Has anyone been to Gambia when pregnant?

[Fab123]

My OH and I are looking to book somewhere sunny for March and have found a great deal for a week in Gambia. I've looked on Trip Advisor and the hotel has decent reviews. Anyone have any experiences here or advice?

Do you need anti-malarials? Not sure you can take those.

I haven't asked the doc yet tbh - was going to see if anyone had done it already and get advice before "wasting" doc's time. I should imagine it would be somewhere I would need anti-malarials though :(

you will need antimalarials. and don't walk on the beach barefoot, there are lots of nematode (worm) infections acquired that way. Personally, I wouldn't go whilst pregnant, but that's your call obviously. whcih hotel is it btw?

i think you do need anti-malarials to go to the gambia

Hmmm. Worm infections sounds delightful!

I agree though, it doesn't sound ideal for a pregnancy holiday.Thanks guys. It's somewhere we'd like to go but maybe not now, eh?

Struggling to find somewhere 20-25 degrees in March with 4-5 star accom that won't be more than £650 each. My OH and I are doing the cheesy Babymoon thing and I don't want to have to be worrying about food standards etc so we've agreed to do "luxury" But on that budget it's hard to get sun and luxury it seems.
Any ideas?

malaria hot spots

have you read the know before you go medication guide on the gambia experience website? it's a bit feeble, but still recommends antimalarials. I think proguanil is the only antimalarial that is at all recommended in pregnancy (but it's been a while since uni, so that may have changed). I used doxycycline in the Gambia which had the added bonus of preventing stomach upsets, but I doubt very much whether it's recommended for use by pregnant women.

To be honest I think I was worried about tummy upsets too so the malaria and worm issues are putting it on the list of "yes, well, maybe later". I really just want somewhere I can stagger to the beach and pool and laze about like a beached whale

probably better off in the mediterranean somewhere then! Or the Canary Islands, maybe? they have the plus point of having frequent flights to and from the UK too.

I will have a look at what is nice. I think we were hoping not to do Spain as we'll probably end up there with family at some point next year. I think Africa was one of the few "unusual" places we thought we might be able to squeeze in before Pea arrives!

Sorry crapbarry I didn't mean that to sound as rude as it came out! I was initially thinking Menorca but OH wanted somewhere further away where we'd not want to take a baby. I blame him

well, what about tunisia or morocco? I'd just avoid anywhere in sub-saharan Africa if I were you - malaria in pregnancy is bloody awful, and totally not worth the risk.

Funny you should say that - I've just looked up a lovely place in Tunisia on Last Minute and it looks fab on Trip Advisor too. Only think is there is a "state of emergancy" in Tunisia at the moment...but I doubt it would affect us as we won't be venturing out of the hotel much and it's not aimed at foriegners. Have emailed OH to get approval see what he thinks :)

We went to Morocco for baby-free holiday. Had a lovely time.