Pregnancy and emergencies: documents, routes, contacts

This plan is pure organisation. It does not answer medical questions: which warning signs there are, what to do about symptoms or how to take care of yourself physically during an evacuation are things to discuss with your midwife or doctor. The individual advice of these professionals always comes before anything a general text can say.

Why is a plan of its own still useful? In crises routes are longer, phone networks overloaded and the usual practice may be closed. Knowing in advance where the records are, whom to call and how else to get to the hospital saves time and lets you give helpers the important information immediately.

A routine check-up is a good opportunity for the conversation. Simply ask: “What should we bear in mind in an emergency or an evacuation?” and “How do we get advice outside office hours?” Write down the answers.

Important records include the pregnancy records – in Germany, for example, the maternity record book (Mutterpass) –, a list of prescribed medication, the health insurance card and the hospital's contact details. Everything goes together into a waterproof sleeve that always stays in the same place or goes along in the handbag. A copy is kept in the family's emergency folder.

The numbers of the midwife, practice, hospital and emergency services belong in the phone and also on paper. A dead battery or a lost phone are common problems in crises. A charged power bank in the go bag helps but does not replace the paper list.

In the last weeks of pregnancy the hospital bag is ready. It is not the same as the go bag, but both can stand side by side so that in an emergency you only need to grab them.

Know the main route to the hospital and at least one alternative. During floods, storms, snow or major roadworks, the usual route can suddenly be closed. It is worth driving the alternative route once, so it is not unfamiliar when it counts.

Also note a second facility that can be reached if the first cannot. And agree who drives if the partner is not there – such as a neighbour, a friend or a taxi. If you have no car, think about how else you can get to the hospital quickly.

If the pregnant person is acutely unwell, the right way is not to drive yourselves but to call the emergency number. Route planning is meant for situations in which the midwife or doctor says: “Please come to the hospital.”

With warning signs the midwife or doctor has named, with bleeding, severe pain or if the pregnant person suddenly feels very unwell: call the local emergency number at once (112 in the EU). Do not wait to see whether it improves, and do not hesitate because networks are busy or you do not want to “be a bother”. Tell the emergency call-taker that it is a pregnancy.

When the authorities advise evacuation, leave early. The later you set off, the fuller the roads and assembly points. Tell evacuation points, emergency services and staff at a shelter that there is a pregnancy. Only those who know can take it into account.

This entry is explicitly not a guide to giving birth outside hospital. Everything medical is for professionals and the ambulance service. The dispatcher on the phone will tell you what to do until help arrives.

The plan changes over the course of the pregnancy: at the start, records and contacts are the main focus; towards the end, the hospital bag and the question of who drives. After the birth the guidance on preparing for infants applies, and the baby's documents go into the emergency folder.

Ready.gov and the German BBK guide generally recommend taking the specific needs of every household member into account in the emergency plan and keeping documents and medication at hand. Pregnancy is a good example of this.