A medical emergency is an injury or illness that is acute and poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long term health.
Emergencies often require assistance from other persons, although some emergencies can be dealt with by the person with the emergency themselve.
Depending on the level of the emergency, it can be taken care off outside the hospital, by emergency personnel, or the emergency room or inside the hospital

How you respond to an emergency depends on:

  • the situation,
  • the patient involved
  • the availability of resources to help them.
  • whether the emergency occurs while in hospital under medical care, or outside of medical care (for instance, in the street or alone at home).

 Below are some typical emergency symptoms which involve pregnant women:

  • vaginal bleeding
  • pain
  • nausea/vomiting
  • diarrhea
  • shortness of breath
  • headaches
  • uterine contractions/pain
  • trauma
  • decreased fetal movements
  • ruptured membranes
  • flu symptoms
  • fever
  • seizures
  • fainting
  • emergency birth

Some emergent pregnancy conditions include:

  • miscarriage
  • ectopic pregnancy
  • abruptio placentae
  • preeclampsia
  • placenta previa
  • cord prolapse
  • premature labor
  • rupture of fetal membranes
  • eclampsia
  • amniotic fluid embolus
  • placenta accreta
  • severe hypertension
  • stroke