Mrs Wrincs’ body is going to go through a lot throughout this pregnancy. We keep hearing that “it’s all normal” and we shouldn’t worry. But surely there are things that are not just healthy pregnancy side-effects. We want to know which pregnancy warning signs shouldn’t be brushed off.
I Am Not An Expert – This Is Not Advice
Disclaimer: I’m not an expert and don’t know what I’m doing. Even official advice can vary in different parts of the world. This is not an “Ultimate Guide To Everything You Should Know About Pregnancy Warning Signs”. This is just me and my wife picking the next logical thing to figure out, researching it as best we can and writing it here to organise our thoughts. If it’s helpful to anyone, great. You should do your own research, speak to professionals (when possible) and don’t be offended if we didn’t come to the same conclusions you did. Please let me know if you have advice or disagree. Try not to call me names if I’ve said something stupid. But, if it entertains you, I can take it, so make it good.
We’re (my wife and me) doing this research together and I’m just the one who’s posting it.
The Warning Signs We Shouldn’t Ignore In Pregnancy
Excessive Nausea and Vomiting
Some nausea and vomiting are normal in pregnancy. But it’s when you can’t keep fluids or food down that you need to speak to your doctor or midwife. If you’re worried about your nutritional intake for the baby, you may need to go to the hospital for treatment.
You can read my previous post, What You Need To Know About Morning Sickness, here.
Vaginal Bleeding
A lot of pregnant women experience some bleeding or spotting. Despite this, it seems like more often than not the pregnancy will progress totally normally.
The NHS weren’t as clear as I’d like. So, I’ve tried to look for reputable sources and keep this summary simple. Any sign of bleeding is stressful and we want a simple way to know what to do.
If your bleeding in early pregnancy is very minimal and you otherwise are not having any symptoms, you may wish to wait until your next appointment to talk to your doctor. But if you experience spotting along with severe cramping, fever, unusual or foul-smelling vaginal discharge, or pain, you should tell your doctor right away.
Persistent Abdominal Pain
Many women feel pelvic pain through pregnancy. This is often due to the growing womb stretching the surrounding muscles and ligaments. This is usually nothing to worry about.
But, if you feel persistent abdominal pain, especially on your right side, you may need to speak to a medical professional. If the pain is accompanied by other symptoms like bleeding, lower back pain, cramping, blurred vision, severe headaches, or swollen hands, feet or face, you should contact your midwife or GP immediately.
Severe Headache
Headaches during pregnancy can be due to stress, fatigue, hormonal changes or not drinking enough fluids. These headaches will not harm your baby but can be unpleasant.
A headache can sometimes be a symptom of pre-eclampsia, which can lead to serious complications if it’s not monitored and treated. Pre-eclampsia usually starts after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
You should contact your midwife or doctor or call 111 (in the UK) if your headache becomes severe or is combined with:
- problems with vision, such as blurring or seeing flashing lights
- pain just below your ribs
- vomiting
- a sudden increase in swelling of your face, hands, feet or ankles
Fainting or Dizziness
Feeling faint can be a natural result of additional progesterone in your blood vessels. This is normal. However, you should inform your doctor or midwife if you have persistent dizziness, you actually do faint or is combined with:
- blurred vision
- vaginal bleeding
- headaches
- pain in your abdomen
Unusual Weight Gain and Swelling or Puffiness
People gain weight during pregnancy. I’ve gained weight and I’m not carrying the baby. But, some weight gain can be a sign of pre-eclampsia. You should contact your doctor or midwife if:
- you don’t feel your weight gain is in line with your level of eating
- it’s combined with a swelling of the face and hands (oedema)
Some swelling is normal but should still be monitored.
More Frequent Urination and Burning Sensation While You Pee
This could be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI). You may also feel tired, have pain in your lower tummy, or blood-tinged urine, and a fever.
Your doctor can treat the bacterial infection to avoid complications.
Simply needing to pee more often is normal in pregnancy.
Severe Pain Under The Ribs
Keep an eye out for intense pain above the stomach, under the rib cage. This may be a sign of high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia. Especially if you also experience blurred vision, severe headaches, or nausea.
