Chorevia

Day 275 of 280 · 39 weeks + 2 days

The emergency list

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 4 sources · Plain-text version

Thirty-nine weeks and two days. Some signs can't wait for your next appointment. Today you put the list on the fridge, next to the numbers you'd call.

Size this week
about the size of a watermelon
Length this week
around 50.7 cm from head to heel
A woman with a full bump in a long cardigan pins a handwritten list to a fridge with a magnet while her partner tapes a phone number card beside it, bright kitchen morning light.

Thirty-nine weeks and two days. Most of what you feel now is the ordinary weight of the last weeks. A short list of things is not, and today that list goes somewhere you can't miss it.

Your baby

A single small watermelon on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around now your baby is around 50.7cm long from head to heel, about the size of a watermelon (NHS). One thing to know before you meet them: hands and feet may look blue at birth, and a baby's true skin colour can take weeks to appear (NHS). Better to read that today than to be startled by it in the delivery room.

Your body

The NHS's week 39 page lists the signs to call about immediately: vaginal bleeding; brown or pink discharge; severe itching at night; a headache that won't go away; problems with your vision; pain below the ribs; extreme swelling; stomach pain that won't go away; and a temperature above 37.5°C without flu or cold symptoms (NHS).

The US list, the CDC's HEAR HER warning signs, overlaps with it and puts the fever line at 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC). The two countries draw the fever line in slightly different places; either way, a raised temperature is a call. The CDC adds that these signs count during pregnancy and for a year after delivery (CDC).

Try today

  1. The emergency-signs fridge list

    Time: 10 minutes

    1. At the top of a sheet of paper, write your maternity unit's number and 911.

    2. Copy the NHS list underneath, one sign per line (NHS).

    3. Add the US fever line: 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC). Check that the thermometer is where you think it is.

    4. Stick it on the fridge, and tell anyone staying with you that it's there.

    Make it work:

    Leave it up after the birth. The HEAR HER signs apply for the whole year after delivery, and the CDC says to tell every provider you see that you were pregnant within the last year (CDC).

Watch for

  • Normal

    feeling warm in a warm room.

    Call your provider

    right away for a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC).

  • Normal

    some itchiness; about 20 percent of pregnant women feel itchy (OWH).

    Call your provider

    for persistent itching without a rash, which may indicate cholestasis (MedlinePlus), and straight away for severe itching at night (NHS).

  • Normal

    puffy ankles at the end of the day.

    Call your provider

    right away for extreme swelling of your hands or face (CDC).

  • Normal

    standing up slowly because your balance has changed.

    Call your provider

    right away for dizziness or fainting (CDC).

For you

A list like this is for the moment you're about to talk yourself out of calling. It isn't a reason to check your body every hour. Write it, stick it up, and go back to your day. Anything not on it is covered by the NHS's simplest line: you can contact your hospital or midwife any time you're worried (NHS).

If you're the partner: read it once properly. If she mentions one of these at 11 p.m. and says she'll see how she feels in the morning, it's your job to say "the list says now".

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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