Help!!! BFF today & long haul flight(Maldives!!) in 2 weeks time-advice pls!

[vinobaroness]

Hi, I just got my precious bff this morning, over the moon. However hubby & I are flying to the maldives in 2 weeks time. Its my first pregnancy & I am nervous.We also have a seaplane transfer to our island. We are also stopping off in Dubai on the way home
Please give me some advice re flying long haul so early-I'll be 6 weeks 5 days flying out. I am an ok traveller but I always suffer from dead leg on flights-bad circulation?

Do you mean BFP? If so, congratulations!

I believe long haul flights are safe, I have just done Sydney - London and back again and I was 8 weeks on the way there and 12 weeks on the way back. I think you just have to avoid DVT by keeping as active as possible on the flight, doing your leg exercises and wearing the tight socks you can by.

Hope that helps.

I flew from Sydney to London at about 6 weeks. Awful, awful jetlag/morning sickness after! But otherwise all fine, now 38 weeks. Have a great holiday!

I found out that I was pregnant the same day that I flew long haul to South Africa via Dubai (Am now 33 weeks). My outward bound tips would be to make sure you have a comfortable bra on and take a water spray. I was 7 weeks pregnant when I returned and the nausea had started to set in but was much helped by the use of some travel bands that I had bought from at pharmacy. Most importantly enjoy your trip as travelling becomes much harder the further along you get!

You'll be fine :)

I'd be more worried about food/drink hygiene than the flying tbh, not familiar with the cuisine or the cleanliness there maybe someone else can advise?

I flew to and from Western Canada whilst 6 and then 9 weeks and all was fine during the flights but I did suffer terrible jet lag when I got home. Might have been a coincidence but it had never happened before. I was genuinely working out how I could transfer my job and move to Canada in order to overcome it! It made sense at 4am after a week and a half of no sleep!

Perfectly safe. I was unwittingly the pilot of a longhaul passenger flight when 6 weeks pregnant. And I had an emergency situation to deal with which upped the adrenaline level.

I don't know how many times I say it, but there is nothing specifically about flying that will cause any problem to a pregnancy. The biggest potential problem is that you will require assistance for a situation that would arise anyway and not be able to get to advice as quickly as you would like. Ie, a flight will not cause a mc, but you would certainly be scared if a mc that was going to occur started to happen mid-flight.

Many, many pilots and cabin crew are women - and hey, do you know what? Many of us are mothers too. Work does not give us a holiday from the minute we start ttc. We wait till we are pregnant and then tell them. And this means we will actually spend the first part of our pregnancies flying, as most women do not know they are pregnant from the very second they shag!

I am very jealous of your trip to the Maldives, you will love it, so stunningly beautiful. My only thoughts would be about the seaplane transfer, as they are unpressurised cabins and they tend to be rather loud and bumpy especially on landing, I would check about this with your doctor or midwife and let your insurance company know. Just out of interest which island are you going to?

Thanks so much for all the replies!! Wow it does seem fairly common to fly in the first trimester & all be fine
Willowtree we are going to Kuredu, yes I am worried about the seaplane transfer too:( I have never been in a seaplane before & I don't know what to expect. Its a 40 min transfer. Have you been to the Maldives before? Any advice re the food? As much as possible I am going to stick to pastas, breads, fruit & veg as I would be a little bit wary of chicken, meats, fish at this early stage. We are stopping off in Dubai for a few nights on the way home so I can stock up on my protein there.
Back in the box thanks for the advice. Have you any tips for the seaplane?

I am going to see my gp in the morning so will tell him all my concerns & I may also ask him about baby aspirin to take before & after flight to keep blood circulating?

