Chronic Conditions · Pregnancy
A plan that grows with you.
Preparedness during pregnancy is not one fixed checklist. It changes as you do, from a general plan early on to a firm hospital-and-transportation plan near your due date. The pieces are simple, and each one is easiest to set up well before you need it.
Planning guidance, not medical advice. Your obstetric provider or midwife guides your pregnancy and your care. This guide prepares the logistics around it.
Planning guidance, not medical advice. This page does not offer clinical guidance about pregnancy, labor, or your health. It does not cover symptoms, warning signs, or what to do medically. Those belong entirely with your obstetric provider or midwife, and you should follow their guidance for when to seek care. What this page does is help you keep your prenatal care, records, medication, and safe surroundings from being interrupted by a disruption.
What this guide covers
The same pieces, weighted differently as you go.
An emergency during pregnancy can close the hospital you planned to use, interrupt prenatal appointments, and make ordinary hazards like heat and smoke matter more than they usually would. Research after US disasters has found that pregnant women can face increased risks, and their babies higher chances of low birth weight or preterm birth, which is exactly why a little planning goes a long way.
This guide covers four pieces: knowing where you will be cared for if your hospital closes, carrying your prenatal records and birth-plan backup, keeping your prenatal medication supply, and the environmental planning that matters more while you are expecting.
What this guide does not cover
Symptoms, warning signs, or what to do medically, which belong with your provider
Anything about labor, delivery, or managing your pregnancy
Caring for a newborn after birth, covered in Children & Infants
How the plan shifts over time
Early pregnancy
Set up the durable pieces while it is easy: a copy of your records in your kit, your prenatal vitamins and any medications buffered, and a general household emergency plan that now accounts for you.
Mid pregnancy
Have the hospital conversation with your provider and settle your alternate-care plan. Keep your records current as appointments add to them, and pay closer attention to heat and air-quality alerts.
Late pregnancy
Proximity to a maternity hospital and the willingness to evacuate early become the priority. Long-distance travel is best avoided near term. Your firm hospital plan, your transportation, and a ready bag matter most now.
Hospital access and evacuation
Always know where you would go.
The core of a pregnancy emergency plan is never being uncertain about where you will be cared for. That means a conversation with your provider now, and knowing your options both from home and from anywhere you might evacuate to.
Have the if-closed conversation now
The most valuable question to ask your provider before any emergency is simple: if your office or my hospital is closed, where will I get prenatal care or deliver? The CDC names this as a key planning step for pregnancy.1
Write down the answer and keep it in your kit. Knowing your alternate-care plan in advance removes the hardest decision from the worst possible moment.
If you have to evacuate, make an appointment to continue your prenatal care as soon as it is safe, even if it is not with your usual provider.
Know your hospital from two places
Identify the nearest hospital with maternity services from your home, and from any location you might evacuate to. A relative's house three hours away is not a plan until you know where its nearest labor and delivery unit is.
If you evacuate to a public shelter, tell the staff on arrival that you are pregnant, so they can direct you to the right resources and care.1
Near your due date, this becomes the deciding factor in any evacuation: go early, and go somewhere with maternity care within reach.
Records, birth plan, and medication
What lets any provider pick up your care.
If you end up in front of a provider who is not your own, what they need is on paper: your prenatal record, your due date, your history, and your medications. Carrying a copy of it means your care continues without starting over.
The CDC recommends keeping copies of your medical records, prescription information, insurance, and identification in a waterproof, portable container, along with the alternate-care plan from your provider.1
Carry your prenatal records and birth plan
Ask your provider for a copy of your prenatal record to keep with you, and add your birth plan and the alternate-care plan you agreed on. Keep it all in a waterproof, portable container so it survives a flood or a fast exit.
Emergency Medical DocumentsBuffer your prenatal vitamins and medications
Pack your prenatal vitamins and at least a seven-to-ten-day supply of any medications you take. The CDC suggests asking your provider about a thirty-day or longer emergency refill and checking your state's emergency prescription laws.1
Prescription PreparednessBoth the records and the medication buffer live in your household medical profile, the single place that holds everything a provider or responder needs. Building it is a short, one-time project. Build your medical profile.
Heat, air quality, and exertion
Ordinary hazards carry more weight now.
Heat, smoke, and heavy physical work are more consequential during pregnancy than at other times. Knowing that in advance turns them from surprises into things your plan already covers.
