UK to Australia @ 7.5 months pregnant?

[HeadingHome]

Considering moving back to Australia in January - when I'll be 7.5 months pregnant.

I am very used to travel and have done this particular long-haul more than a dozen times.

Is it risky if my pregnancy progresses normally up till then?

Not sure what I'd do really...

Speak to your Dr/Midwife?

There are considerations, sometimes airlines are also unhappy to let you fly...
www.pregnancy-calendars.org/articles/air-travel-during-pregnancy.html

Plenty of airlines wont let you fly on them after 34 weeks - definitely find out the policies first.

I moved to belfast to nottingham by van at 7.5 months pregnant, not totally the same but a long trip. It was awful on the back and bump I had to stop the van and get everybody out in the rain so I could lie down for half an hour and that was with frequent pauses on the way and a ferry trip (which I could lie).
Some company refused really early, I flew back from france at 16 weeks pregnant and they nearly didn't put me on the flight because I looked like past 24 weeks and didn't have any medical certificate (which I didn't needed being 16 weeks!).
Make sure you will be able to find a plane ticket first, and then be prepare because if something goes slightly wrong you might have to cancel it.

Qantas will let you fly up to 36 weeks if you are "complication free". I think you may need a note after 34 weeks- their website gives you the info anyway.

BUT the flight may well be torturous. I flew UK to HK at 30 weeks in business and was pretty achy, swollen and grumpy by the end of it and that's only 12 hours and I have had the textbook easy pregnancy. Was like "NEVER again"

If it was a

• One way flight
• Your pregnancy was complications free
• You had a stop off for a few days
• You were going "home" not moving to a new country
• You had a new obs / hospital / health insurance sorted out before hand

Then Maybe

Even if the airline will take you, you might well have a problem with travel insurance. I travelled long haul right at the start of my third trimester, and it was the absolute latest that the insurance company would accept.

It was a completely miserable experience as well, by the way. I was moving back home after living abroad, so I didn't have any choice in the matter.

batsforlashes makes some good points - doing it for leisure or a wedding or something would be madness.

Definately not for leisure!!

I am considering moving back "home" after living in UK for 7 years..

Interesting about Qantas' 36 weeks.

Mid Jan I would be 7 months.

One part of me feels like it will be no trouble at all - the other part remembers I have never been 7 months pregnant before!!!

I've flown longhaul at 7.5 months a couple of times - just a 12-hr flight - and was absolutely fine. I think if the airline's OK with it, and you have your doctor's note, then the actual flight will be survivable though certainly not enjoyable, if you're trying to get comfortable in an economy-size seat with a huge bump.

I'd be more worried about the other aspects - planning to move house that late in pregnancy is stressful enough as it is, but moving continents is even more stressful (I know, I've done it a few times, but never when pregnant). What happens if you get last-minute pregnancy complications or an early baby and can't actually make the move when you've already made all the arrangements? Would you be able to drop everything and stay on here for another few months at short notice?

I don't want to piss all over your touching homing instinct (I felt the same myself), but have you got obstetric care lined up when you hit Oz?

I am in central Sydney and had to book in the day I peed on the stick. Same with childcare - I registered at 9 weeks' pregnant and was told I'd "probably" get a place.

Hmmm - just assumed I could go back to my original OBGYN

I'll be doing similar, except it wont be to return home it will be leaving home (NZ) to return to the UK... starting to think it might have been a good idea to cross my legs last month but ho hum not much I can do about it now. I will be travelling with my parents so will have some help along the way.

Flights have been sorted for some time now, didnt really think it would happen so quickly with DC2 now we are getting on a bit. But there you go. So we fly out to NZ at around 16weeks and back to the UK at 29 weeks, luckily I wont have seen DH for about 4 weeks by the time of the return flight otherwise there is a real risk I'll chicken out and hide under a giant pile of Tim Tams to 'accidentally' miss my flight

It wont be fun, but that flight rarely is anyhow so it will just be something to survive and get through I guess. As long as your pregnancy is routine and completely normal of course!

Well, if I were you I would definitely check it out before I started getting excited about flights.

Might work if you had 40 squillion dollars to drop on a private hospital (assuming you have no private insurance here), if you would be depending on the public system I would say you would be shit out of luck. You would end up delivering in the ambulance bay.

