During your pregnancy, there may be times when you worry about something that doesn’t feel or look right. While not every symptom has to indicate a complication, it is a good idea to get in touch if you have concerns. This is not only for your own reassurance, but also to check that nothing is wrong or to rule out a miscarriage.
In any case, call us at:
- Blood loss
- Moisture loss
- Headache, seeing stars
- Pain in the upper abdomen
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sudden severe fluid retention
- Regular emerging abdominal pain
- Reduced movement of the baby (from 26 weeks)
- Concern
With a healthy pregnancy, you will give birth between 37 and 42 weeks under obstetric guidance from us as primary obstetricians, either at home or outpatient at the hospital.
- With your first baby – Call us when you have painful contractions lasting about 60 seconds for an hour, every 3 to 4 minutes.
- Is this not your first baby? If so, call us if you have painful contractions every 5 minutes.
- Are the contractions still variable in duration and/or frequency? Then wait and see. Labor has not started yet, but your body is preparing itself, so these preliminary contractions are also very important.
- We may have made different arrangements than those listed above. If so, keep those agreements.
- Most importantly, listen to your body. Are you worried or need us? Then feel free to call earlier!
If your water breaks, you will notice it because you suddenly lose a lot of fluid; you have no control over it and cannot stop it. It keeps coming in bits and pieces, you notice it especially when putting pressure. In 10% of the cases your waters break before you have contractions, so usually it only happens during labor when you have contractions.
- Is the amniotic fluid colorless – clear or pinkish and are you not having regular contractions yet? Do you feel the baby moving well? Then call us during the day from 9 am.
- If the membranes break and the amniotic fluid is green or brown, call us immediately, even at night. No reason to panic, but a reason to let us know.
- Do the membranes break, but the baby’s head has not yet descended? Then lie down immediately and call us, even at night. You will be told this during the consultation if this is the case.
- If the waters break at night, but you don’t have contractions, you don’t have to call us immediately during the night. Call us around 9 a.m. the next morning.
- If your water breaks during the day, call us so we are informed. If you are on the road when your water breaks, go home first.
- Always try to catch some of the amniotic fluid so we can assess it when we visit you.
- If you lose a lot of red blood – a full pad within 30 minutes – call us immediately, even at night.
- If you lose reddish-pink mucus (mucus plug) or have mucousy discharge, you do not need to call us. This means that the uterus is maturing, but labor has not started yet.
