To cancel going to Egypt (Dahab) as I've found out I'm 8 weeks pregnant

[Beans1234]

OK, so my sister-in-law (33) was booking a holiday to Egypt for 7 nights on her own (she doesn't have a boyfriend so fair enough that she wanted to get away) i offered to go out with her so it wasn't do daunting for the first 3 nights so she extended the break to 10 nights in total. I have just found out I'm pregnant with my first child therefore nervous to say the least, finding out a little later means I haven't been the most careful with drinking etc so I'm conscious I give this little bean the best chance. I've heard so many horror stories about bugs/poor sanitation etc and even though its only 3 nights away, I'm extremely nervous as getting back from Egypt isn't just a simple hop on a plane and you're home (e.g. France) .

Answers on a postcard please as I feel terrible, she was nervous about going away on her own anyway and now she's doing so for three extra nights.

I've lost 3 DC at about the 9/10 week mark, 2 of them completely coincidentally in Egypt (Alex) so TBH YANBU.

In Egypt, PG or not, for the love of anything holy don't drink the tap water, don't have ice in your drinks and make sure all bottled water is opened in front of you.

That said, if they did try to serve you tap, you'd know it straight away for the smell and the taste!

It's too hot to go at the moment anyway, the last week of August is literally the after-burner of the pizza oven, once you have got into September it's lovely, a manageable heat. August in Egypt? Mad dogs and Englishmen!

crazy, could be last childfree holiday you have for many years

Glad the scan was fine Beans, good luck for the rest of your pregnancy.

If you do go, I'd take HerHissyness advice and add to it not to eat salads (might have been washed in local water) or anything which has been sitting out. Sadly, the safest thing you could eat is deep fried, which isn't terribly cultured... But does mean you can eat chips!

YANBU. For me pregnancy is an illness, don't tell me it's bloody not because you haven't lived inside my skin when I've been pregnant. Also the last thing you want to do is MC in a different country, and even if you hadn't had bleeding, there's a 1 in 4 chance of that for anyone. If you don't fancy it don't go, maybe book a weekend away together for later on.

BTW she has a whole other 6 months hopefully to have her last child-free holiday, and ime it is better done in a later stage when you don't feel like you want to die. Or slightly less like you want to die.

All those who are calling the OP crazy, actually I think you're all crazy, and not actually seeing the OP's point at all.
Youve all clearly never miscarried or had any significant problems during a pregnancy. Imagine MCing in an unfamiliar (possibly unhygienic) place, with no DH with you? No thanks very much.

I've got 2 kids, and the pregnancies were medically textbook, but I had a lot of spotting with one of them. And with my second child - after 2 MCs - I have never felt so anxious about anything in my life. Each day seemed to take a week to pass. Nothing on this earth would have made me fly away from my DH to go to anywhere when I felt so worried.
A last child-free holiday might be wonderful, but not in the 1st trimester, and not if you're anxious about everything you eat and drink.

I was sick as a dog all through my pregnancy, so on that score I can sympathise. I can confirm that it is HORRIBLE, for anyone lucky enough to have good pregnancies. I cancelled almost all the 'last child-free' extravaganzas that summer, I could barely face getting up in the morning. Presumably you're knackered too.

So- don't feel bad. You aren't an evil arsehole - you pretty much have to do what you have to do.

BUT. What everyone else is saying is RIGHT. If you're basically feeling ok, and you have been checked out, and you keep to food hygiene rules, you will be ABSOLUTELY fine. I guess you've cancelled already. But you would be fine, and you would love it, you know. If you haven't cancelled, have a good think, I would go in your shoes.

You've done what you felt was right but in your shoes I would not have cancelled. And it is just a flight away, only a couple of hours longer flight time than France in fact.

I've been to Egypt twice and the first time I didn't get ill at all. The second time I only got ill once (although that was enough) - after some idiot at the hotel served me a chicken breast that was not cooked all the way though and I didn't realise until I had eaten some of it (and that could have happened in England - raw chicken isn't good wherever you are!).

I think you've missed a great chance to spend a few days with your sister before a new baby takes your attention but that was your choice.

I think you are being very sensible. I've been to Egypt twice and followed all the guidelines to the letter, including cleaning my teeth with bottled water. I still got ill. The second time I was very ill for over six weeks and ended up having to have tests at the doctor's. I've also had an awful early pregnancy with bleeding and sickness. No way on earth would I want to go through that in another country!

I don't think you are being unreasonable either. I'm 13 weeks now and a holiday is the worst thing I could possibly think of! Plus, I'm the same as EustachiaVye - I went to Egypt on a daytrip from Cyprus on a Thomsons holiday excursion thing, followed all the rules to the letter and got so sick that they nearly didn't let me fly home. I wouldn't risk it tbh.

TBH it depends how you feel, i was there at 20 weeks but brought a stinker of a stomach bug home but that didn't matter too much to the pregnancy and it was very hot 5 weeks ago 46 degrees. I met a woman in the airport who was telling me she thought i was very brave, she was 8 weeks and hadn't left her room because of her MS.

I would say don't let being pregnant stop you going unless your suffering from really bad MS and you won't enjoy it anyway. I had a very relaxing time, tummy bug aside.

Pregnancy is not an illness, you will be fine.

If you had put in your OP that you had bleeding, then you would have had a very different response. People are reacting to the facts, as you presented them in your OP.

Sorry to hear about the bleeding, and hoping that it is nothing serious.

It is better not to go. You will just worry, and if something goes wrong, you would blame yourself.

