ACOG and NHS-aligned triage, a 2am feeding assistant, and a maternity journal kept on this device.
For pregnant and new mums
Straight clinical answers. If it is a red-flag symptom, the answer is go in — not wait until morning.
UrgentCall now
I'm 34 weeks, my head aches and I see spots. What should I do?
Answer: This is an emergency until proven otherwise. A new headache with visual change (spots, flashes, blur) in pregnancy can be preeclampsia. Do not wait for a callback. Contact maternity triage or go to labour and delivery now. Mention the headache and the vision change at the door.
UrgentCall now
I have pain under my right ribs and I feel unwell. Is that heartburn?
Answer: Heartburn is common. Pain under the right ribs with a headache, spots, sudden swelling, or feeling very unwell is not ‘just indigestion’ — it can be preeclampsia or HELLP. Call triage the same hour. Do not take extra painkillers and go to sleep on it.
UrgentCall now
My baby is moving less than usual. Should I wait until morning?
Answer: No. A change from your baby's usual pattern needs same-day review, day or night. Do not use a home Doppler for reassurance. Lie on your side, and if movements are still not back to normal, go to triage. They will listen for a heartbeat and usually do a CTG. Never go to bed on reduced movements.
UrgentCall now
I'm soaking a pad with fresh red blood. What now?
Answer: Heavy bleeding in pregnancy is an emergency. Lie down, call 999 / emergency services or go to labour ward now. Do not do a self-exam. If you are rhesus-negative, say so — you may need anti-D. Save any clots in a pad to show the team.
UrgentCall now
I think my waters have gone. Clear fluid on my legs.
Answer: Put a pad on, note the time, colour and smell, and call your labour ward. Green or brown fluid (meconium) or a fever needs faster review. Do not have a bath, do not have sex, and do not check with your fingers. If the baby's head is not engaged they will want you in promptly because of cord risk.
UrgentCall now
I'm 6 weeks with one-sided pain and spotting. Could this wait?
Answer: One-sided pain plus spotting in early pregnancy can be an ectopic. Shoulder-tip pain, dizziness or feeling faint is even more urgent. Do not wait for a GP appointment in a week. Same-day early-pregnancy unit or A&E. A pregnancy test if you have not already done one.
UrgentCall now
Sudden chest pain and I can't get my breath. Pregnant, 32 weeks.
Answer: Call 999. Pregnancy raises clot risk. Sudden breathlessness, chest pain, or a swollen painful calf is treated as a possible clot until a doctor says otherwise. Sit up, do not wait for the midwife's morning clinic.
Early pregnancy
Is light cramping normal at 6 weeks pregnant?
Answer: Light, period-like cramping can be normal as the uterus grows. It should not be severe, constant, or stuck on one side. Bright red bleeding, shoulder-tip pain, dizziness or feeling faint with cramps needs same-day review to rule out ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage. If you are unsure, use Ask triage or call your early-pregnancy unit.
Early pregnancy
When is the best time to take a pregnancy test?
Answer: The most reliable time is from the day your period is due, using first-morning urine. Testing earlier can give a false negative because hCG is still low. If the test is negative and your period still does not come, test again in 48 hours. A faint line is usually a positive — read it in the time window on the packet.
Early pregnancy
I see a faint line. Am I pregnant?
Answer: A faint line in the result window, within the time on the packet, is usually a positive. Evaporation lines appear after the window and have no colour. Repeat in 48 hours if you need certainty, and book a GP/midwife appointment. Use the faint-line reader in I think I am pregnant if the line is hard to see.
During pregnancy
What foods should I actually avoid?
Answer: Skip unpasteurised milk and some soft cheeses, pâté, raw or undercooked meat, and liver in large amounts (vitamin A). Cook eggs until the yolk is set unless they are British Lion-stamped per current NHS advice. Limit oily fish and tuna. No alcohol is the safest option. When in doubt, cook it thoroughly and wash fruit and veg.
During pregnancy
Do I have to sleep on my left side?
Answer: From about 28 weeks, going to sleep on your side (either side) is safer than going to sleep on your back. If you wake on your back, turn onto your side — that still counts. A pillow between the knees often helps. This is about the going-to-sleep position, not every minute of the night.
During pregnancy
When should I start feeling the baby move?
Answer: Many first pregnancies feel movements between 16 and 24 weeks; it can be later with an anterior placenta. If you have felt nothing by 24 weeks, tell your midwife. After you know your baby's pattern, a change from that pattern is the trigger — not a fixed ‘10 kicks by noon’ rule.
During pregnancy
Heartburn every night at 30 weeks. Is it dangerous?
Answer: Night-time heartburn is very common as the uterus pushes on the stomach. Small meals, sitting up after eating, and an antacid your midwife agrees with usually help. It becomes urgent if it is pain under the right ribs with a headache, spots, or feeling unwell — that is not ordinary heartburn.
During pregnancy
Why was I told to take low-dose aspirin?
Answer: If you have a high preeclampsia risk (previous preeclampsia, or two moderate factors such as first baby plus age/BMI), NICE recommends low-dose aspirin at night from 12 weeks. It is not a painkiller plan and not the 300 mg tablets in the cupboard. Take what was prescribed and keep the rest of your antenatal visits.
