Travel in pregnancy

[lebkucken]

Just wondering if anyone can share any experiences of flying/travelling in pregnancy. I'm going to South America for a month in August but also hoping to start TTC in April. I asked my doctor for advice and she said that the middle trimester is the best time to go away so, if all goes to plan (obviously this is all hypothetical!) I'd like to be between 14 and 28 weeks when we go. This would be my first pregnancy and I'm generally fit and healthy.

Any advice much appreciated!

Hello

I live in Syria due to Dh's job, but having my baby (very soon I hope - currently 39 weeks pg) in UK. I flew at 13 weeks for brother's wedding, and then again at 20 weeks, and then more recently at 30 weeks.

My flight is 5.5 hours away. Never had any problems - I panicked most, when I travelled on my own, about gettting suitcase onto belt, to be weighed by check-i staff, etc. but I just asked people and everyone was very helpful.

They do advise wearing DVT socks - and making sure you exercise your feet, etc and get up and down for a wander - but if you'll be anything liek me - I needed a wee every couple of hours - so that took care of that!

Personally - I think you'll be fine, no probs - and they say you're second trimester is best for travelling anyhow as you feel most sprightly then!

Hello!

We booked a trip to Japan while TTC. I am pregnant now and, if all goes well, will be 21 weeks when we travel. I checked with the GP just in case (would rather cancel than take a risk) but he said it was absolutely fine, and as cupcakes says, the second trimester is normally the best for travelling.

So don't worry!

You need to check your travel insurance provisions carefully. Also think about avoiding malarial areas and those which require jabs you are not already in date for.

check out travel insurance as well, some only include the treatment of the mother should something happen. the treatment of a prem baby is very expensive...
you should be fine though.

I am second trimester and feeling fine to travel. I also had no problems travelling in the first trimester, though I may have been lucky!

Don't imagine you can plan around a potential pregnancy now though. You never know how long TTC will take. Just keep planning your life and you can work things out around it when you do get pregnant!

Thanks for the suggestions. We'd be staying with friends with a hospital not too far away and aren't going to malarial areas.
MainlyMaynie, I'll try and take your advice and not try and plan too much around this. Think I'm getting a bit obsessed as can't wait to start TTC!

you should be fine. I travelled a lot while I was pregnant and I even went to Vancouver when I was 26 weeks (more than 12 hours). The only problem in the first trimester is the sickness, which you may have or not.
The second trimester should be better (although I was sick throughout all my pregnancy).

Definitely by the DVT socks, eat light things, drink plenty of water,get up and do some of those "on-board" exercises.

Agree with above ttc may take longer than planned!!

However as far as travel goes.....I have had two previous losses and my midwife was still happy with me travelling at 11 weeks on a 12 hour flight to Thailand. I ended up doing 6 flights in total (2 x 12 hour flights, 2 x 1.5 hour flights and 2 1 hour flights)

I had 3 early scans due earlier losses plus one private as I wanted to be sure I was def ok before I left all of which showed I was fine as was bubs

I personally recommend mosiguard for mosquito spray I researched what to use and use this nornally but found it the less riskiest spray to use whilst avoiding deet. I got an aisle seat on the plane so I could get up and wee a lot and get loads of drinks to stay hydrated!

I was away weeks 11 to 13 and luckily whilst I was sick more times than I had been at home, I didnt actually feel sick so was miles easier I was really quite I'll on the flight home but that's the effects of long haul flying whilst having not slept across all the time zones and travelling.

Check your airlines policy as some airlines are still funny about early pregnancy but they will state this clearly and your insurance too!

Go have fun and enjoy ttc!!!

Ps dvt flight socks are a good idea and be sure to tell your cabin crew you are expecting as all good crew will keep you hydrated that little bit more and be on hand should you feel ill. X

:o I don;t blame you, it's a very exciting time! It took us four years though, so I'm glad we didn't try and plan any holidays around it.

Yeah - don't forget to tell the cabin crew about being pregnant - they really are a hell of a lot more caring when they know! i got extra drinks and extra pretzels and they even offered me pillows!

And yeah - hope it goes OK - but took me 5 years to get pregnant!

And if you do get morning sickness and have to travel - keep mints, ginger biscuits, carrier bags and wet wipes handy! (ugh - thank god i only had morning sickness in the first trimester!)

Thanks! Really hoping I haven't tempted fate asking about this already but glad to hear everyone's success stories!

Was looking into airlines last week as potentially planning a holiday to the States at somepoint before EDD in Sept and have other trips to make too.

Most airlines ok to 28 weeks and then need a doctors note between 28-34 weeks.
2nd trimester is recommended as you apparently generally feel better than in 1st trimester.

