Choose the right route for help
In pregnancy, it is better to call early than to manage a worrying change alone. Call 113 or 112 for an immediate threat to life: unconsciousness, seizures, sudden breathing difficulty, very heavy bleeding or sudden unbearable pain. Tell the dispatcher your exact location, pregnancy week, main symptom and whether you are alone. Stay on the line until told otherwise.
For an urgent pregnancy-related symptom that is not clearly life-threatening, call your gynaecologist, midwife or the admissions line of your chosen maternity unit. The unit can say whether and where to attend. For a simpler general-health question outside family-doctor hours, Latvia's NVD family-doctor advice line is 66016001.
Bleeding, pain and injury
Discuss any vaginal bleeding with a clinician. It is particularly urgent when bleeding is heavy or flowing, a pad becomes soaked, there are clots, dizziness, faintness or severe pain. Early in pregnancy, one-sided pain with bleeding, shoulder pain or weakness needs urgent assessment. Later in pregnancy, do not simply monitor bleeding at home.
Call the same day for persistent or worsening abdominal pain, regular contractions before 37 weeks, or pain that does not settle with rest. After a fall, road collision or blow to the abdomen, contact maternity care even if you initially feel well. Do not drive yourself if you are dizzy, bleeding or in severe pain.
Waters and your baby's movements
If fluid gushes or continues to leak and cannot be controlled like urine, use a clean pad, note the time, colour and smell, and call the maternity unit. Do not use a tampon or wait for contractions before asking what to do. Green or brown fluid, bleeding, fever or a preterm gestation makes assessment especially urgent.
Once you know your baby's usual pattern, a clear reduction or absence of movements needs immediate checking. Call the maternity unit the same day, including at night; do not wait until morning and do not rely on a home Doppler. There is no single movement number that suits every pregnancy—the important sign is a change from your own baby's normal pattern.
Headache, vision, swelling and feeling unwell
Contact maternity care urgently if a severe or persistent headache comes with blurred vision, flashing lights, sudden swelling of the face or hands, pain high in the abdomen or under the right ribs, nausea or a rapid decline in wellbeing. These symptoms do not always mean a serious complication, but your blood pressure and condition need professional assessment. Call 113 for seizures, unconsciousness or breathing difficulty.
Fever, chills, painful urination, breathlessness at rest or inability to keep fluids down also need timely advice. Seek urgent help if repeated vomiting leaves you passing very little urine, confused, extremely weak or faint.
Prepare for the call or journey
- your pregnancy week and estimated due date;
- when the symptom began, its intensity and how it changed;
- the colour and approximate amount of blood or fluid;
- information about movements, temperature and a blood-pressure reading if available;
- your Mātes pase, identification, medicine list and allergies;
- the unit's address, transport and someone who can accompany you.
Do not take medicine simply to postpone an assessment; ask a clinician what is safe. If you are advised to observe at home, ask for a time limit, the exact changes that mean leaving immediately and whom to call if you worsen.
When you are unsure
No warning-sign list can cover everything. A worrying feeling, a rapid change in health or the conviction that something is not normal is enough reason to seek advice. Describe exactly what changed and ask for a clear next step. If your condition deteriorates after the first call, call again or dial 113; earlier advice should never make you ignore a new or worsening symptom.
What to do while help is being arranged
If a symptom may be urgent, do not remain alone and do not drive yourself when you feel faint or dizzy, have severe pain or are bleeding. Tell someone nearby what has happened, take your telephone and identification, but do not delay departure to collect every possession. When calling, give your exact location, week of pregnancy, the main symptom, when it began and whether it is changing. Answer the dispatcher's or clinician's questions and stay on the line until told otherwise.
Do not take another person's prescription medicine or try to suppress a new severe symptom with a remedy found online before obtaining advice. For bleeding or possible fluid leakage, a clean pad may help you describe approximate amount and colour, but do not insert a tampon. If possible, note the time, colour, change in amount and accompanying symptoms, while never delaying assessment simply to collect observations. When the situation appears life-threatening, call 113 instead of travelling to a randomly chosen clinic. After telephone advice, repeat the instructions in your own words so that both sides know you understood where to go and how quickly. If you are told to monitor at home, also ask which specific change means you should call again or leave immediately.