Pregnancy warning signs: when to go to hospital now
Quick answer
Pregnancy warning signs that need a hospital now include any bleeding from the vagina, a severe headache or blurred vision, sudden swelling of the face or hands, severe belly pain, a fever of 38 °C or more, fluid leaking before 37 weeks and the baby moving less than usual. Call 999 for heavy bleeding, a fit, chest pain, trouble breathing or collapse.
By the ParentMind team13 min readListen to this article
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At a glance
- Who it is for
- Pregnant women and their families, from the first weeks to the birth and the weeks after it
- Key takeaways
- Some signs mean calling 999 now: heavy bleeding, a fit, trouble breathing, chest pain or collapse.
- Others mean going to hospital now, day or night: any bleeding or spotting, a fever, a severe headache or blurred vision, severe belly pain, fluid leaking before 37 weeks, or the baby moving less than usual from about 24 weeks.
- The danger does not end at the birth: heavy bleeding, fits and fever in the weeks after it are warning signs too.
- Choose the hospital, the transport at night and two or three blood donors before you need them, and keep them on a birth plan card.
Pregnancy warning signs are the few changes in pregnancy, labour or the weeks after the birth that cannot wait for the next checkup. Most pregnancies go well, and most aches and worries are not emergencies. But a handful of signs need a hospital now, sometimes within the hour, and knowing them in advance is one of the most useful things a family can do.
This page gives the whole list in one place, grouped by what to do: call 999, go to hospital now, or see a doctor today. It covers pregnancy, labour and the weeks after the birth, what to do on the way, and how to get your family ready before you ever need it. Save it, and share it with whoever will be with you.
Pregnancy warning signs: the full list, by what to do
The pregnancy warning signs below are grouped by the action, because in the moment the action matters more than the name of the problem. Some can come from conditions that get worse within hours, such as heavy bleeding or a dangerous rise in blood pressure, so a doctor needs to check her quickly.
Call 999 and go to hospital now
Call 999 and go to hospital now
- Heavy bleeding from the vagina, or any bleeding with pain, dizziness or fainting.
- A fit (convulsion).
- Trouble breathing, chest pain, collapse.
Go to hospital now, day or night
Go to hospital now
- Any other bleeding or spotting.
- Severe headache, blurred vision or flashing lights, or sudden swelling of the face or hands.
- Severe belly pain, or pain that doesn't go away; in early pregnancy, pain on one side, or pain at the tip of the shoulder. Call 999 if she faints.
- Fever of 38 °C or more, or shivering.
- Fluid leaking from the vagina before 37 weeks, or green, brown or bad-smelling fluid at any time.
- The baby moving less than usual, or not at all, from about 24 weeks. Don't wait until tomorrow, and don't try to make the baby move first.
- Regular tightenings or pains, pressure low down, or a backache that comes in waves, before 37 weeks.
- One leg painful, red or swollen. Call 999 if she is also short of breath.
See a doctor today
See a doctor today
- Being sick so much she can't keep fluids down for a day, or passing very little urine.
- Itching on the hands and feet in later pregnancy.
- Burning or pain when passing urine.
Thoughts of harm, or someone hurting her
- Thoughts of harming herself, or of not wanting to live: stay calm and close, call 999 if she is in danger now, otherwise see a doctor the same day.
- Someone at home is hurting her or threatening her: if she is in danger now, call 999.
Feeling low or frightened on most days is worth saying out loud at a checkup too. It is common, it isn't a weakness, and help often works best when it starts early.
Warning signs in labour: when to leave for the hospital
Labour warning signs are about timing as well as what you see. Before 37 weeks, labour is early, and two signs from the list mean going to hospital now. From 37 weeks, when labour starts or the waters break, the plan is simple: go to the hospital where your baby will be born.
- Before 37 weeks: regular tightenings or pains, pressure low down, or a backache that comes in waves. Go to hospital now.
- Before 37 weeks: fluid leaking from the vagina. At any time: green, brown or bad-smelling fluid. Go to hospital now.
- From 37 weeks: pains that come regularly, or the waters breaking. Go to the hospital where your baby will be born; if the trip is long or the traffic bad, leave early rather than late.
