A quieter corner of the app. You're not alone here.
Whatever brought you to this page — we're sorry. This hub summarizes the main choices for miscarriage, stillbirth, and the NICU, and gives you one clear place to find urgent-care and crisis support. Educational only; final decisions belong to you and your care team.
Miscarriage
Pregnancy loss before 20 weeks — three management options.
Stillbirth & late loss
Loss at 20 weeks or later — care, choices, and support.
NICU basics
When your baby needs extra care after birth.
Stillbirth & late loss — the main choices
For families facing pregnancy loss at 20 weeks or later: what to expect medically, the choices you have around birth and time with your baby, memory-making, and long-term support.
When to call — don't wait for an AI answer
If you or your baby is experiencing any of the below, call now. Labor Lens AI is educational only.
When to call — tailored to stillbirth & late loss
Each row shows what's usually normal and the specific signs that mean call now.
Within the range of normal
Numbness, disbelief, wanting a second scan, needing time before decisions — all normal reactions. Most decisions can wait hours, and some can wait days.
Call your healthcare team if
You need more time before proceeding, you want a second opinion or scan, or you want your support people present before another word is said — say so. Your care team can slow down.
Within the range of normal
Full pain management, birth support people, quiet room, no fetal monitors on the walls — all standard requests bereavement pathways honor.
Call your healthcare team if
Bleeding heavier than pad-an-hour, fever, or severe headache/vision changes/upper-belly pain — the same medical warning signs apply. Tell your nurse right away.
Within the range of normal
You can hold, bathe, dress, take photos, invite family — for hours or, in some hospitals, days using a CuddleCot cooling bassinet. You can also choose not to, or start and stop.
Call your healthcare team if
You wouldn't 'call' about this — just know your choices can change in either direction and staff should support that.
Within the range of normal
Bleeding (lochia), afterpains, milk coming in around day 3–5, and hormonal drops all happen exactly as they would with a live birth.
Call your healthcare team if
Soaking a pad in an hour, fever ≥100.4°F, foul-smelling discharge, one-sided calf swelling, chest pain or shortness of breath, severe headache, thoughts of harming yourself — same warning signs as any postpartum recovery. Postpartum VTE risk is higher after loss.
Within the range of normal
Grief after stillbirth is not linear. Anniversary dates, due dates, and later pregnancies bring waves. Both parents grieve, often differently and on different timelines.
Call your healthcare team if
Trouble functioning at 2+ weeks, intrusive thoughts, hopelessness, or any thought of harming yourself — call your provider, PSI (1-800-944-4773), Star Legacy, or 988 same day. Perinatal mental health specialists trained in loss exist and are worth asking for.
Read the full topic
Deeper explanation, evidence sources, and every "usually normal vs. call" variation.
Open Stillbirth & late loss →