The short explanation
A severe headache with flashing lights after delivery needs emergency assessment today, even if your BP was normal in pregnancy. High blood pressure and pre-eclampsia can start for the first time after the baby is born, usually in the first days or weeks. These symptoms can be a warning sign of a serious rise in BP. Call 112 or go to the nearest hospital with an emergency department or labour ward now. Doctors can check your BP, urine and blood tests and start treatment quickly if needed.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Other warning signs include blurred vision, pain under the ribs on the right, vomiting, sudden swelling of the face or hands, and breathlessness.
- Headaches after delivery can also have other causes, such as lack of sleep, dehydration or a headache after a spinal or epidural, but with flashing lights it is important to rule out high BP first.
- If you have a home BP machine, check a reading on the way, but do not let a normal reading delay going to hospital.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This answer cannot tell what is causing your headache or what your BP is now. That needs an urgent check in person.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Is my blood pressure high, and could this be pre-eclampsia after delivery?
- Do I need blood or urine tests?
- Is any treatment safe while breastfeeding?
- How often should my BP be checked once I go home?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Emergency — call 112 now
- Call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department if you have a severe headache that does not settle, blurred vision or flashing lights, pain under the ribs, a fit, or sudden breathlessness.
Get help the same day
- Even if the headache eases, get your BP checked today at a hospital or health centre.
Raise it at a routine appointment
- Ask about long-term BP and heart checks at your postnatal visit.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Postpartum care MedlinePlus (NIH)
- Postpartum depression MedlinePlus (NIH)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
Did this answer your question?
Whatever you choose is filed against this version of the answer, never against you, and it is never shown as a count.
“Explain more simply” asks you which part was hard to follow, so the author knows what to rewrite. “My question is different” opens a private follow-up with this answer attached.
Saving, following up and reporting are all private. Nothing you do on this page is visible to other readers or to the doctor who wrote it, unless you ask a question.