Pregnancy warning signs: get medical care now

Signs that need care right away

• A headache that won’t go away or gets worse over time
• Dizziness or fainting
• Changes in your vision
• A fever of 38 °C (100.4 °F) or higher
• Extreme swelling of your hands or face
• Thoughts about harming yourself or your baby
• Trouble breathing
• Chest pain or a fast-beating heart
• Severe nausea and throwing up
• Severe belly pain that doesn’t go away
• Your baby’s movements stopping or slowing during pregnancy
• Bleeding from the vagina, or fluid leaking, during pregnancy
• Bleeding or discharge from the vagina after pregnancy
• Severe swelling, redness or pain of your leg or arm
• Overwhelming tiredness

This list comes from the CDC Urgent Maternal Warning Signs. It is not complete. If something feels wrong, trust yourself and get help.

Emergency numbers

Call your local emergency number. Some common ones:

If you are not sure of your number, 112 works from mobile phones in many countries. You can also call your hospital’s maternity unit or your midwife.

When you call

• Say that you are pregnant and how many weeks, or that you gave birth recently.
• Describe what you feel and when it started.
• If you can, have someone stay with you.

Save these numbers today

Save them in your phone now, so you don’t have to search when you need them:

• Your local emergency number
• Your hospital’s maternity unit or labour ward
• Your midwife or doctor

The birth day call list helps you keep the people to call in one place.

Questions people ask

Should I call the emergency number or my midwife?

If you have any of the signs on this page, get medical care right away (CDC). If you think it is an emergency, call your emergency number now. If you are not sure how serious it is, call your maternity unit, midwife or doctor straight away.

Do these signs matter after the birth?

Yes. Watch for these signs during pregnancy and in the year after the birth (CDC).

What should I say when I call?

Say that you are pregnant, or that you were pregnant in the last year (CDC). Then say what you feel and when it started.

My baby is moving less than usual. Can I wait until tomorrow?

No. If your baby’s movements slow down or stop, get medical care right away. There is no set number of movements that is normal: a change is what matters (CDC).

What if I’m not sure it’s serious?

Call anyway. If you feel that something just isn’t right, or you aren’t sure if it’s serious, talk to your midwife or doctor (CDC).