Baby Tracker for DadsGet the app

What should I do if my baby's lips or skin turn blue, gray or blotchy?

Call 911, or your local emergency number, now if your baby's lips, tongue or skin look blue, gray, pale or blotchy. Blue, gray, pale or blotchy lips, tongue or skin is an emergency sign at any age, according to both the AAP and the NHS.

Call 911 (or your local emergency number) now if your baby:

  • Bluish or gray lips, tongue or face, now
The sign, the action and who says so
SignActionSource
Bluish or gray lips, tongue or face, nowCall 911 nowAAP
Blue, grey, pale or blotchy (mottled) skin, lips or tongueCall 999 or go to A&E (UK)NHS

What the sources say

Bluish (or gray) lips, tongue or face now

AAP / HealthyChildren.orgSymptom Checker: Newborn Reflexes and BehaviorPage date: undatedChecked on October 23, 2026

has blue, grey, pale or blotchy (mottled) skin, lips or tongue

NHS (UK)When to get urgent medical help for babies and children under 5Page date: August 6, 2026Checked on October 23, 2026

At 3 AM

Make the call first. Do not spend time on the log, the thermometer or this page. If someone else is home, one of you calls while the other stays with the baby and turns on a proper light so the colour is easy to see.

Night mode and a dim lamp make colour hard to judge. If you cannot tell whether the lips look blue or just dark, treat it as blue and call. Describe the colour and where you see it, and let the person on the line decide what it means.

Have these ready: the baby's age in weeks, corrected if they were born early, what colour you see and where, whether the baby is breathing normally, and whether they respond to you.

After the call, the log answers the questions that follow: the last feed, the last wet diaper, any fever reading, any medicine, and when you first noticed the change. Bring the phone with you.

Where the sources differ

The AAP lists bluish or gray lips, tongue or face under call 911 now on its newborn symptom page. The NHS lists blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue under call 999 or go to A&E. They agree on the action. The NHS adds pale and mottled, so this page uses the wider wording.

You know your baby best. If you think something is seriously wrong, get help now.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you're worried, call your pediatrician.

Baby Tracker for Dads keeps this list one tap away, free, on its When to call a doctor page, with the same sources.

Written by The Baby Tracker for Dads teamChecked on October 23, 2026Medical review: pending. Every number on this page is quoted from the AAP, CDC or NHS; the links are above.