Danger signs in pregnancy

What are the danger signs or warning signs in pregnancy?

Most women have uneventful pregnancies, but it is important that pregnant women know that problems or complications can happen at any time. Women should know about the important danger signs during pregnancy, so they know what to look out for and can stay healthy.

A danger sign or warning sign during pregnancy is any sign or symptom that a pregnant woman experiences that could mean she is sick or there is a problem.

What should I do if I have any danger signs during my pregnancy?

If you think that you have a danger sign, seek help from your healthcare worker quickly.

Acting quickly can mean you get treatment quickly if you need it and you and your baby can stay healthy. If you have a serious health problem and wait too long, the problem can get worse and it will be harder to treat and make you well.

What are the important danger signs or warning signs in pregnancy?

Here are some of the important danger signs in pregnancy. Do not ignore these symptoms and see your healthcare worker quickly so they can treat you if needed.

1. Severe headache

• You feel like it's the worst headache you've ever had
• It lasts even after treatment with medication
• It starts suddenly with severe pain e.g. like you have been hit in the back of the head
• It comes with blurred vision or dizziness

2. Changes to your vision/difficulty seeing

• You see flashes of light or bright spots
• You have blind spots or you can't see at all for a short time
• Your vision is blurry, you can't focus, or you're seeing double
• You start to see white lights, flashes or dots in front of your eyes

3. Dizziness/fainting/unconsciousness

• You have dizziness and/or light-headedness that's ongoing, or comes and goes over many days
• You feel unsteady on your feet and need to lie down as you feel like you may collapse

4. Unconsciousness/seizures/fits

• Your body shakes and jerks all over, you may even bite your tongue or lose control of your bladder and wet yourself
• You fall down to the ground or collapse without tripping
• You experience a gap in time of which you have no memory
• Friends or family find you on the floor, looking like you are sleeping, but you are not sleeping and you can't remember what happened

5. Thoughts to harm yourself or your baby

• You may think about hurting/harming yourself
• You feel very sad, hopeless, or not good enough
• You feel that you do not have control over your life
• You feel extremely worried all the time
• You may think about hurting your baby and/or you may have scary thoughts that come when you don't want or that are hard to get rid of

6. Extreme swelling of face, arms or legs

• You have swelling in your hands that makes it hard to bend your fingers or wear rings
• You have swelling in your face that makes it hard to open your eyes all the way or they feel and look puffy
• Your lips and mouth feel swollen or you have a loss of feeling
• The swelling of your legs that is normal in pregnancy gets worse

If your swelling comes on suddenly, or has become more severe, and you have a headache or problems with your vision, you may have pre-eclampsia. However, many women have mild swelling and this is normal.

7. High fever or temperature

• You have a fever and your body feels hot, sweaty and shaky
• Your temperature using a thermometer is 38°C (101°F) or above

If you have a fever, it is important to know the cause of the fever and take treatment that your healthcare worker recommends. There are many causes of fever.

8. Difficulty breathing

• You feel short of breath suddenly or over time, as if you can't breathe deeply enough to get enough air in your lungs.
• You have trouble breathing when you're laying down flat, such as needing to prop your head up with pillows to sleep.
• You have trouble catching your breath (talking and breathing are difficult)

This can be a sign of a blood clot in your lungs or problems with your heart or lungs. Some mild breathlessness in pregnancy can be normal.

9. Chest pain

• You have a feeling of tightness or pressure in the center of your chest
• You have chest pain that travels to your back, neck or arm
• You have a change in your heartbeat, such as a fast heartbeat or a pounding in your chest
• You notice you have an irregular heartbeat or skipped heartbeats

10. Abdominal/belly pain

• You have severe pain, or severe pain on one side of your abdomen or pain that won't go away

Abdominal pain in pregnancy is very common and often nothing to worry about. Sometimes abdominal pain can be caused by stretching ligaments as your womb gets bigger. However, it can also be caused by serious conditions such as:

• Ectopic pregnancy – symptoms typically appear between 4 weeks and 12 weeks of pregnancy.
• Miscarriage – cramping pains and bleeding before 24 weeks of pregnancy.
• Pre-eclampsia – it typically starts after 20 weeks of gestation but can occur at any time during pregnancy or even in the days after the baby is born.
• Premature labor – if you're less than 37 weeks pregnant and you're having regular abdominal cramps or tightening of abdomen.
• Fibroids – these may cause abdominal pain at any point during pregnancy.
• Placental abruption – this is a serious condition when the placenta separates from the lining of your womb (uterus). It is most likely to happen in late pregnancy and means your baby may have to be delivered urgently.

11. Baby's movements slow down or stop

• Your baby moves less than usual or it is later on in pregnancy but you cannot feel your baby move at all.

There is no specific number of movements that is normal, a change in your baby's movement is what is important or what is normal for your baby.

12. Bleeding from the vagina

• At any stage of your pregnancy, bleeding should be considered a warning sign.

You must seek medical advice urgently if you have any of the following:

• You have any bleeding from your vagina that is more than spotting – like a period
• You have heavy bleeding – soaking through one or more pads in an hour
• You pass clots bigger than an egg or you pass tissue
• You have vaginal discharge that smells bad

13. Leaking from the vagina

• Your 'waters' leak or break before labor starts or, once they have broken, the fluid is dirty-looking, greenish or brown.
• If you're near the end of your pregnancy, a discharge could mean your water has broken. But if you suddenly experience a gush of fluids any time before 37 weeks, you probably have an early rupture of membranes and you must contact a healthcare worker immediately.
• You have vaginal discharge that smells bad

14. Limb pain and swelling

• You have swelling, pain or tenderness in your leg – usually your calf and in one leg
• It may or may not hurt when you touch it
• It may hurt when you bend your foot to stand or walk
• The painful area can also be red, swollen and warm to the touch
• You have pain, tenderness or swelling in your arm, usually on just one side of your body

In pregnancy you are at higher risk for blood clots in the deep veins of the legs, called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Hormonal changes make your blood more likely to clot.