Make it up to your SIL with a nice weekend away someplace local - maybe a spa weekend? Once you are passed the 12 weeks mark and feeling a bit better.

Good luck.

Hello, I don't think you are mad cancelling in fact I think you are being sensible. I have had 2 mcs this year and both times had flown in the first 8 weeks. If and when I get preggers again I will not be setting foot near a plane! Yes I know I was probably unlucky and preg is not an illness but I know I would be super careful and cautious. Good luck with your preg op.

I was over cautious in my first pregnancy. Nothing wrong with that! First time Mums often are. You can always go on holiday another time. If anything happened you would never forgive yourself. So, YANBU.

Congrats on the pregnancy and good luck with it! xxx

DH still chides me now that we haven't been to Egypt, as we had a three week trip planned (but not booked) that I decided not to go ahead with as I would have been about 13 weeks pg with DS. Irony is, we went to Greece for a week instead and I got food poisoning!
But, I would have found the heat awful, would have been constantly paranoid about the food, and wouldn't have been able to dive, which was one of the main reasons for going. As I still say to DH, the pyramids will still be there when we're 50!
I'm a very seasoned traveller and have experienced the best and worst of it. You cannot help but be a little paranoid when you're pg, particularly if you've had some problems, so probably better to cancel than to not enjoy yourself.

Oh and I hate the comment "pregnancy is not an illness". Obviously it isn't but it doesn't mean it doesn't feel like one. I'm pg with DC2 and there have been times when I have felt more ill than I ever have before. Bloody awful!

Every single person without exception, who I know, that has been to Egypt has been extremely ill during, or after, going there.

Two of them have died. Both as a result of the illnesses they contracted.

It has put me off going there for life to be honest.

Felix, I tramped about the Giza Plateau in a stonkingly hot April while PG, had a MC 1 week later. Could have happened anyway, but I'll never know.

I lived in Egypt for 3 years, never got food poisoning. Mind you, never went out, had to cook my own food....

My mum did come down with Pneumonia 15 days after going back to the UK, 6 days in ICU, not sure if that could have been something she picked up over there.

AFAIK, the only place to go at the moment is the Red Sea. But it's hotter than hell there for now. WRT security, there it's situation normal. Cairo, Giza and Alex are not as safe as they were, there is no effective policing system. Care also is advised in Luxor, although I do know that there are holiday excursions going there, so it must be safer than other large cities.

Health and Safety are alien concepts in Egypt. Cleanliness too is not a natural given. Mostly life there is dusty, filthy, litter strewn and a broken mess. I'm sure tourist resorts are better, but again germs are not easily seen, if cleaners can get away with skipping something, they will.

I will never, ever go back.

Pregnancy is NOT an illness, but it IS a condition.

Having haemorrhaged twice, the first one, i was literally minutes away from dying, in a country with no effective ambulance 999 service.... Not recommended. It was very scary.

I went to Egypt this year, not pregnant thank god. Got really ill for the whole week, diarrea and vomiting, and I wasn't right for a month when I got home.

I would never go back full stop, so I don't blame you to be honest. I am in my first trimester too, only 6 weeks, and I'm really scared that something will go wrong, I wouldn't want to be abroad without DH if it did.

Don't feel bad, YANBU.

I also hate the pregnancy isn't an illness crap, it's always felt like it is to me

Yanbu I wouldn't go either

I actually don't think you are being entirely unreasonable. I lived there for 10 years, loved it, speak Arabic, kept to hygiene rules and I still got sick at times. Egyptian women have babies (lots!) and Egyptian women get sick, sometimes in pregnancy. As much as it's a great place, healthcare in Dahab is not top notch, neither is it in Sharm, which is an hour away. Chances are that nothing would have happened, but IF it had, you would have had a nightmare, plus felt guilty, plus had SIL feeling bad.

Relax, wait until later on and then go away. Perhaps do something else to try to make up to SIL (sorry, no suggestions ), but I do not think YABU, just rather cautious.

I'd be really fucked off with you if I was your SIL.I think you've really let her down. Being pregnant is not an excuse to cancel.

With my first pregnancy earlier this year , I would have gone and not thought twice about it . I lost that one at 10 weeks . I got pregnant again straight away with my current one , and bleed at 7 weeks . I'm now 26 weeks. No way would I have gone abroad after my first MC after knowing what a MC is like . I was due to go away on a ten day business trip to the US at the 12 week mark , and I informed work I would not go . My manager had to go but he was extremely understanding . I doubt I would fly at all while pregnant.

Don't feel you have to justify your decision . It is right for you in this situation . I bet the people on here who are saying its not an illness , you have let your SIL down etc have probably made decisions in their lives where you may think 'oh for goodness sake , just get on with it '. It's only a holiday . If you are close to your SIL its no biggy. With my first pregnancy earlier this year , I would have gone and not thought twice about it . I lost that one at 10 weeks . I got pregnant again straight away with my current one , and bleed at 7 weeks . I'm now 26 weeks. No way would I have gone abroad after my first MC after knowing what a MC is like . I was due to go away on a ten day business trip to the US at the 12 week mark , and I informed work I would not go . My manager had to go but he was extremely understanding . I doubt I would fly at all while pregnant.

Don't feel you have to justify your decision . It is right for you in this situation . I bet the people on here who are saying its not an illness , you have let your SIL down etc have probably made decisions in their lives where you may think 'oh for goodness sake , just get on with it '. It's only a holiday . If you are close to your SIL its no biggy.