is flying long/medium haul a risk while pg or for an under 1?

[olivo]

i met a lady when i was last on holiday who told me she hadn't flown while pg or till her baby was one as it could pre-dispose the baby to SIDS. Can anyone point me in the direction of any research on this or does anyone know any facts?
many thanks.

Gosh - I don't think so - I flew frequently in the first trimester (due to not knowing I was in the first trimester) and then later a good few times as well. It sounds a bit spurious to me; anything could predispose anyone to SIDS - god forbid - so what are you going to do?

Flying does pose a risk to some women in pregnancy as it can make them more likely to get a DVT

there is research on this and it is fairly well known

have NEVER heard of the SIDS risk - suggest you contact SIDS to ask them

link is here

thank you. i flew at 4, 6, 13 and 22 weeks - 6 and 22 were medium haul (8hrs) when pg with dd. Am hoping to begin TTC soon but will be flying at least once medium haul and a couple of times short haul. I just can't shake what that lady said from my mind. I was warned about the DVT risks and did my best; flight socks, plenty of water, no alcohol, plenty of movement.
thank you for the link, Ruby, i will try and contact them. I don't want to cancel flights on the 'off-chance' that i may fall pg sooner rather than later, but at the same time, obviously, don;t want to take risks.

My ds was prem, was ventilated at birth and had lots of breathing difficulties. We had a check up with his consultant just before we flew to Dubai (7 hours) when he was 6 months old - she said "have a lovely time". If flying medium haul before the age of one increases risk of SIDS, I hope she would have told us!

I think after a certain number of weeks around 36, you need a letter from your doctor saying you are fit to fly.
Dont know about babies though, save to say Ive seen quite a few on long haul flights.

i had to have letter from my dr last time as we flew to UAE when i was 22 weeks; i also had to sign a disclaimer as we transferred airlines coming home.
liege, that is reassuring - we took dd to dubai at 6 mo too.
have looked at the link ruby gave me and can find nothing about it there. may be the lady had personal circumstances that may have affected them; i felt guilty as we'd just had a conversation about travelling whilst pg and with yuong babies.

Hi, I flew lots when PG (I work for an airline) and my Dr plus our occupational health doctors at work said there is no extra risk to you or the baby if you are having a healthy pregnancy. The check in staff will usually get you an aisle seat if you tell them you are PG so you can get up and move about and go to the loo 50 times inflight! DS (13 months) has also flown a lot, I asked my Dr if it was OK for him to travel at 12 weeks and she said again no risk if thechild is healthy. BA accepts babies over 48 hours old (if they were born full term with no complications) which they wouldn't do if there was any risk to the child.

thanks for your reassurance zebedee.
have gone ahead and booked flights, obviously would cancel immediately if pg and any known complications. so, fingers crossed i do actually fall pg!

Have a lovely holiday and happy conceiving!!!

I think I did once read that flying long-haul for a baby under six weeks was correlated to a slightly increased incidence of SIDS. I've not seen the evidence behind that, mind (so may be complete fiction). And I've never heard it about flying when pregnant or for a baby over six weeks. Cabin crew who become pregnant are reassigned to ground duty, but that's because otherwise they are airborne all the time and there's a theoretical risk of increased radiation levels, but there's no risk from normal levels of air travel.

Crew are also grounded because some of the physical aspects of the crew role (eg evacuating an aircraft down slides and opening heavy doors) are not suitable for a pregnant person.

Crew are also grounded because some of the physical aspects of the crew role (eg evacuating an aircraft down slides and opening heavy doors) are not suitable for a pregnant person.

I flew right up to 36 weeks and no problems at all, everyone tries to panic you during pregnancy about flying....you should go if you feel ok