CALL 811/DOCTOR/MIDWIFE WITH ANY WARNING SIGNS. CALL 911 FOR EMERGENCY HELP!
If you call 911, have someone clear a path for EMT (halls, stairs etc), turn on outside light, put pets away, unlock door, clear driveway.)
Maternal Warning Signs
- Vaginal bleeding heavy enough to soak a super-pad front to back in 1/2hr-1hr. Note: if blood starts to pour continuously, lay down immediately and call 911;
- Foul-smelling bleeding or discharge
- Passing clots bigger than a toonie
- Temperature greater than 38C (100.4F)
- Feeling flu-like
- Uterus is painful to the touch
- Uterus feels soft and is at or above the navel, and doesn’t respond to gentle massage
- Sore, red, hot, tender area on leg or calf
- Painful, swollen, red breasts or red / hot / lumpy spots
- Sudden and extreme pain on nipples with feeding (may be thrush)
- Persistent dizziness (call 911 if accompanied by bleeding)
- Fainting (call 911 if accompanied by bleeding)
- Feeling depressed, very anxious, unhappy or are crying without reason and cannot sleep or eat
Baby Warning Signs
- Blue or grey in the lips, face or chest. Call 911.
- Temperature of greater than 37.4C (99.3F) or lower than 35C (96.6F) (note: consider environment – e.g. is baby wrapped in layers in a hot room?)
- Laboured breathing
- Extra-sleepy and has not fed in the past 6-8 hours
- Has not urinated or passed meconium (feces) in the first 24 hours
- Yellow skin in the first 24 hours
- Red patches, pimples or bumps
- Vomits after every feed
- High pitched cry or extremely irritable, inconsolable
- Lethargic
- Red, hot area around cord-stump; swelling of stump; discharge of pus, blood or meconium
- Red blood in urine (note – some girl-babies get a little ‘period’ due to hormones)
- Bright red diaper rash
- White spots in mouth that don’t rub off (thrush)
