When Should You Contact Your Health Facility?
Which symptoms during pregnancy require immediate hospital attendance, and which can wait?
18/08/2026
Routine vs. Emergency — Understanding the Difference
Not every pregnancy symptom requires an emergency visit, but some symptoms require immediate medical attention regardless of the time of day or night. Understanding the difference between routine concerns (which can wait for your next scheduled ANC visit) and emergency signs (which require going to hospital right now) is one of the most important things you can learn during pregnancy.
If in doubt, go to hospital. It is always better to be assessed and reassured than to wait and risk a serious complication. Rwandan district hospitals have maternity wards open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Emergency Signs — Go to Hospital Immediately
The following symptoms require immediate attendance at your nearest hospital or health facility — day or night. Do not wait for your CHW. Call for transport and go directly.
Heavy vaginal bleeding at any stage of pregnancy. Severe headache combined with blurred or changed vision (a warning sign of preeclampsia or eclampsia). Convulsions or fits. Severe abdominal pain. A marked reduction in your baby's movements from week 28. Your waters breaking (a gush or continuous leak of fluid from your vagina). Regular, painful contractions before 37 weeks. Fever above 38°C with severe illness. Loss of consciousness.
Urgent Signs — Seek Care the Same Day
The following symptoms do not necessarily require calling an ambulance, but they should be assessed by a health provider on the same day. Do not wait until your next scheduled ANC appointment.
Painful or burning urination. Sudden severe swelling of the hands, face, or legs. Any vaginal bleeding, even if small. A fever with chills and body aches. Severe nausea and vomiting lasting more than 24 hours. Persistent severe abdominal pain. Any symptom that feels significantly wrong to you and is different from your normal experience of pregnancy.
When to Contact Your CHW
Your CHW (Umujyanama w'ubuzima) can be contacted when you have non-urgent health questions, when you need help understanding information from an ANC visit, when you need support planning transport to an appointment, or when you want to report a change in your health that is not an emergency.
Your CHW can alert the health facility on your behalf, help identify community transport, and follow up after a hospital visit. But they must be contacted in addition to — not instead of — going to the health facility for any urgent or emergency sign.
Preparing for Emergencies in Advance
The best time to plan for an emergency is before one happens. Know the location and phone number of your nearest 24-hour district hospital. Agree with your partner or a family member in advance on how you will get to hospital quickly. Save emergency contact numbers in your phone.
The Ndarinzwe Health Facilities page shows the nearest hospitals in your area with phone numbers and directions links. Having this information readily available removes a barrier to seeking emergency care — so you always know where to go and how to get there before you need it.
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