Bad headaches at 35 weeks pregnant: what to do

Late pregnancy can bring poor sleep, muscle tension, nasal congestion, heat exposure and dehydration. However, a severe headache can occur with pregnancy-related high blood pressure. Warning features include flashing lights, blurred vision, sudden swelling, pain under the ribs, nausea or feeling unusually unwell. A headache does not by itself establish the cause, so a blood-pressure and clinical assessment is useful.

Describe the pain precisely: sudden or gradual onset, its location, severity, duration and whether it differs from previous headaches. Tell the clinician about reduced fluids, vomiting, fever, recent illness and any medicines or supplements.

Call your maternity unit or obstetric clinician today for advice about a bad headache. While waiting, rest somewhere cool, drink small amounts frequently and eat if you can. Use only pain relief that your pregnancy care team has approved; avoid borrowing someone else’s medicine or taking combination cold remedies without checking. If possible, have someone stay with you and help monitor changes.

Go to urgent care immediately for a thunderclap headache, seizure, collapse, confusion, weakness, difficulty speaking, severe breathlessness, high fever with neck stiffness, repeated vomiting or new visual disturbance. Contact the maternity unit urgently for facial or hand swelling, upper abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, fluid loss, contractions or reduced fetal movement. Do not wait for a routine appointment when these occur.

Ask whether you need blood-pressure, urine and blood tests, which analgesic is suitable at 35 weeks, and what symptoms require immediate reassessment. Ask how to contact the maternity unit overnight and what to do if fetal movements change.