There is provided a system and methods for quantitatively assessing fetal well-being based on observing fetal movement activity in an audio/visual data feed. The system includes a method that detects and quantifies fetal movements in an audio/visual data feed by audio/visual-processing motion estimation techniques. The system also includes a method that captures metrics relating to fetal movements sensed by the mother or other independent party, whereby termed “maternal perception”. The system further includes a method that cross validates the fetal movement detected by the system with fetal movement sensed by “maternal perception”. The system further includes a method that generates output to summarize fetal movement activity over a recorded time period. This output may be reviewed by a third party to assist in determining if further intervention is needed.
