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Signs during pregnancy and after birth that should not wait

Most symptoms during and after a pregnancy are part of it. A few are not: report those straight away, even if you think you are overreacting.

Pre-eclampsia

With pre-eclampsia your blood pressure is too high and organs such as your liver and kidneys can be affected. It develops from 20 weeks of pregnancy. Symptoms that fit it: headache, feeling sick or vomiting, blurred vision or seeing stars and flashing lights, pain in your upper belly or back, a tight feeling around your belly, a swollen face and ankles, tingling fingers, or feeling flu-like. If you have one or more of these, call your midwife or gynaecologist.

Also after the birth

You can still develop pre-eclampsia in the days after giving birth; the NHS mentions the first 4 weeks after birth. Dutch GP guidance lists these symptoms after birth for which you call straight away: a fever or feeling ill or flu-like, heavy vaginal bleeding, discharge that smells with a fever or belly pain, a headache that keeps getting worse and does not respond to painkillers, seeing less well, pain in your upper belly, feeling sick or vomiting, a swollen face or swollen hands and feet, and a swollen, red and painful leg. Also if you feel very frightened and confused, or very low.

A swollen, red and painful leg

That can be a deep vein thrombosis: a blood clot in your leg. The hormones during and after pregnancy make it more likely. Call your GP or the out-of-hours GP service straight away if your calf is swollen, shiny, painful and warmer than usual, or if you breathe faster and breathing hurts.

Who to call

In the Netherlands, you call your midwife or gynaecologist for these symptoms in the first 10 days after birth. After that, your GP or the out-of-hours GP service.

What Mensis does here

In the after-birth mode this list is in the app, with who to call. Mensis does not look at what you log for this and does not diagnose anything: it is information, not a measurement.

Sources

General information, not medical advice. In doubt, or things are not going well? Call your doctor.

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