Long Haul Flights

[Koeksister]

I am relocating to New York next week from London, and will be flying to South Africa about four weeks later to visit my family. By the time I fly to South Africa I will be 20 weeks pregnant. The flight is 15 hours to Johannesburg and then another 2 hours to Cape Town. It has now come to my attention that pregnant women should preferably not fly long haul due to the risk of DVT. I am flying business class so will be able to stretch out. Can anyone please let me know whether they have flown long haul at four months and what, if any, effect it had on them and/or the baby? Many thanks!

I flew to Manchester - Toronto in early December when I was 3 months. The hardest thing I found was not flying direct, tbh. I had to do stopovers via Amsterdam which added a good 4-5 hours to my journey. Of course that's not 15 hours like your SA flight, but is the same as your NYC one.

If you have been classed as low risk then I'm guessing your gp would give you the green light, but why not check with them to reassure yourself?

Business class will make it much nicer too - I was in steerage. Sigh.

I flew London-Hong Kong (11 hrs) and back at about 18-19 weeks pg with DS (plus a number of internal Asian flights in between). No effect at all on DS who is now healthy 19 mth old. My consultant advised me to take baby (low-dose) aspirin to reduce risk of DVT: one tablet 24 hrs before flight, one tablet during flight, one tablet 24 hrs after landing. Also good to drink a lot of water and get up and walk around regularly. Plus in business class you will be able to stretch out.

Hi - I flew to Australia when I was 3 months pg with no problems, except for having to cope with morning sickness on the flight!
I would check re Aspirin, as I've just flown to Dubai at 29 wks and was told NOT to take aspirin by my doc and mw.
Wear flight socks, move around regularly have plenty of water and snacks and you'll be fine

i flew manchester to newark and back when i was nearly 4 months and tbh apart from my terrible terrible morning sickness it was all great. the hardest thing was trying to be sick in the toilets every hour and trying to be heard!!!!!!! im sure the couple next to me thought i had a bug so i eventually told them it was morning sickness gone wrong!!!!
i have never flown first class so im so jealous, good luck babe

I am flying from Manchester to Thailand next week (yay!), when I will be 25+6.

Both my midwife and GP have said I will be absolutely fine, but that I do need to wear flight socks, drink lots of water and get up and move around a lot. Nobody has mentioned aspirin to me.

On the insurance front - my travel policy (like most others) covers me up to 28 weeks, so given I'm due to fly home at 27+6, I have just sneaked in...

I did 5.5 hours - so not long haul - but long enough.... but was fine for me - did it at about 20 wks, 25wks, and at 30wks - was fine but agree need to drink lots, keep your notes with you and do your DVT movements.

And I went to doc day before i flew each time to check all ok.

Sure you'll be fine though and good luck with the move!

At 28 Weeks I took a business trip for a week to Tasmania (Manchester to Dubai to Singapore to Melbourne to Hobart - about 39 hrs door to door). I went business class to Melbourne which was very comfy and relaxed (except for the lounge at Dubai which is hell). The last leg I went economy and I could not get comfy and felt like I'd been on the plane forever.

Business class (and lounges) varies a great deal depending on who you're flying with and how the aircraft is kitted out but you should still have plenty of room which is the key to being comfy. If you can, take advantage of any airport showers to freshen up between connections. Drink lots and move about whenever you can (some business class have an on-board bar).

I have just flown back from 2 weeks in Cape Town. I was 18 weeks on the way out and 20 on the way back. The day after I came back I had my 20 week scan and all was fine and dandy.

I have flown to Cape Town from London in all three of my pregnancies and have never had any problems.

So, I really wouldn't worry. And lucky you going business class!! I was in cattle class and although it went very smoothly an overnight flight when pregnant accompanied by DS aged 4 and DD aged 2 was not really my idea of fun...!

we're going to antigua on saturday and I'll be 26 weeks, i flew when i was 24 weeks with ds1 and all fine. Make sure you get up and move around. My obs/gyn thinks its fine to fly long haul up to 30 weeks.