So, if you do notice these symptoms, contact the hospital or your midwife right away, or if in doubt call an ambulance.
Itching All Over
Having itchy skin during pregnancy can also be normal. But if you have an extreme itchy feeling and no rash, contact your midwife or GP immediately. This could be a condition commonly known as cholestasis of pregnancy. Which is a liver condition that can occur in late pregnancy.
Premature Uterine Contractions
This could be Braxton Hicks which are normal and often mistaken for labour pains. However, if it’s sooner than 37 weeks, they don’t stop when you move or change positions and become regular and painful, you could be going into labour. Call the hospital or your midwife straight away.
Fluid From Your Vagina
That’s pee, right? Yes, but that’s not what I mean.
Your ‘waters breaking’ can come as a trickle, steady leaking, or a gush of fluid from your vagina. And it can happen before your pregnancy is full term.
Call your doctor or midwife right away if you notice this. Even if it’s before 37 weeks.
Feeling Your Baby Move Less Often
You may feel your baby fluttering, kicking, or turning somewhere starting between 16 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. The frequency and severity of these movements can increase until around 32 weeks.
Once you reach the third trimester, you can track your baby’s movements. At about the same time each day, lie down and keep track of how long it takes to feel the kicks, rolls, or flutters. You can keep track of these movements in a notebook or on your phone. If you think your baby’s movements have slowed down or stopped, or you’ve noticed a clear change in the pattern of movements, then call your midwife or doctor immediately.
Signs of Ectopic Pregnancy
In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilised egg implants outside of the uterus, usually attaching itself to the fallopian tube. The embryo cannot grow in these conditions so the pregnancy cannot progress. If you notice light vaginal bleeding combined with abdominal or pelvic pain, extreme light-headedness, or shoulder pain early in your pregnancy, contact your midwife or doctor immediately.
Fever of 38°C or Higher
You may want to track your temperature throughout pregnancy. Particularly if you have a fever of over 38°C (or 100.4°F), there could be some risks.
Group B streptococcus causes no problems or symptoms in most pregnancies but, in a small number, group B strep infects the baby. This can usually happen just before or during labour, leading to serious illness. A fever is one of the signs of Group B strep.
Thoughts About Harming Yourself or Your Baby
You may have thoughts that are scary or upsetting. If you think about harming yourself or your baby, it is not your fault. Your hormones are constantly changing and these thoughts are more common than you think. Don’t struggle quietly.
Support is available. If you need someone to talk to now contact your maternity unit or find out where to get urgent help for mental health.
Leg or Calf Pain, or Swelling on One Side / Severe Headache
Pregnancy does mean a greater chance of developing a blood clot. A blood clot in the calf may lead to pain or swelling and can result in a blood clot that travels to the lung, which could be fatal. A blood clot in the brain may cause headaches.
If you experience calf pain, swelling on one side or severe headaches, contact your midwife or doctor.
How Mrs Wrincs Feels
Mrs Wrincs is a bit of a worrier. It’s hard to make sure you’re aware of all the danger signs without giving yourself a lot to stress about. But, sometimes ignorance can cause even more concern.
We were tracking Mrs Wrincs’ temperature while we were trying and have continued to do so. It’s not a major inconvenience and gives us something to keep an eye on. And it’s comforting while it’s in a “normal” range.
This isn’t her favourite topic for our research and she is letting me take the lead on it. We’ll regularly talk about how she’s feeling, any changes and anything that’s a worry. My wife is a little tense directly talking about this but overall, glad we’re aware of what to watch out for.
Everyone’s Different
Just to reiterate: This is not intended to be a guide. Just a log and breakdown of the information we’ve found and how we’ve interpreted it. I’m not an expert (very far from it); I’m just doing my best for our new family. If it’s useful to anyone, that’s great. This is not the “right answer”. This is just how an idiot and his wife approached a complicated topic.
Next Pregnancy Post: Our Pregnancy To-Do List
Previous Pregnancy Post: How to Get a Midwife
First Pregnancy Post: I’m Pregnant. Now What?