A pregnancy complication is a health problem affecting you, your baby or both. Some are found through routine checks before you feel anything unusual. Others cause symptoms that need urgent assessment.
A diagnosis may mean more appointments, tests or a different birth plan. It does not mean you caused the problem, or that a poor outcome is inevitable. Ask your team to explain the concern and what happens next in language you can use.
When to get help now
Call 000 for collapse, severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, a seizure, heavy bleeding or another medical emergency. Seek immediate maternity or emergency assessment for:
- Severe or worsening abdominal pain; early-pregnancy pain with shoulder-tip pain, dizziness or faintness.
- Vaginal bleeding or possible leaking waters.
- Severe headache, vision changes, pain under the ribs or sudden swelling of your face or hands.
- Fever with feeling very unwell, or vomiting that prevents you keeping fluids down.
- Pain or swelling in one leg.
- Signs of labour before 37 weeks.
- Your baby’s usual movements becoming weaker, reduced, absent or changed in a way that concerns you.
Do not wait until tomorrow about movement concerns or use a home Doppler, hiccups, food or drinks to decide whether your baby is well. If you cannot reach your maternity team, go to the nearest hospital.
Anaemia and low iron
Anaemia means there is too little haemoglobin to carry oxygen normally in your blood. Iron deficiency is a common cause, but not the only one. Symptoms can include tiredness, weakness, dizziness and breathlessness, or there may be no obvious symptoms.
Blood tests help establish the cause and guide treatment. Ask about results and follow-up rather than starting extra iron or folic acid just because you feel tired. Sudden or severe breathlessness, chest pain or fainting needs urgent assessment.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes is high blood glucose first diagnosed during pregnancy. It often has no symptoms, which is why testing is offered. An oral glucose tolerance test is commonly offered at 24–28 weeks; your clinician may recommend earlier assessment based on your history.
Care can include glucose monitoring, an individual food and activity plan, and medicine when needed. Needing medicine is not a failure. Your team will discuss growth monitoring and birth planning.
Blood glucose often improves after birth, but follow-up testing is still important because diabetes can persist and the future risk of type 2 diabetes is higher. Ask for a post-birth testing plan before leaving maternity care.
High blood pressure and pre-eclampsia
High blood pressure may be present before pregnancy or develop during it. Pre-eclampsia usually starts after 20 weeks and involves high blood pressure with signs that organs or the placenta are affected. It can also first appear after birth.
You may feel well despite high blood pressure. Regular checks matter. Severe headache, visual changes, pain under the ribs, sudden swelling or feeling very unwell needs immediate advice.
Management may include medicines, blood and urine tests, checking your baby’s wellbeing and sometimes planning an earlier birth. Delivery does not mean monitoring can stop immediately; follow-up after birth remains important. Do not adjust blood-pressure medicines or start aspirin without a clinician’s plan.
Severe nausea and vomiting
Hyperemesis gravidarum, or HG, can make eating, drinking and daily activities very difficult. You do not need to reach a set weight-loss threshold or become dehydrated before asking for treatment.
Anti-nausea treatment and hydration or nutritional support may be needed. If you cannot keep fluids down, have scant or very dark urine, feel faint or are significantly unwell, seek urgent care. Our nausea and HG guide explains options and warning signs.
Bleeding, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy
Bleeding or cramping in early pregnancy does not always mean miscarriage, but it needs assessment. Miscarriage is pregnancy loss before 20 weeks. An ectopic pregnancy grows outside the uterus and can cause dangerous internal bleeding.
Severe pain, shoulder-tip pain, dizziness or fainting needs urgent care, even without visible bleeding. Tests may include ultrasound and pregnancy-hormone blood tests. Sometimes repeat testing is needed before the pregnancy’s location and progress are clear.
See our guides to early pregnancy bleeding, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Do not delay urgent care to read them.
Placental problems
Placenta praevia means the placenta covers the cervix. A low-lying placenta is close to the cervix without covering it. Ultrasound follow-up helps your team plan care and birth. Bleeding may be painless and still needs immediate assessment.
Placental abruption is when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before birth. It can cause abdominal or back pain and bleeding, but some bleeding may remain inside. This is an urgent hospital problem, not something to manage at home with bed rest.
Your team will explain any activity recommendations for your condition. Do not impose bed rest or assume rest treats a placental complication.
Preterm labour and your baby’s growth
Contractions, pelvic pressure, new lower backache or leaking waters before 37 weeks need immediate maternity advice and hospital assessment. Treatment may sometimes delay birth briefly or help prepare the baby for early birth, but labour cannot always be stopped. Read more in our preterm labour guide.
If measurements or scans suggest your baby is growing more slowly than expected, further monitoring may be recommended. Screening results may also lead to more detailed tests or specialist appointments. Ask what a finding means and how certain it is; a screening result is not the same as a diagnosis.
Stillbirth is a baby being born without signs of life at 20 weeks or later, or weighing at least 400 grams. Not every stillbirth can be prevented. Our stillbirth risk-reduction guide explains movement awareness and other care without blame.
Infections and mental health deserve care too
Some infections need testing or treatment even when symptoms are mild. Fever, urinary pain or a known exposure is worth discussing promptly. See our infections during pregnancy guide for prevention and assessment.
Depression and anxiety can affect daily life during pregnancy. Tell your GP or maternity team if your mood, worry or distress is becoming hard to manage. Treatment can include psychological support and, when appropriate, medicine. Do not stop prescribed mental-health medicine without advice.
Thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, hallucinations or severe confusion need urgent help. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 000 and ask a trusted person to stay with you.
Questions that can make a care plan clearer
- What is confirmed, and what are we still checking?
- What are the treatment options, benefits and risks?
- Does this change appointments, activity or where and when I give birth?
- Who will contact me with results, and when?
- Which symptoms mean I should seek help immediately?
Ask for written instructions, an interpreter or a support person if useful. Regular antenatal care helps your team identify and manage concerns, but new warning symptoms should not wait for a scheduled visit.
Sources and further reading
- Healthdirect: Warning signs during pregnancy
- National Diabetes Services Scheme: Gestational diabetes
- Queensland Clinical Guidelines: Hypertension and pregnancy
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby: Health conditions and complications
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care: Stillbirth care standard
This is general information for Australian readers. It cannot diagnose a complication or replace your individual maternity care plan.