Headache while pregnant: what to know

Hormonal changes, tiredness, missed meals, dehydration, stress, eye strain, and stopping caffeine can contribute. Nasal congestion or a viral illness may also cause head or facial discomfort. Headache can occur with high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that may also involve visual symptoms, pain below the ribs, sudden swelling, nausea, or feeling unusually unwell. These symptoms do not prove a particular diagnosis, but they change how quickly you should be assessed. Your stage of pregnancy, medical history, and blood pressure matter.

Eat regular small meals, drink fluids, rest, and reduce bright screens if they aggravate the pain. Keep a record of timing, triggers, blood-pressure readings if available, and any visual or abdominal symptoms. Do not start, stop, or combine pain medicines, herbal products, or migraine treatments without checking with your maternity team or pharmacist. They can advise which options fit your pregnancy and medical history.

Contact your maternity service urgently for severe or persistent headache, flashing lights or blurred vision, sudden swelling, pain under the ribs, repeated vomiting, shortness of breath, confusion, weakness, fever with a stiff neck, or a headache that feels very different from usual. Seek emergency help for collapse, seizure, difficulty speaking, or sudden loss of vision.

Could my blood pressure or another pregnancy complication be involved? Which pain-relief options are suitable for me? Should I monitor blood pressure at home? Which changes mean I should contact the maternity unit immediately?