Pregnancy health problems: what’s common

Many women go through physical discomforts in pregnancy – constipation, backache, increased need to urinate, indigestion, iron deficiency anaemia, leg cramps, varicose veins, haemorrhoids and nosebleeds.

These pregnancy health problems are usually mild, but they sometimes need medical attention. It’s always a good idea to talk about these kinds of problems with your doctor or midwife.

When to get help for pregnancy health problems

There are some physical and emotional changes that can point to less common and more serious problems in pregnancy. If you have any of the symptoms or feelings below, call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital as soon as possible.

Your emotional wellbeing
Call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you’re:

• feeling very anxious or depressed or if you’re having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
• finding it difficult to cope with everyday activities like showering and eating
• having serious problems in your relationship
• experiencing family violence.

Your tummy or ‘bump’
Call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you:

• have severe discomfort, pain or cramping in your stomach or back
• get a physical blow or trauma to your tummy area – for example, from a fall, car accident or family violence
• notice a change in your baby’s movement pattern.

Your bladder or vagina
Call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you:

• are bleeding, leaking fluid or having more discharge than usual from your vagina
• feel any discomfort, pain or burning when you urinate.

Your head
Call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you:

• are getting severe or long-lasting headaches
• feel quite dizzy
• have problems seeing, or have any changes to your vision, like blurred vision or lights flashing in front of your eyes.

Your legs, toes, fingers, hands and skin
Call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you have:

• severe swelling in your face, hands or feet, which comes on suddenly and rapidly
• severe swelling and pain in your legs
• severe skin itching, including itchy hands and feet.

Other
Call your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you:

• have persistent nausea and vomiting, and can’t eat and drink without vomiting
• have a fever or chills.

You might feel that something ‘just isn’t right’, even if you don’t have any of the symptoms above. It’s important that you get checked out by your health professional, so that you can get treatment or help as soon as possible – or be told that everything is OK. If you can’t reach your own doctor, midwife or maternity hospital by phone, go to a GP clinic or the nearest public maternity hospital.

Call an ambulance by phoning 000 if you think it’s an emergency and you’re very concerned about your health or your baby’s health, or if you go into labour but you’re not close to your due date.

Signs that labour might start soon include a show, your waters breaking, more pressure around your uterus and pelvis, more Braxton Hicks contractions and cramping in your lower pelvis.

Risk factors for pregnancy health problems

You might be more likely to develop a health problem in pregnancy if you:

• had a health problem or complication with a previous pregnancy
• have a medical condition
• have a family history of a condition that might cause problems in pregnancy.

If this sounds like you, tell your doctor or midwife at your early antenatal appointments. Your doctor or midwife will keep a closer eye on you and your baby, and they’ll offer treatment and support during your pregnancy if you need it.

Reducing the chance of pregnancy health problems

For some pregnancy health problems and complications, there’s no way to stop them from happening.

But you can reduce your chance of having pregnancy health complications – or stop them from getting worse – by going to your antenatal appointments and telling your doctor or midwife if you have any of the symptoms listed above.

The earlier you tell your health professional about symptoms, the better.

If you do have a pregnancy health problem, your midwife or doctor can check on you and/or give you options for treatment and support.

Healthy pregnancy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle can reduce the likelihood that you’ll have some pregnancy health problems.

A healthy lifestyle in pregnancy includes:

• eating healthy food
• doing regular, light to moderate physical activity
• looking after your pelvic floor
• avoiding smoking or vaping, drinking alcohol and taking non-prescribed drugs
• being aware of your baby’s unique movements and sleeping on your side to reduce the risk of stillbirth
• looking after your teeth – brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day with a soft toothbrush, use dental floss each day, and see your dentist at least once a year
• getting vaccinated against COVID-19, influenza and whooping cough
• wearing a seatbelt – the seat belt should have one strap above and one strap below your bump.