Pregnancy brings many normal but uncomfortable symptoms. Early on, nausea, fatigue, tender breasts, and frequent urination are common. Later, heartburn, constipation, mild swelling of the ankles and feet, backache, and shortness of breath with exertion are typical as the body adapts.
Certain symptoms, however, are red flags rather than normal discomforts. These include vaginal bleeding, severe or constant abdominal pain, a severe headache, blurred vision or flashing lights, sudden or marked swelling of the face and hands, reduced baby movements, fever, painful urination with feeling unwell, or fluid leaking from the vagina.
If you experience any red-flag symptom, contact your maternity team promptly, and treat chest pain, breathing difficulty, fainting, or heavy bleeding as an emergency. When you are unsure whether something is normal, it is always reasonable to call and ask.