There are worse things for your DC to have than an EU passport, though.

Glad it's not a jolly! :)

Seriously though, check whether you can get travel insurance. Isn't there a stop-over when you travel to Australia? That was my biggest concern - I had cover for my "home" abroad, and I was NHS in the UK, but if anything happened at my stop-over then I would be completely stuffed. DH and I are belt-and-braces sort of people, so maybe it wouldn't bother you, but we figured that if a had a small bleed on-route, and ended up having to get off the plane at the stop-over and to a hospital, then I would seriously need travel insurance. Especially as I've had a couple of friends ending up bedridden at that point (for the rest of the pregnancy). I didn't fancy a couple of months in a strange hospital bed miles and miles away from home as it was - if it had bankrupted us, then that would have been the end of our plans to buy a house too.

Of course, everything was fine, and I was completely knackered, but perfectly healthy, as I arrived at Heathrow. :) It's unlikely to happen, but you'd have to consider how much risk you are willing to take.

Under the British Nationality Act, it is the nationality of the parent that matters, not the place of the child's birth. So that shouldn't be a factor for you to consider.

comtessa do you mean with regards to OP's baby being born in the UK? Depends on her residency / visa status, DH and I are both NZers with Indefinately Leave to Remain at time of our son's birth and he has dual citizenship (only has a UK passport at this stage LOL)

Oops Indefinate not Indefinately

kiwidreamer sorry, not clear, parents' nationality and/or residency status. Place of birth has no bearing anymore in the UK.

comtessa is right, as long you do have the right residency status / visa headinghome then there is something to be said for having baby here and giving the gift of dual citizenship

Flying once baby is a month or two old is pretty easy I hear from friends, as long as all has gone well bubs will just feed and sleep and will have a British birth certificate

I agree with the passport thing - it's a very easy way to give your child options for the future.

Also - you may be physically very uncomfortable to the point of murserous if your bump is quite low. You won't be able to predict it unfortunately but i couldn't sit in the cinema or in any seat that forced my legs together infront of me.

Just a thought.

I flew to australia and back at 28 and 31 weeks pregnant (for a wedding). It was exhausting but ok. Airline (Virgin) were great, on one leg of the flight plane was fairly empty and the air hostess saved me a whole row of 4 seats so I could lie down .

I just needed a letter from my GP saying it was a straight forward pregnancy to that point (I developed complications while I was out there, but that's a different story!) and I got my insurance from Ravenhall who were great. Make sure you've got insurance that will cover you and the baby just in case it decides to arrive early while you're on the flight.

DH has EU passport, I have ILR.

Not too concerned about child having dual citizenship - as the next (if we are lucky) will be born in Australia and miss out.

Didn't realise the health system in Australia was so obnoxious.

I think as long as you were confident of the support you'd get on the otherside from friends and family then the flight will be manageable.

At the end of the day while the healthcare system in OZ seems to be a bit of a minefield I'm guessing that worse case scenario you will get the hospital midwives that are on duty when you go into labour (which is pretty much how it works here in the UK anyhow) - at the end of the day they are not going to turn you away, you are an Australian citizen surely they cant stop you from having your baby in a hospital?? Hmmm was just going to suggest a Doula and Home Birth but that's all up in air too from what I understand.

Best of luck, I'm a bit scared my hormones are going to make it very hard for me to get back on the plane to return to the UK at 29wks pregnant... its hard enough when I'm not pregnant!!!

Just to second the travel insurance issue - some people won't insure past 28 weeks, but we found one that would insure up to 32 weeks (M&S) - although I'm not sure if they actually had a 32 week limit - they said that they would insure you provided that the airline were happy to carry you and it was a no-complication pregnancy. So if Quantas will carry you up to 36 weeks, then M&S (and a few others) may be happy to insure you.

Thank you all for your replies

Just to second the travel insurance issue - some people won't insure past 28 weeks, but we found one that would insure up to 32 weeks (M&S) - although I'm not sure if they actually had a 32 week limit - they said that they would insure you provided that the airline were happy to carry you and it was a no-complication pregnancy. So if Quantas will carry you up to 36 weeks, then M&S (and a few others) may be happy to insure you.