- At any stage of labour: heavy bleeding, a fit, trouble breathing or collapse. Call 999 and go to hospital now.
- A labour at home that goes on and on without the baby coming is one of the danger signs families in Bangladesh are taught. Go to the hospital; never wait it out at home.
If the baby is being born at home with a trained birth attendant, every sign on this page still means going to hospital now. Agree on that with the attendant and the family before labour starts, so no one has to argue about it in the moment.
After the birth: warning signs for the mother in the first weeks
The weeks after the birth are when many families relax, yet some of the most dangerous hours for a mother come just after her baby is born. Watch her body closely for the first 6 weeks, and her mind for the whole first year. The family's job is to notice, because a new mother often puts her own pain last.
After the birth: what to do
- Bleeding that soaks a pad in an hour or less, or large clots: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- A fit; severe headache with vision changes; sudden swelling of the face or hands: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Trouble breathing, chest pain: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Fever of 38 °C or more, shivering, bad-smelling discharge, or a tender belly: go to hospital now.
- One leg painful, red or swollen: go to hospital now; call 999 if she is also short of breath.
- C-section wound red, hot, oozing or opening: go to hospital now if it oozes pus, smells bad or opens; see a doctor today if it is only red or hot.
- Breast red, hot and painful, with fever: go to hospital now.
- Thoughts of harming herself or the baby; seeing or hearing things others don't; very confused; not sleeping at all for days: get help now; call 999 if anyone is in danger. Someone stays with her.
- Low, hopeless or anxious on most days for 2 weeks or more: make a plan and see a doctor within days.
The baby has their own danger signs, such as not feeding, a fit, fast breathing or yellow skin in the first day. They are listed with the newborn guides on the babies and newborns page. Keep both lists on the same phone.
What to do when you see a warning sign: the way to hospital
- Go now to the hospital in your birth plan, or the nearest hospital where babies are born: an upazila health complex, a district hospital or a maternity hospital. Don't wait to see if it passes.
- Call 999 at once for a fit, heavy bleeding, chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting. If your own transport is ready, start moving and keep the phone with you.
- On the way, the mother lies or leans on her left side, or sits propped up if that makes breathing easier. Someone stays with her the whole time.
- Take the pregnancy (ANC) card and any reports. Tell the doctor how many weeks pregnant she is, or how many days since the birth, and what you noticed.
- If she is bleeding, phone your blood donors from the car so they can come to the hospital.
- One person takes the money, phone and charger; another stays home with the older children.
What you might say
- On the phone to 999: "My wife is 32 weeks pregnant and she is bleeding heavily. Our address is …"
- To her: "I'm here. Lie on your left side. I'm staying right with you."
- To an elder at home: "Amma, these signs can't wait until morning. We're going now. Please look after the children."
- At the hospital desk: "She is 30 weeks pregnant. Here is her card. The baby has been moving less since this afternoon."
- To a blood donor: "Bhai, we're on our way to the hospital. Please keep your phone on; we may need you."
Save this before you need it: the birth plan card
Families lose the most time deciding where to go, finding a car at night and looking for blood. All three can be settled weeks before. Our free birth plan and emergency card puts your plan and these warning signs on one card you can share on WhatsApp or print for the fridge. Nothing you type is stored or sent.
- The hospital: its name, phone number and the way there.
- Transport at night: a car, a CNG driver or an ambulance number.
- Her blood group, and two or three donors with the same group.
- Money set aside, where someone can reach it at night.
- One folder: her NID, the ANC card, reports and the blood-group report. Save 999 and the hospital number in both your phones.
Doctors always ask how many weeks pregnant she is. Work it out once with the due date calculator and write the due date on the card. Many families make the card by 28 weeks; the birth plan guide walks through each step.
In a Bangladeshi home: elders, night-time and "let's wait and see"
- "I had this too, it's nothing." Elders often say this out of love and their own experience. Thank them, and go anyway: a warning sign is checked by a doctor, not by comparing pregnancies.
- Waiting for the husband to come home, or for permission, costs time. Agree now that whoever is with her takes her to hospital at once and calls him on the way. If he works abroad, one person at home holds the card and the money.
