Family anxious about me - should I be too?

[dycey]

Just wondering if I am being a bit gung-ho or if family are being over anxious? I am going on holiday at 26 and 32 weeks pregnant - lucky me! Long overdue time off with my little family!

Anyway, parents in law have been speaking to my parents - all very sweet and well intentioned - and are worrying that I am taking risks by being away from known hospitals and doctors. They are worried because at 20 weeks my placenta is low and partially covering the cervix which makes bleeding more likely and I am rhesus negative so need anti d injections with every bleed.

First holiday is to Greece - about 2 hours by road from Athens. We will have a car. Second one is the same distance by car from Lisbon.

What does anyone think?

Anything I cando to ease worries? Or reduce risks? Obviously I need decent insurance - any tips?

TIA

Could you just google where the nearest hospital is from both these places (I am assumming there are hospitals outside the capital as well). I think they worry too much TBH.

Oh good idea! How practical. Will do that!

Enjoy your stress free holiday!

And make sure you take EHIC & insurance details (or a photocopy) with you everywhere you go (don't leave it in hotel) so that if you do need to go to hospital it can all be handled quickly and easily.

My SIL struggled to get travel insurance to cover her for a low lying placenta from anyone, you might want to phone around.

Check out insure and go - I just used them, for a recent trip and they seem t cover pregnancy pretty well! They also would cover the baby should it make an early appearance. I've just checked my policy wording doc and it does say they cover placenta praevia - might be worth giving them a call if you don't have something sorted?

Have a fantastic time! :)

Ok so I'll give you two experiences:

1. I've been away twice while heading towards third trimester absolutely fine, no problems at all, lovely to get away.

2. Good friends are currently into their 4th week NICU with their baby in Gran Canaria after her waters broke at 29 weeks and she had to have an emergency CS a few hours later. They'll be there at least another 2 weeks, maybe longer

It can happen. So I would say:

1. only go somewhere with decent hospitals close by - within an hour or two of a big city basically. They were very lucky they were on Gran Canaria which has one of Spain's biggest cities and hence a great maternity hospital. If they had been even on Lanzarote (still Spanish but an island with not as fabulous facilities), things could have been very different

2. Ensure your travel insurance covers you in pregnancy, for placenta praevia, and for the gestation you'll be and ensure you comply with any specific conditions to the letter

3. Get a letter from your GP in the days prior to your trip to say you are fit to travel. This is what has ensured that our friends have been covered for all of their DS's medical expenses and repatriation costs. Without it they would have been screwed.

Don't worry - it is very unlikely that your baby will be born while you are away or that you will have complications - but be aware that it could happen and cover yourself accordingly.

FWIW, our first holiday we were in Egypt (Red Sea resort) at 29 weeks and although they had good general hospital facilities, I was a bit blase I think. If I were to be pregnant again, I would happily go on holiday but would not go far from a very big city with good facilities given our friends' experience. For me it is a bit different if you are travelling before say 24 weeks with an otherwise uneventful pregnancy but I couldn't forgive myself now for having a potentially viable baby and then something happen and the facilities be worse than I would have access to at home.

But don't tell your PIL and Parents my horror story or they really will worry. Our friends were very very unlucky, that's all.

And enjoy your holiday - it is lovely travelling when pregnant in my experience.

I'm in the same position as you and have decided to put our travel plans on hold. We were thinking of going to Greece at 30 weeks. I am thinking about having a private scan to see whether the placenta has moved in a week or two (I'm now 24 weeks) and then weighing up whether to book the holiday last minute or not. Sorry not to be more encouraging. It's a pain because 85% of placentas will move, but if they don't, apparently you do need to be near a good hospital in case of a bleed.

Thanks for all your responses - I hadn't seen them for some strange computer reason. Anyway, all very sound advice. I have been a bit blasé, I hadn't even realised how far gone I would be for all these trips. Will speak to my gp and get a letter and concentrate on travel insurance now!

Was wondering about doing a private scan just before going.

We've booked everything so am reluctant to let it go.

Thank you all.

To add to this I was referred by my gp to a hospital doctor and NO, I am advised against all travel outside the UK.

Hard to ignore that, much as I would love to!