Saint Peter’s Healthcare System

01/20/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/20/2026 10:45

Saint Peter’s University Hospital Partners with Count the Kicks as a Champion to Launch Stillbirth Prevention Efforts Across New Jersey

Goal to improve birth outcomes and prevent stillbirths
through the program's proven educational tools and resources


New Brunswick, N.J. - January 20, 2026 - Saint Peter's University Hospital is proud to announce their commitment to become a Count the Kicks Champion. Count the Kicks is an evidence-based stillbirth prevention program that educates expectant parents about the importance of paying attention to their baby's movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. As a Count the Kicks Champion, Saint Peter's will use the program's proven tools and resources to equip expectant parents, healthcare providers, certified nurse-midwives, doulas, and community members with education on the vital practice of tracking fetal movement during the third trimester of pregnancy. The goal of the collaboration is to prevent stillbirths and improve birth outcomes for New Jersey families.

Stats on NJ Stillbirths:

  1. - New Jersey loses 633 babies a year on average to stillbirth.
  2. - In New Jersey, the stillbirth rate is 6.26 per 1,000 live births.
  3. - It is estimated that Count the Kicks can save an average of 202 babies per year in New Jersey.
This is important because research shows the health of a mother and the health of her baby are intrinsically connected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists a change in a baby's movements as one of its 15 urgent maternal warning signs. Research shows nearly 30 percent of stillbirths can be prevented when expectant parents are educated on how to monitor their baby's movements daily starting at 28 weeks. A change in a baby's normal movement pattern is sometimes the first or only indication there may be an issue developing during the pregnancy.

Stillbirth is commonly defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or greater gestation during pregnancy. It is a national public health crisis that impacts more than 20,000 families in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC.

"As a leader in maternal health services, Saint Peter's has often instituted protocols that have become the model of care for other hospitals in New Jersey and across the nation. Our partnership with Count the Kicks is further evidence of our longstanding commitment to expectant parents when it comes to doing everything possible to improve maternal outcomes and welcome healthy babies into the arms of their loving parents," said Pam Harmon, DNP, MSN, RNC-NIC, director, Women and Children's Division, Saint Peter's University Hospital.

The Count the Kicks program has a free mobile app (available in 20+ languages), web-based counting platform and printable paper charts that make it easy for expectant parents to become familiar with their baby's normal movement patterns. After a few days of counting, expectant parents will begin to see a pattern, a normal amount of time it takes their baby to get to 10 movements. If their baby's "normal" changes during the third trimester, this could be a sign of potential problems and is an indication that the expectant parent should call their healthcare provider right away.

Counting the Kicks is Easy to Do

  1. - Monitor your baby's movements with the free Count the Kicks app or web counter or download a paper movement monitoring chart.
  2. - Count your baby's movements every day, preferably at the same time.
  3. - Time how long it takes your baby to get to 10 movements and rate the strength of their movements.
  4. - After a few days, you will begin to see the average length of time it takes to reach 10 movements.
  5. - Call your provider right away if you notice a change in the strength of movements or how long it takes to get to 10 movements.
Research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology[1] shows a more than 30 percent reduction in Iowa's stillbirth rate in the first 10 years of the Count the Kicks program at a time when America's stillbirth rate remained stagnant. The results have led researchers to call for urgent action to address the stillbirth crisis in the U.S. and to study Count the Kicks on a national level. Through this collaboration, Saint Peter's University Hospital is hoping to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes and reduce the number of stillbirths annually. [2]

For both new and experienced parents, Saint Peter's offers parent education classes. Classes are also available for grandparents and children preparing to be a brother or sister of the new baby. Saint Peter's also offers complimentary support groups for new moms and for breastfeeding support. To see a list of classes and support groups, visit saintpetershcs.com/ParentEd.

To learn more about Saint Peter's maternity services, visit saintpetershcs.com/Maternity.

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About Saint Peter's University Hospital
Saint Peter's University Hospital, a member of Saint Peter's Healthcare System, is a 478-bed acute-care teaching hospital sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. Saint Peter's, which received its seventh consecutive designation as a Magnet® hospital for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2025, and its first Magnet with Distinction®, is also a state-designated children's hospital and regional perinatal center, and a regional specialist in diabetes, gastroenterology, head and neck surgery, oncology, orthopedics, and women's services. Saint Peter's has Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care and Level IV Maternal Levels of Care Verification from the Joint Commission. Saint Peter's is the recipient of the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for the adult intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, cardiac progressive care unit and the pediatric intensive care unit. The Children's Hospital at Saint Peter's University Hospital provides families with access to a full range of pediatric specialties, including a nationally recognized Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, pediatric surgery and orthopedic surgery featuring innovative anterior scoliosis correction. The hospital has the state's only hospital-based, midwifery-led birth center - the Mary V. O'Shea Birth Center, accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers. Saint Peter's is a sponsor of residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and internal medicine, and is a major clinical affiliate of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Visit saintpetershcs.com or call 732.745.8600.

About Count the Kicks
Count the Kicks is a program of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of stillbirth. The free Count the Kicks app is available in 20+ languages in the Google Play and iOS app stores. The app has been downloaded more than 600,000 times and counting in all 50 U.S. states, and more than 140 other countries. We have appeared on Good Morning America, The Washington Post, Sunday Night Football, and in O Magazine, and produced a national PSA that has generated more than 300 million viewer impressions. Learn more about our vision to save at least 6,000 babies every year at CountTheKicks.org.

[2] Number based on dividing 1,000 by the 5-year average stillbirth rate. Stillbirth data is from CDC Wonder.
Saint Peter’s Healthcare System published this content on January 20, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 20, 2026 at 16:45 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]