- Going to her parents' home for the birth is a loved custom. Before she moves, find the nearest hospital there, save its number, and tell her parents the warning signs.
- Shyness about bleeding or discharge keeps many women quiet. Agree on a simple word she can say, or a photo of this list she can point to.
- A warning sign is a reason to go to hospital now, whether or not she is fasting. Decisions about fasting in pregnancy are made with her doctor and the family's own scholar.
Many of these elders also believe things about pregnancy that are worth talking through calmly; our guide to pregnancy myths has the words. A husband who knows this list by heart is one of the best protections a mother has; see how to support your pregnant wife.
A 7-day plan to get your family ready
Knowing the pregnancy warning signs helps most when everyone at home knows them and the plan is ready. Do one small step a day this week.
- Day 1: Read this list together as a couple, out loud, once. Ask each other which signs you would have missed.
- Day 2: Choose the hospital. Phone to check it handles births day and night, and save its number in both phones with 999.
- Day 3: Sort out transport at night: a car, a driver you can call, or a CNG number. Note how long the trip takes in traffic.
- Day 4: Find out her blood group, and ask two or three relatives or friends with the same group to be her donors.
- Day 5: Put money aside, and make one folder with her NID, the ANC card and reports, next to the door.
- Day 6: Make the birth plan card and send it to the people who will be with her, including her parents.
- Day 7: Walk through it once: "If it happens at 2 a.m., who calls, who drives, who stays with the children?" Fix whatever felt unclear.
Pregnancy brings a lot of small changes, and it helps to see them over days, not in one worried moment. ParentMind helps you note what happens each day, see patterns and get guidance: how ParentMind works. For any warning sign on this page, don't note it: go.
Questions parents ask
What are the 5 danger signs of pregnancy?
The five danger signs taught in Bangladesh are bleeding from the vagina, a severe headache with blurred vision, a fit, a high fever, and a labour that goes on too long or the waters breaking without labour starting. Families are taught to take the mother to hospital for any of them. The full list above adds more signs, such as the baby moving less and trouble breathing, and says how fast to act on each.
When should I go to the hospital during pregnancy?
Go to hospital now, day or night, for any bleeding or spotting, a fever of 38 °C or more, a severe headache or blurred vision, sudden swelling of the face or hands, severe belly pain, fluid leaking or regular pains before 37 weeks, or the baby moving less than usual from about 24 weeks. Call 999 for heavy bleeding, a fit, chest pain, trouble breathing or collapse.
Is bleeding in early pregnancy an emergency?
Yes, any bleeding in pregnancy means going to hospital now, even a little spotting. Heavy bleeding, or any bleeding with pain, dizziness or fainting, means calling 999 as well. In early pregnancy, pain on one side of the belly or at the tip of the shoulder also means going now, with or without bleeding. Take the checkup card and say how many weeks pregnant you are.
What should I do if my baby is moving less than usual?
From about 24 weeks, if the baby is moving less than usual or not at all, go to hospital now. Don't wait until tomorrow, and don't try to make the baby move first with food, cold water or lying down. Each baby has its own pattern; any change from that pattern is the sign, not a number of kicks.
Can I call 999 for a pregnancy emergency in Bangladesh?
Yes. 999 is Bangladesh's national emergency number, and the call is free. Say that she is pregnant, how many weeks, what you see and where you are. If your own transport is ready, don't sit and wait: start for the hospital and keep the phone with you.
What are the danger signs after delivery?
After the birth, call 999 and go to hospital now for bleeding that soaks a pad in an hour or less or large clots, a fit, a severe headache with vision changes, sudden swelling of the face or hands, trouble breathing or chest pain. Fever, a bad-smelling discharge, a painful swollen leg (999 if she is also short of breath) or a wound that oozes pus or opens mean going to hospital now too.
Is a bad headache in pregnancy dangerous?
A severe headache, or a headache with blurred vision or flashing lights, or with sudden swelling of the face or hands, needs a hospital now, because it can be a sign of a dangerous rise in blood pressure. Any headache that keeps coming back or worries you is worth raising with your doctor, and a blood pressure check is part of every prenatal checkup.
This article is general information, not medical advice. For health worries, talk to a doctor; if someone is in danger, contact your local emergency number.