Spoke to midwife 2 weeks ago as off skiing in Europe next weekend and she said to treat the flight as you would a long haul - walk about, leg exercises etc

I flew 10 hour flight to and back at 11 and about 12 weeks to states. Just recently flew again same flight at almost 35 weeks returned at almost 36 weeks. Airline I flew had no restrictions and no note required until last month of pregnancy, most airlines out america allow that. Did not have the note and noone asked anything. I planned this vacation few months ahead but I knew that I will make it only if I have normal pregnancy otherwise I would have to cancel it. My pregnancy progressed well so I went. I had insurance that will cover me only not the baby. I was OK giving birth away from Britain if I had too. The flight was OK, I walked around a lot, had compression sacks and drank a lot of water. I had no problem flying but I had a problem after, I had a really bad cold. I pretty sure if I stayed home I would of not caught that, but who knows. When you travel you get exposed to many germs that you normally wouldn't.

it really depends on your pregnancy. i used to do 50 flights per year in my professional career. however, during pregnancy it was discovered that i have clotting issues and my doctor prohibited me from long haul flights completely.

The actual travel bit should be fine, I flew med-haul (6 hrs) at 8 weeks and short haul (2-3 hrs) a couple of times between 13 and 26 weeks. The only thing I would say is think about what kind of schedule you have to commit to before going. Is it work or leisure?

First of all, if you start TTC in April, you might get pg straight away, or you might not be pg yet by August, or you might be in first timester.

Secondly, regardless of how far on you are, you might have symptoms that might affect how able/motivated you are to do certain things. I was sick for way longer than 'people' said they were - right the way up to 26 weeks ish. I was also very tired early on and had varying degrees of pelvic pain from about 20 weeks. I'm saying this, not by way of trying to put you off, just to point out that it is a good idea to remain open-minded about what you're going to do on the trip, so that you can modify activity plans depending on how you feel. You might feel amazing, you might not! Obviously if it's a work trip you might not have control over this, but then it's likely to be less physically taxing. If it's a leisure trip, then you can be more flxeible.

D

Hi there,

I recently did a long haul flight to New Zealand (30+ hours in the air each way including internal flights) and while I have had an easy pregnancy so far (16 weeks) I suffered the worst jet lag I have ever had.

My tips:

Drink LOADS of water. Buy a big bottle in duty free and get the flight attendant to refill it when empty.

Get an aisle seat.

Keep getting up and moving around.

Check in as early as you can, dress nicely, wear make up etc and ask really, really nicely if you can have an upgrade if a chance comes up. Display the belly.

Apparently when you arrive you should spend 20 minutes in the sunshine/daylight without sunglasses to acclimatise. Also, spend some time walking around barefoot or swimming in the sea is supposed to help. I really don't know if this helps but to be honest, I would try ANYTHING to avoid the jet lag I had last time.

Take nice toiletries on the plane with you to refresh. I really appreciated a little mister bottle full of water for my dry, horrible face.

DON'T try and do too much when you get there. Factor in lots of nap time.

Agree with Deliaskis about the other effects of pregnancy.

Whilst I was sick that was not a problem...it was the tiredness and I got some shooting pains when walking once (hardly any distance and am used to plenty of walking!)

I have to admit when that happend I started to worry about how far I was away from home. Luckily I never had long between pain and the flight home to worry - plus I then returned to Bangkok near to a great hospital. Didnt need it but was reassuring.

Also bear in mind you will more than likely find you deal with the heat and sun differently - I am a sun worshipper but had to hide from the sun more than usual. Just had something covering belly and made sure my body never overheated.

I would only ever book a holiday that you understand and realise you may need to cancel and lose money on should babies or mums health come first.

I have just booked another holiday (cramming them in before 2 become 3!) its a mid haul holiday but made sure that I can cancel and get money if my Dr thinks I can not travel (I'll be away for the whole of my 29th week)

I would always recommend paying for insurance - you are not insuring your bikini and luggage on this occasion but your unborn child and you - costs for any medical care abroad varies and being a tourist...it goes up! I work for an airline and alot of people when researching a holiday...only factor in the medical care available where they are travelling to...however if you are flying to one country - but heaven forbid you have problems mid air and need to divert - the medical care will be delivered elsewhere and you will then need to make sure you can arrange your travel to get you back home or on to your destination.

This is of course all worst case scenario and as you can see it doesnt stop me from travelling.....I just make sure me and my bubs are prepared! On the flip side - make the most of holidays before the new arrival! I know I am....and dreading trying to squeeze into my holiday clothes in a few months! Eeek!

Wow, lots of info here. There are lots of tips about travelling while pregnant here too www.allcleartravel.co.uk/pregnancy_travel_insurance.html This may be useful for any of you who have any questions about travel during pregnancy.