Get emergency help for heavy bleeding, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, a seizure, a severe headache with vision changes, or thoughts of harming yourself or the baby. Seek same-day advice for fever, a wound that is getting worse, calf pain or swelling, pain passing urine, or bleeding that becomes heavier again. If something feels very wrong, get help even when it is not on any list. This page exists so you can act quickly, and it is not a substitute for being seen.

Do not wait for a routine appointment, an app, or an online reply in an emergency.

Why the weeks after birth are their own risk period

Serious complications can appear days or weeks after the birth, not only during it. CDC built its urgent maternal warning signs list around exactly this gap, because symptoms after discharge are often explained away as tiredness.

Two things make it harder. New parents are exhausted, so feeling terrible seems expected. And attention has moved to the baby, including your own.

Say how many weeks ago you gave birth whenever you seek care, including at an emergency department or a pharmacy. It changes what a clinician considers first.

Get emergency help now for these

Contact local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department for:

• Bleeding that soaks a maternity pad in an hour or less, or clots the size of an egg or larger.
• Chest pain, trouble breathing, or a racing heart.
• Fainting, a seizure, confusion, or difficulty staying awake.
• A severe headache that will not ease, especially with vision changes.
• Severe pain in one leg, or a leg that is swollen, red or warm.
• Severe tummy pain.
• Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or feeling unable to stay safe.

Get same-day advice for these

Contact your midwife, maternity unit, doctor or postnatal service for:

• Fever, shivering, or feeling generally unwell.
• A wound, stitches or caesarean scar that is more painful, red, swollen, or leaking.
• Bleeding that becomes heavier again, or that smells offensive.
• Pain or burning when passing urine, or being unable to pass urine.
• A breast that is red, hot and painful, especially with a fever.
• Calf tenderness without other explanation.
• New leaking of stool or wind, or no warning before you need the toilet.
• Low mood, hopelessness or anxiety that is not lifting.

Some of these can be redirected to emergency care once a clinician hears the detail. Follow the advice you are given.

Infection after birth

Infection can start in the womb (uterus), a wound, the bladder or a breast. The shared signs are fever, feeling unwell, and pain that is increasing rather than settling.

WHO's postnatal guidance treats fever after birth as a reason for assessment. Read wound healing after birth for what a healing wound looks like compared with one that is not.

Blood clots

Pregnancy and the weeks after it raise the chance of a clot in a leg vein or a lung. That is why leg pain, leg swelling, chest pain and breathlessness are urgent after birth even when they would not be at other times.

Do not walk it off and do not wait until morning.

High blood pressure after birth

Raised blood pressure can appear or worsen after the birth, sometimes days later. A severe headache, vision changes, upper tummy pain, sudden swelling, or feeling very unwell all need prompt assessment.

A home reading that looks fine does not cancel severe symptoms. NICE's postnatal guidance expects blood pressure to be reviewed after birth for anyone who had raised readings in pregnancy.

Mental health emergencies

Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby, hearing or seeing things others do not, or feeling confused, agitated or unable to sleep at all can be a mental health emergency after birth. This needs care today, not at the next appointment.

Femio's global Need help now page can help you find the next safe step. If you may act now, contact local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department, and stay with someone you trust while help is arranged.

Your mood after birth covers the wider picture, including the difference between the common early weeks and something that needs treatment.

What to say when you call

Say that you gave birth, and when. Then say the symptom, when it started, whether it is getting worse, and anything that goes with it, such as fever, bleeding, pain or breathlessness.

Mention how you gave birth and anything that happened during it. Ask directly to be seen if you are worried and are being offered a wait.

When to see a doctor

Seek urgent care for any of the emergency signs above. Seek same-day advice for fever, a worsening wound, increasing pain, urinary symptoms, a hot painful breast, or mood that frightens you. Contact your postnatal team about anything that is not settling, even weeks later.

Being wrong about a symptom costs one appointment. Waiting on a serious one costs much more. See the first six weeks after birth for the ordinary version of recovery.

Seek care now: Contact local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department for heavy bleeding, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, a seizure, severe headache with vision changes, severe one-sided leg pain or swelling, or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. Femio cannot assess an emergency.

Frequently asked questions

How late after birth can a serious problem appear?

Weeks. Bleeding, infection, clots and blood-pressure problems can all begin after you are home, which is why the sign matters more than the date.

I feel awful but have no fever. Should I still call?

Yes. Feeling very unwell is itself a reason to seek advice.

Will I be wasting their time?

No. Maternity and postnatal services expect these calls, and they would rather hear about a symptom that turns out to be nothing.

What if my concern is not on this list?

Seek advice anyway. No list covers every situation, and your sense that something is wrong is information.