Hi there, it depends on your medical profile. Pre-pregnancy, in my professional career, I used to do over 20 long haul flights per year. Then at 19 weeks, I was due to fly to USA, and my consultant strongly recommended that I do not do any long haul flights going forward, given my blood test results. You would not know if you have any blood clotting issues unless you doing an expensive blood test (mine cost about GBP450 and NHS does not offer this), but better safe than sorry...

I flew long-haul in business a few times when pregnant last time and was okay, just tired and miffed about missing out on the free champagne :)

One thing to think about is the food. I did call the airline in advance to check if they offered pregnancy meals but they didn't. I remember one flight where the menu was something like broccoli and stilton soup, followed by sea bass, followed by blue cheeses and biscuits . If you are suffering with morning sickness by the time you fly (I still was at 20 weeks first time around) then you might want to take a stash of bananas and biscuits, just in case. I did this on subsequent flights and it worked for me.

Another daft little thing was the handwash in the plane toilet. In my first pregnancy I was paranoid about safety, having taken so long to conceive, and the handwash in the plane toilet said "Not suitable for use during pregnancy". Aargh! Took my own hand sanitiser after that.

The airline I flew with was Virgin Atlantic and I did write to them at the time to point out these things. They said they would look into them and it was a few years ago, so hopefully they have sorted it out by now.

I flew to Australia and back at 8-10 weeks. I wore flight socks and made sure I moved around loads. Airlines often have advice available on exercises you can do to reduce the risk of DVT.

The worst thing I had to contend with was jetlag on top of morning sickness once I got there!

If you're a low risk pregancy I think it's generally ok. However, as lilly13 says, it would depend on your medical profile if you have any risks/issues association with your pregnancy.

Good luck moving to NY!

Thank you very much to everyone for the great feedback. This has put my mind more at rest. The obstetrician did mention the low-dose asprin to me and suggested DVT socks. One thing is for sure - I am definitely taking my own food on the flight (and hand sanitiser!) :)

I flew to San Francisco and back for a week returning at 35+5. It was not the most comfortable experience but it was fine with DVT socks and larger seat. Flying part was OK for me I think what was not good is getting exposed to so many people so late in pregnancy. I ended up getting a pretty bad cold and fighting it off right now before my delivery.

Good luck, flying at 20 weeks is totally fine.

Hi, I just wanted to add my bit as a general point to anyone thinking of going abroad. My thread is the '28 wks in America' one and if you are considering going abroad when pregnant have a look at our experience. I had NO problems at all in my pregnancy. There was absolutely no indication I'd experience a premature rupture of membranes and there's no way I can be repatriated with this condition, so we're going to be here for months (we were due to fly home on 4th Jan ).

I'm not saying don't go, by any means, but please DO check your insurance covers you for a large amount of medical care and that the insurance will cover the baby if it is born early. I am so glad I checked with the travel insurance company before we came (via email so it's in writing) but I didn't take notice of the amount of medical cover and it was luck that it's for a large amount. I didn't specifically ask if the baby would be covered and they didn't tell me at the time that it wouldn't be so we were shocked to be told to seek Medicaid for the baby when it is born.

Ask them a lot of questions and be specific. Like does it still cover you if you require care after the 28 weeks, does it continue if it runs out while you're still receiving treatment etc.

Not wishing to be doom and gloom because you are probably going to have a brilliant time and it will go swimmingly! We've been very very unlucky. Just spend a bit extra if necessary and get really good cover becasue it will be the best £50 - £70 odd quid you will ever have spent IF you need it and it will give you peace of mind.

I've just re-read my post and want to apologise for bringing down the generally good feel of this thread!

Good point southsea, yours is a cautionary tale (have been following your story) and it prompted me to call my insurance company (American Express). They said I would be covered in your situation and they can't discriminate against pregnant women for cover. But now you've raised these specific points I will probably call them back and double-check before we fly. Take care x