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Pregnant, or with a new baby
For anyone in the United States who is pregnant or has a baby under one, and for the people beside them. The warning signs that need a doctor today. What to do when you don’t feel like yourself, and who answers at 3 a.m. Health coverage, WIC, diapers and your rights at work. What to do when the baby won’t stop crying. And the words to say when you call. One thing at a time.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Something feels badly wrong in your body? Call 911. Say you are pregnant, or were pregnant in the last year.
- Not feeling like yourself? Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-852-6262, any hour. Free and confidential.
- At your limit with a crying baby? Put the baby down in a safe place, such as the crib, and walk away to calm down. Check back every 5 to 10 minutes.
- Thinking about hurting yourself or the baby? Call or text 988, any hour. Danger: 911.
More help
- Not enough food in the house? When you need food.
- A doctor without insurance? When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- Rent, bills and collectors? When the money runs out.
- Home isn’t safe? When home isn’t safe.
- No sleep, even when the baby sleeps? Can’t sleep?
- An appointment coming up? Appointment prep.
- Need changes at work? Ask for what helps you work.
- Worried about someone who just had a baby? When you’re worried about someone.
- All our free tools and Get help now.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Thyroid disease and pregnancy: an overactive or underactive thyroid, the medicines, and after the baby: thyroid disease and pregnancy (an overactive or underactive thyroid while pregnant, Graves’ disease or Hashimoto’s disease, or a thyroid that changed after the baby): why the thyroid matters for the baby, the signs, the medicines used in pregnancy and when to stop and call, a higher dose of thyroid medicine, postpartum thyroiditis, breastfeeding, and iodine.
- Eating well and staying active in pregnancy: gaining slowly, what to eat, what to avoid, moving safely, and after the baby: eating well and staying active in pregnancy: gaining weight slowly, what to eat and drink, folate and a prenatal vitamin, what to avoid, staying active safely, and after the baby.
- Kidney infection (pyelonephritis): the signs, sepsis, and the treatment: a kidney infection (pyelonephritis): the signs at each age, sepsis and when it is 911, who is more likely to get one, the tests, the antibiotics, and preventing the next one.
- When a medical bill is too much: what to check before you pay, the financial help nonprofit hospitals must offer, surprise bills, and debt collectors.
- When the heaviness won’t lift: what depression is and the ways it can look that aren’t sadness, seeing a doctor, and finding help you can afford.
- After a miscarriage or a stillbirth: a miscarriage or a stillbirth: the warning signs afterwards, what the health agencies say about why, grief, and free people to talk to.
- If a child is being hurt: a child who is being hurt: the signs, what to say when a child tells you, how to report in your state, and free people to talk to first.
- When it’s HIV: HIV: the 72 hours after a possible exposure, testing, treatment and what “undetectable” means, the medicine that prevents it, your rights, and paying for care.
- When you need child care: child care: finding it, help paying for it, what a license means, and where to report a problem.
- When it’s sickle cell: sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait: the symptoms that are emergencies, a pain crisis, testing, the treatments, and pregnancy.
- When it’s hepatitis: hepatitis A, B and C: who should be tested, how each one spreads, the vaccines, the hours after a contact, and the medicines that cure hepatitis C.
- When you can’t afford a dentist: where low-cost care is, what Medicaid and Medicare cover, and what should not wait: when you can’t afford a dentist: the signs that should not wait, dental schools, health centers, Medicaid and CHIP, what Medicare leaves out, dental plans, and VA dental care.
- When it’s high blood pressure: what the numbers mean, a very high reading and when to call 911, checking at home, medicines, salt and food, pregnancy, and what to ask: high blood pressure: what the two numbers mean, what to do with a very high reading and when it is a 911 call, how to get a true reading, the kinds of medicine, and salt.
- When it might be an STI: sexually transmitted infections (STIs): why there are often no symptoms, who should be tested and where it is free or low-cost, six common infections one by one, and the steps after a positive test.
- Birth control: finding what fits: birth control: every method and how well it works, emergency contraception and how many days you have, a missed pill, and getting it free or at low cost.
- I might be pregnant: the test, and the first steps: a possible pregnancy: when to test, how to read a faint line or a negative, the first steps after a positive, and care without insurance.
- Postpartum depression: when the baby blues don’t lift: postpartum depression: the baby blues or more, the signs, who to call, treatment, and what family can do.
- Morning sickness: when pregnancy nausea won’t let up: morning sickness: when it eases, what to eat and drink, the severe form, and the signs that mean you should get care.
