Warning Signs

Emergency Information

This is a medical emergency if you experience any of the following symptoms. Do not wait to see if symptoms improve. Call your local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.

For life-threatening emergencies, always call emergency services first, then notify your healthcare provider.

Seek Emergency Care Immediately For:

• Severe abdominal pain or cramping that doesn't go away, especially if accompanied by bleeding
• Vaginal bleeding that is heavy (soaking through a pad in an hour or less) or accompanied by pain or cramping
• Severe headache that doesn't go away with rest or medication, especially if accompanied by vision changes, swelling, or sudden weight gain
• Vision changes: Blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, or temporary loss of vision
• Sudden or severe swelling in your face, hands, or feet, especially if it comes on suddenly or is accompanied by a headache
• Difficulty breathing or chest pain
• Severe vomiting that prevents you from keeping any food or liquid down for more than 12 hours
• Fever over 100.4°F (38°C)
• Decreased fetal movement after 28 weeks of pregnancy (your baby should move several times in a 2-hour period when you're resting)
• Signs of preterm labor: Regular contractions (more than 4 in 1 hour) before 37 weeks, water breaking, or pelvic pressure
• Water breaking: A gush or continuous trickle of fluid from your vagina
• Seizures or convulsions
• Signs of severe depression: Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or inability to care for yourself

Call your healthcare provider the same day for:

• Moderate abdominal pain or cramping
• Light vaginal bleeding or spotting
• Signs of urinary tract infection (pain or burning during urination, frequent urination, or blood in urine)
• Severe itching, especially on your hands and feet
• Severe leg pain or swelling in one leg (could indicate a blood clot)
• Any concerns about your baby's movements

Seek Emergency Care Immediately For:

• Severe bleeding: Soaking through more than one pad per hour for more than 2 hours, or passing large clots (bigger than a golf ball)
• Severe abdominal pain that doesn't improve with pain medication or gets worse
• Signs of infection: Fever over 100.4°F (38°C), severe headache, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, or redness, swelling, and pain at your incision site (if you had a C-section) or perineal area
• Difficulty breathing or chest pain
• Severe headache that doesn't go away with medication, especially if accompanied by vision changes
• Seizures or convulsions
• Signs of a blood clot: Severe pain, swelling, or warmth in one leg (usually the calf), or sudden shortness of breath or chest pain
• Severe mood symptoms: Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, hallucinations, or extreme confusion
• Inability to urinate within 6-8 hours after delivery, or severe pain when urinating

Call your healthcare provider the same day for:

• Heavy bleeding that requires changing pads every 1-2 hours
• Increasing pain or redness at your incision site or perineal area
• Foul-smelling vaginal discharge
• Painful urination or difficulty urinating
• Signs of mastitis (breast infection): red, painful, swollen area on your breast, often accompanied by fever or flu-like symptoms
• Persistent or severe depression, anxiety, or mood swings
• Difficulty bonding with your baby
• Any concerns about your physical or emotional recovery

Seek Emergency Care Immediately For:

• Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher in a baby under 3 months old
• Difficulty breathing: Fast breathing (more than 60 breaths per minute), grunting with each breath, flaring nostrils, or blue tint to lips or skin
• Not breathing or turning blue
• Seizures or convulsions
• Extreme lethargy: Difficulty waking your baby, or your baby seems unusually sleepy or unresponsive
• No movement or very weak movement
• Bulging fontanelle (soft spot on the head) or sunken fontanelle
• Severe vomiting: Projectile vomiting or inability to keep any food down
• Blood in stool or vomit
• Signs of dehydration: No wet diapers for 6+ hours, sunken fontanelle, dry mouth, no tears when crying
• Severe diarrhea: More than 10 watery stools in a day, or blood in the stool
• Rash with fever or rash that looks like bruises or purple spots
• Signs of jaundice: Yellow tint to skin or eyes that appears within the first 24 hours after birth or after 2 weeks of age

Call your pediatrician the same day for:

• Fever under 100.4°F (38°C) in a baby 3 months or older
• Fewer than 6 wet diapers in 24 hours (after the first week)
• No bowel movements for more than 24 hours (if formula-fed) or 3-4 days (if breastfed)
• Refusing to eat for more than one feeding or not eating well for several feedings
• Unusual fussiness or crying that can't be soothed
• Signs of an ear infection (pulling at ears, fever, unusual fussiness)
• Rash that doesn't improve or gets worse
• Eye discharge or redness
• Signs of a cold that last more than 10 days or get worse
• Any concerns about your baby's health or development