A large systematic review of nearly 33 million US births found that heat and fine-particle air pollution were associated with higher rates of preterm birth and low birth weight.2
That finding is not a reason to worry through your pregnancy. It is a clear reason the environmental parts of your plan, staying cool and keeping the air you breathe clean, are worth setting up early rather than improvising in the moment.
Heat
Stay cool during extreme heat, especially in a summer power outage. Plan how you will keep cool if the electricity is out, and know where a cooling shelter is.
Cooling during outagesAir quality
Sign up for air-quality alerts. Avoid going outdoors when the Air Quality Index is above 100, keep indoor air clean with windows closed, and wear a well-fitting N95, not a cloth mask, if you must go out in smoke.1
Set up a clean roomPhysical exertion
The CDC advises avoiding hard physical work and disaster cleanup during pregnancy. Plan for someone else to handle the heavy lifting and cleanup after a storm or flood, and stay out of floodwater.1
Common questions
Planning questions, answered plainly.
Where will I get prenatal care or deliver if my hospital is closed?
This is the key conversation to have with your provider before an emergency. Ask where you would get prenatal care or deliver if their office or your hospital is closed, and keep that plan in your kit.1 Identify the nearest maternity hospital from home and from any place you might evacuate to.
What records should I carry?
A copy of your prenatal and medical records, prescription information, insurance, and identification in a waterproof, portable container, plus your provider's alternate-care plan.1 Ask your provider for a copy of your prenatal record so any clinician can continue your care.
How much medication and what supplies should I keep?
Your prenatal vitamins and at least a seven-to-ten-day supply of any medications. The CDC suggests asking your provider about a thirty-day or longer emergency refill and checking your state's emergency prescription laws, plus at least a three-day supply of food and water per person.1
Are heat and wildfire smoke really more of a concern during pregnancy?
There is good evidence they matter more. A large review of nearly 33 million US births found heat and fine-particle air pollution associated with higher rates of preterm birth and low birth weight.2 The response is to plan for staying cool, keeping indoor air clean, avoiding outdoor air when the AQI is above 100, and wearing an N95 rather than a cloth mask if you must go out.1
Does my plan change as my pregnancy progresses?
Yes. Earlier on, the focus is records, medication, and a general plan. Closer to your due date, proximity to a maternity hospital and evacuating early become the priority, and long-distance travel is best avoided near term. Confirm the specifics with your provider.
Sources
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health. "Safety Messages for Pregnant, Postpartum, and Breastfeeding People During Natural Disasters and Severe Weather," and the CDC emergency kit checklist for pregnant women, infants, and children (cdc.gov). Accessed September 4, 2026.
2 Bekkar B, Pacheco S, Basu R, DeNicola N. "Association of Air Pollution and Heat Exposure With Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Stillbirth in the US: A Systematic Review." JAMA Network Open 2020;3(6):e208243. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.8243.
3 March of Dimes, "Disaster Preparedness" (marchofdimes.org), with wildfire-smoke-and-pregnancy guidance from the EPA and CDC. Accessed September 4, 2026.
Who to contact
The conversations to have now
Your obstetric provider or midwife
For your alternate-care plan if your hospital closes, your guidance on urgent warning signs and when to seek care, and advance emergency-refill authorization.
Your pharmacist
For a prenatal vitamin and medication buffer and emergency dispensing under your state's law.
Your delivering hospital
To confirm its emergency plan, and to identify a second maternity hospital near you and near any evacuation destination.
Your local emergency management office
For shelter locations and cooling centers. On arrival at a shelter, tell staff you are pregnant.
CDC and March of Dimes
Disaster preparedness resources written specifically for pregnant and postpartum people.
Related guides
Keep going.
These guides connect directly to pregnancy planning. Read them alongside this one for the complete picture.
Children & Infants
Preparedness for the newborn stage: feeding supplies, safe sleep, and infant records for your emergency kit.
Emergency Medical Documents
Assembling the prenatal records, birth plan, and prescription information that travel with you.
Prescription Preparedness
The framework for a prenatal vitamin and medication buffer and your state's emergency refill rules.
Transportation Planning
Evacuation routes and backup transportation that keep a maternity hospital within reach.
Indoor Air Quality During Outages
Setting up a clean room to keep the air you breathe clean during a smoke event.
Household Medical Profile
The one document that holds your prenatal records, providers, and medications in a grab-and-go form.
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