- Breastfeeding: when it hurts, or you’re not sure it’s working: breastfeeding: whether your baby is getting enough, pain and the latch, breast infection, pumping and storing milk, and your rights at work.
- Crying baby: when the crying won’t stop: a baby who will not stop crying: what to check, colic, what to do when you reach your limit, when to call, and safe sleep.
- Fever in a baby or child: when to call, and what helps: a baby or child with a fever: which number counts, comfort at home, a seizure with a fever, and when to call.
- Vomiting and diarrhea in a baby or child: fluids, and when to call: a baby or child who is throwing up or has diarrhea: the signs of dehydration, what to give to drink, and when to call.
- Constipation in a baby or child: what helps, and when to call: a baby or child who may be constipated: what is normal for a baby, what helps at home, and when to call.
- Ear infection in a baby or child: what helps, and when to call: a baby or child whose ear hurts: the signs, easing the pain, antibiotics or waiting, and when to call.
- Bedwetting: what helps, what doesn’t, and when to call: a child who wets the bed: how common it is, what helps, what not to do, alarms, and when to call.
- Cough or cold in a baby or child: what helps, the medicine ages, and when to call: a baby or child with a cough or a cold: what helps, the ages for cough and cold medicine, and when to call.
- Sore throat in a child: a virus or strep, what helps, and when to call: a child with a sore throat: a virus or strep, what helps, the strep test, and when to call.
- Pink eye in a baby or child: what the signs suggest, what helps, and when to call: a baby or child with pink eye: what the signs suggest, what helps, a newborn, and when to call.
- Urinary tract infection (UTI) in a baby or child: the signs, the urine test, what helps, and when to call: a baby or child who may have a urinary tract infection: the signs, the urine test, what helps, and when to call.
- Hand, foot, and mouth disease in a baby or child: the signs, what helps, and when to call: a baby or child with hand, foot, and mouth disease: the signs, what helps, and when to call.
- Eczema in a baby or child: the signs, the daily skin routine, flares, and when to talk to a doctor: a baby or child with eczema (atopic dermatitis): the signs, the daily skin routine, flares, and when to talk to a doctor.
- Chickenpox in a baby or child: the signs, what helps at home, who can get very sick, and when to call: a baby or child with chickenpox: the signs, what helps at home, who can get very sick, and when to call.
- Scabies in a child or anyone at home: the signs, the treatment, who else is treated, what to wash, and when to call: a child or anyone at home with scabies: the signs, the treatment, who else is treated, what to wash, and when to call.
- Kegel exercises (pelvic floor muscle training): finding the right muscles, the method, and every day: Kegel exercises (pelvic floor muscle training): what they are and who they can help, finding the right muscles, the method, and fitting them into every day.
- Hydronephrosis in newborns (a swollen kidney in a baby): the causes, the tests, and the treatment: hydronephrosis in a newborn (a swollen kidney in a baby, found on a pregnancy ultrasound or after birth): what it is and how common, when it is a sign of a problem, the causes, the tests before and after birth, and the treatment.
- Reflux in babies (spitting up, GER and GERD): what is normal, the warning signs, and the treatment: a baby who spits up a lot (reflux, GER and GERD): what is normal and how common, the signs that mean calling a doctor right away, the tests, the treatment, and changes to feeding.
General information from people who care, not medical, legal or financial advice. We are not doctors, midwives, nurses, lawyers or benefits counselors. We can’t tell you what a symptom means, what is right for your baby, or what you qualify for. For your own health and your baby’s, ask a doctor, a midwife or a nurse. In an emergency, call 911.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). The facts come from the pages of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Office on Women’s Health, HealthCare.gov, InsureKidsNow.gov, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (WIC), the Safe to Sleep campaign of the National Institutes of Health, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, Childcare.gov and USAGov, and from Postpartum Support International, the National Diaper Bank Network, the National Safe Haven Alliance and Poison Control about their own services. The phone numbers, hours and rules were read on those pages on October 1, 2026. Things change, so check with the service before you rely on any of them. The health sources mostly write about “women” and “mothers”; where we quote them we keep their words, and the page is for anyone who is pregnant or has given birth. Where we could not confirm something, such as the hours of a phone line or a helpline for pregnancy loss, the page says so and does not guess. This page saves nothing: no account, no cookies, nothing you tick is stored or sent, and no analytics (privacy). Scarlet Beast is not a clinic, a government agency or a law office. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].