During pregnancy
When do I have the whooping-cough vaccine?
Answer: The pertussis vaccine is offered in every pregnancy, ideally from 16 to 32 weeks so antibodies reach the baby. It is not a live vaccine. The flu vaccine is separate and can be given in any trimester in flu season. These do not replace each other.
During pregnancy
Is sex safe in pregnancy?
Answer: Yes for most straightforward pregnancies. Stop and call if there is bleeding, waters have gone, placenta praevia has been diagnosed, or you have been advised to avoid it. After waters go or with unexplained bleeding, wait for a clinician. Orgasm can cause tightenings; that is not automatically labour.
Labour
How do I know if these are real labour contractions or Braxton Hicks?
Answer: Braxton Hicks are usually irregular, stay at the front, and ease when you drink, empty your bladder, or change position. Real labour builds, keeps a rhythm (for example every 5 minutes), lasts about a minute, and does not fade with rest. Time them with the 5-1-1 timer. Before 37 weeks, or with bleeding, fluid leak, or fewer movements, do not wait for 5-1-1 — call in.
Labour
When should I go to the birth centre or hospital?
Answer: A common guide is the 5-1-1 rule: contractions about every 5 minutes, lasting a minute, for about an hour — plus you cannot talk through them. Go sooner if this is not your first baby, you live far away, your waters have gone, you are bleeding, the baby is moving less, or you just feel you need to be there. Your midwife's personal plan always wins over a rule of thumb.
Labour
I lost my mucus plug. Does labour start today?
Answer: A show (blood-streaked mucus) means the cervix is changing, not that the baby is coming in the next hour. It can happen days before labour. Call if the blood is fresh and more than streaking, if you are preterm, or if you also have regular contractions or broken waters.
Labour
All the pain is in my back. Is that labour?
Answer: Back labour is common when the baby is facing your tummy (occiput posterior). It can still be real labour. A warm shower, a birth ball, and being on all-fours often help more than lying on your back. Time the waves. If they build and do not settle, treat it as labour and call.
After the baby
My baby is 2 weeks old and breastfeeding hurts every time. Is this normal?
Answer: A few seconds of tenderness at the start of a latch can happen in week one. Pain throughout the feed is not normal. It usually means a shallow latch, tongue-tie, thrush, or vasospasm — not that your nipples need to ‘toughen up’. See an IBCLC or your infant-feeding team this week. Keep feeding or expressing so the breast stays soft.
After the baby
I cry every afternoon on day 4. Is this depression?
Answer: Baby blues typically peak days 3–10: tearful, tired, still able to function. If low mood lasts beyond two weeks, you cannot sleep even when the baby sleeps, or you have thoughts of harm, that is not blues — contact your midwife, GP, or crisis line the same day. Postpartum psychosis (odd beliefs, severe agitation, no sleep) is an emergency.
After the baby
How long should the bleeding last after birth?
Answer: Lochia starts red, becomes pink-brown, then yellowish-white over 2–6 weeks. Soak a pad in under an hour, clots bigger than a golf ball, a return to fresh red with fever, or feeling faint is too much — call triage. A boggy tummy and a gush when you stand can mean the uterus needs a check.
After the baby
One breast is red, hot, and I have flu-like aches.
Answer: That pattern is mastitis. Keep milk moving — feed or express from that side, analgesia, rest. See a clinician the same day if you are febrile or not improving in 12–24 hours. Do not stop feeding that side. An abscess needs ultrasound, not just another day of cabbage leaves.
After the baby
I cannot pass urine 6 hours after the birth.
Answer: That is urinary retention until proven otherwise. Do not just drink more and hope. Tell the midwife — you likely need a catheter and a residual measured. Waiting until you are in severe pain can damage the bladder.
After the baby
My newborn looks yellow at 18 hours old.
Answer: Jaundice in the first 24 hours is not ‘normal newborn yellow’. It needs an urgent bilirubin check. After day 2, mild yellowing is common, especially in breastfed babies, but poor feeding, sleepiness, or yellow that is spreading needs review. Never treat with sunlight on a windowsill.
After the baby
The baby has lost 12% of birth weight by day 5.
Answer: That is above the usual 10% mark and needs a feeding assessment the same day — latch, output (wet and dirty nappies), and a plan. It is not a wait-until-the-8-week-check issue. Keep offering the breast or expressed milk while you wait to be seen.
During pregnancy
When should I press I feel unwell instead of Googling?
Answer: Use it for a new severe headache, visual change, right-rib pain, reduced movements, bleeding, fluid leak, chest pain, a seizure, or a sense that something is very wrong. The button is there so you do not negotiate with a search bar at 2am. If you are collapsing or bleeding heavily, call 999 first.
Guidance from ACOG / NHS patterns — not a diagnosis. Heavy bleeding, a quiet baby, or a headache with spots: maternity triage now.
Not emergency care. Bleeding, leaking fluid, or a quiet baby — go to maternity triage.
7 days free · Cancel anytime · Stored on device