The answer to this question depends on how far along you are. If you are less than 20 weeks or so, you probably are just too early to feel any fetal movement. First time moms don’t typically report feeling movements for the first time (quickening) until 20 weeks or so; women who have had children before often feel the first movements two or three weeks sooner. Even after these gestational ages, it is still common to go a few days without feeling fetal movement until about 24 weeks or so.
After 24 weeks, you should expect to feel some movement everyday but how much movement varies from pregnancy to pregnancy. You or your partner may not be able to feel the baby with a hand on the outside of your belly simply because you have an anterior placenta or the baby is turned and kicking in the other direction.
If you are concerned that you have not felt enough feeling movement, and you are after 24 weeks, then lie down on your left side and concentrate on feeling for movements. You should feel six movements of some sort in the first hour; if you have felt some movements but not six, then go another hour. You should feel a total of 10 movements or more in a two hour period and sometimes it takes a while because babies have periods of time when they are asleep. If it’s been two hours and you have not felt 10 movements then you may need to go to the doctor or the hospital for evaluation.
You might have read on the Internet that you should do “Kick counts” every day. Most pregnant women do not need to do this in the practice may actually be harmful overall to the pregnancy. Only do daily kick counts if your doctor has told you to for a specific reason.