When to take your baby to the hospital

Go to the nearest hospital now if your baby struggles to breathe, cannot feed, has a convulsion or is hard to wake. A baby under three months with a temperature of 38°C or higher also needs hospital care now. The rest of this guide covers the signs that need a doctor today, and how to check fever, breathing and dehydration at home.

When should I take my baby to the hospital now?

Go to the nearest hospital now if your baby:

• Cannot drink or breastfeed, or vomits everything.
• Has a convulsion, also called a fit.
• Is floppy, unresponsive, hard to wake or only moves when touched.
• Is breathing very fast, grunting or pulling in under the ribs.
• Has blue, grey, unusually pale or blotchy skin.
• Has a weak, high-pitched or continuous cry.
• Has not passed urine for 12 hours.
• Has a stiff neck or a bulging soft spot on the head.
• Has a rash that does not fade when you press a clear glass against it.
• Is under three months old with a temperature of 38°C or higher.
• Develops jaundice during the first 24 hours after birth.
• Has yellow palms or soles at any age.

The World Health Organization says any general danger sign needs urgent attention and hospital referral. For toddlers, the same signs apply, including difficulty drinking, repeated vomiting, convulsions and unusual sleepiness.

Do not wait for every sign to appear. The National Health Service says a sick baby may not show every listed symptom.

Which signs mean my baby should see a doctor today?

Arrange a face-to-face medical assessment today if your baby:

• Is three to six months old with a temperature of 39°C or higher.
• Has had a high temperature for five days.
• Feeds poorly or has fewer wet diapers than usual.
• Has jaundice after the first 24 hours.
• Has dark yellow or brown urine, or pale creamy stool.
• Seems less well than when you last asked for medical advice.
• Is behaving differently and you are worried.

Seek advice sooner if your child is under two and a fever lasts beyond 24 hours. This is the simpler, more cautious threshold from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The National Health Service uses five days, but both sources say poor feeding or looking unwell needs earlier care.

Going early matters. A study of 7,466 Nigerian children found that 62.1% received fever treatment more than 24 hours after the fever began. In an Enugu study, 45% of mothers who used a hospital arrived more than 24 hours after noticing newborn danger signs.

Families may first try medicine from the chemist, leftover medicine or a home remedy. The 2023-24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey found that pharmacies and chemists supplied 66% of medicines used for childhood fever. These first steps can delay an examination when a danger sign is already present.

You see your baby every day. If your baby seems less responsive, feeds differently or looks seriously unwell, ask for care again. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence treats a parent becoming more worried as a reason to seek further advice.

The Questions to Ask at Your Baby's Check-up tool lets you tick questions, add your own and print the list. The Nigeria immunisation schedule helps you check which routine vaccinations are due.

How should I check a fever, and could it be teething?

Use a digital thermometer in the armpit. Place it inside the top of the armpit and hold your baby's arm against their body. Feeling the forehead cannot measure temperature accurately, and fever strips are unreliable.

Use these age thresholds:

• Under two months: The South African adaptation of World Health Organization guidance treats an armpit temperature of 37.5°C or higher as a danger sign. A temperature under 35.5°C is also a danger sign. Go to hospital.
• Under three months: The National Health Service threshold is 38°C or higher. Go to hospital now, even without another symptom.
• Three to six months: The National Health Service says 39°C or higher needs urgent medical advice today.
• Older than six months: Look at the temperature alongside feeding, breathing, wet diapers, alertness and other symptoms.

Do not use an ear thermometer for a baby under six months. Do not use alcohol, ice packs or sponging to lower a fever. Keep breastfeeding and offer fluids. Do not give paracetamol to a baby under two months or ibuprofen to a baby under three months.

Teething may cause a slight temperature below 38°C. The National Health Service says there is no evidence that teething causes diarrhoea. A temperature of 38°C or higher, or diarrhoea, needs another explanation from a health professional.

