, isn&rsquo;t uncommon after loss, due to emotional trauma&rdquo; adds Jordan. &ldquo;It is imperative to talk about your symptoms &mdash; and your emotions &mdash; with your doctor and support system. Therapy is a key component of treatment after a pregnancy loss and always recommended.&rdquo;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-bottom-line-on-phantom-kicks\" data-toc-id=\"e78a81d1\">The bottom line on phantom kicks<\/h2><p>Experiencing fluttery sensations known as phantom kicks after birth isn&rsquo;t uncommon and typically not cause for concern. However, if you experienced a loss, talking through it is important, as the phantom kicks could be linked to trauma and unprocessed emotions.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t know where to start, reach out to your OB-GYN,&rdquo; says Greves. &ldquo;Whether it&rsquo;s counseling or other ways, we can help point you in the correct direction.&rdquo;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Think you feel kicks in your belly even though you\u2019re no longer pregnant? It&#8217;s likely phantom kicks. Understand why they occur and what to do about them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1273,"featured_media":191006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"enable_toc":true,"care_reviewed_by":0,"care_post_updated_flag":false,"care_updated_date":"2025-12-05T15:42:27.557Z","last_update":"2025-12-05","view_count":7293,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1108],"member-type":[3],"vertical":[6,17],"platform":[2],"class_list":["post-191004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pregnancy-and-postpartum","member-type-seeker","vertical-children","vertical-child-care-advice","platform-resources"],"acf":[],"created":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1273"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191004"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223869,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191004\/revisions\/223869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191004"},{"taxonomy":"member-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/member-type?post=191004"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=191004"},{"taxonomy":"platform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/platform?post=191004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}