This belief is common. In a study of 290 mothers in Ibadan, 82.1% named fever and 44.8% named diarrhoea as teething symptoms. Your mother, mother-in-law or aunty may repeat what she was taught. You can thank her for watching the baby and still arrange medical advice.

How do I check breathing and dehydration?

Count breaths for one full minute while your child is settled. The World Health Organization defines fast breathing as:

• 60 breaths a minute or more for a baby under two months.
• 50 breaths a minute or more from two months to under one year.
• 40 breaths a minute or more from one year to five years.

Go to hospital now if breathing is fast, the baby grunts or the chest pulls in under the ribs. Blue, grey or unusually pale skin also needs immediate care.

Signs of dehydration include fewer wet diapers, a dry mouth and few or no tears. Sunken eyes or a sunken soft spot are also warning signs. Go now if your baby is hard to wake, cannot drink or has not passed urine for 12 hours.

For diarrhoea, the World Health Organization recommends oral rehydration salts (ORS) and continued feeding, including breast milk. Give frequent sips of ORS while travelling to hospital if severe dehydration is suspected and your baby can drink.

The World Health Organization also recommends dispersible zinc for 10 to 14 days. Ask a health professional for the right product and dose. Do not weaken formula, or replace ORS with fruit juice or a fizzy drink.

What should I do about jaundice, convulsions or a rash?

Newborn jaundice

Look for yellow skin and yellow in the whites of the eyes. Yellow can be harder to see on brown or black skin. Press lightly on the forehead or the tip of the nose, then check the palms and soles.

Go to hospital now if jaundice appears during the first 24 hours. Yellow palms or soles also need hospital care now. After 24 hours, jaundice needs medical assessment that day.

Morning sunlight is not a treatment for jaundice. A 2026 review found that most clinical guidelines recommend electric phototherapy and discourage direct sunlight. Sunlight can cause overheating, dehydration or sunburn, and it can delay hospital care.

Convulsions

During a convulsion:

• Protect your child's head with your hands or something soft.
• Note when the convulsion starts and ends.
• Move nearby objects that could cause injury.
• After it stops, place your child on their side and check the mouth is clear.

Do not hold the child down or put a hand, spoon, drink or medicine in their mouth. Do not use cold water or sponging during the convulsion.

Go to hospital after any first convulsion. Go now if it lasts longer than five minutes, breathing becomes difficult or another danger sign appears.

An Ilorin study recorded families using cow's urine, palm oil, pap, onion and alligator pepper during convulsions. Those practices came from people trying to help with what they knew. They can enter the mouth or eyes and delay care. Keep the child safe and go to the nearest hospital.

A rash that does not fade

Press the side of a clear glass firmly against the rash. Go to hospital now if the marks remain visible through the glass.

The National Health Service says the rash can be harder to see on brown or black skin. Check the palms, soles, roof of the mouth and inside the eyelids. A serious illness can also happen without a rash, so use the other warning signs too.

Common questions

Sources

• Childhood convulsions and home management in Ilorin, ISRN Pediatrics, 2012
• Teething beliefs among mothers in Ibadan, Nigerian Medical Journal, 2013
• Newborn danger signs and care seeking in Enugu, Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 2015
• Fever thresholds and home care, National Health Service
• Fever assessment for children under five, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
• Fever measurement and teething, American Academy of Pediatrics
• Febrile seizures and first aid, National Health Service
• Dehydration signs and fluid advice, National Health Service
• Newborn jaundice signs and treatment, National Health Service
• Sunlight practices for newborn jaundice, Frontiers in Public Health, 2026
• Meningitis symptoms and the glass test, National Health Service
• Child danger signs and breathing thresholds, World Health Organization, 2014
• Diarrhoea, oral rehydration salts and zinc, World Health Organization
• Fever treatment delays among Nigerian children, PLOS ONE, 2023
• Childhood fever treatment sources, Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, 2024
• Understanding factors influencing care seeking for sick children in Ebonyi and Kogi States, Nigeria, BMC Public Health, 2020