we went to Kuredu too, about 3 years ago though. The seaplane is amazing, quite small, they fit in about 16 people (google transmaldivian airways) get your camera ready because the view is amazing (as long as it isn't raining, we were delayed at terminal because of downpour) they don't go too high so you should be ok. They will give you earplugs as it's so noisy but it is an amazing experience.
We stayed in the O resort and mainly ate in that restaurant, but imagine they are all similar, there was loads of variety and i'm a fussy eater, i always found food to eat. The chef's will cook meats in front of you so you can ask for it thoroughly cooked if you do want it. always rice and breads. Also if there is nothing you feel you can eat just speak to the chef and they will try their best to cook something for you, they are always cooking so it's no hassel. I loved breakfast but didn't discover the waffles till the last few days, they were luurvly. My tummy didn't agree with some of the drinks so only drank bottled water and avoided ice, even soft drinks are bottled locally and i'm sure it was them that gave me an achy tummy.
On the plus side, I have never been so relaxed and chilled out, that can only be a good way to begin your pregnancy can't it.
If you want to know anything else let me know. but enjoy yourself, I wish i could go back but is seeming more unlikely now with bean on the way! x

Aw thanks a million Willow! Off to the Gp in the morning for some more flying advice. I read the sea planes get very hot as well but its only a short journey so I should be fine. Kuredu looks absolutely amazing-I am following the facebook group & love looking at the daily updates!! Lol it was meant to be our last blow out holiday as well before ttc-ing properly!! Delighted with ourselves! Thanks for the advice re the drinks yes I'll only be sticking to the still water but will advoid rice. We are staying in the beach bungalows-I will have to try boots for deet free insect repellent-are the mosquitos quite bad over there?
You probably would'nt have taken much notice but were there other expectant mummys-to-be when you were there? Would be interested to know if many other pregnant ladies would venture that far? xxx

OP, have you had the necessary jabs?

You will have a fab time - the seaplane is amazing.

No mozzies at all where I was.

For the flight - try and get an aisle seat in case you need to pee and hang on to the sick bag for the rest of your trip (you never know!). Re: mosquito repellant - I was given deet but the % was limited + I had to take anti malarias (they put me on Larium). I was in sub-saharan africa so the mossies are quite nasty! Was also in my 1st trimester at the time (7-weeks)

Hi OP and congratulations

I found out I was pregnant whilst in the Maldives in March, so will have been pregnant both on the way out and the way back.

The main flight is no problem - just make sure you walk around lots and keep hydrated - best to ask for an aisle seat as you may need the loo a lot!

The seaplane flight, I would say you should definitely check it's pressurised. We had a boat transfer this time, I have done the seaplane before but can't remember if it's pressurised or not. I have a nasty feeling that it was not pressurised... The usual advice is to avoid unpressurised flights when pg due to there not being enough oxygen for a pg lady. This depends on the altitude you fly at though, so it may be that the seaplanes go low enough not to be a problem. One to research further...

We weren't at Kuredu but had a buffet type set up for food, there was always something I could eat. Best to stick to things which have been cooked thoroughly and are properly hot. I don't think meat and fish pose an extra risk as long as they are cooked through. Arguably salads etc are more of a risk but I did eat them anyway.

We went in March and had almost no mozzies at all, it will be a bit wetter now though so you may have more.

No diving obviously!

When someone knows enough about commercial aviation to be able to give constructive advice, then please, go ahead. In the meantime, OP - try not to panic, and everyone else, try not to cause panic. She will be FINE on the seaplane. The Civil Aviation Authority allows women to fly as civil and commercial pilots in their second trimester. I am writing with 14 years experience as an airline pilot.

If the aircraft is not pressurised, you will not be flying high enough to need extra oxygen. On a commercial airliner, the cabin altitude (ie what altitude the pressure in the cabin would be at if you were on the ground) is generally about 8000ft. People live up mountains higher than you are allowed to take any kind of passenger plane unpressurised (the maximum altitude for an unpressurised flight without supplementary oxygen is 10000ft, and to give a comparison, the ski resorts of Copper Mountain and Breckenridge in the US are a at a few feet short of that altitude.) Pregnant women are OK to fly in big or little aeroplanes, provided the aeroplane is being operated normally and is not something like a fighter jet or aerobatic experience flight etc! It is unlikely that a slightly bumpy landing will shake the baby out of you (I worked as a airliner simulator operator until I was 39 weeks and in spite of my best efforts to make life tricky for the pilots I was in the sim with, I couldn't get a landing bouncy enough to shake my baby out on time! I did try, too.)

The biggest problems with being pregnant on an aircraft are morning sickness and needing a wee. Noone here is the first person ever to have needed to wee or be sick a lot on an aeroplane.

You really don't need to panic. At that stage of pregnancy there aren't many risks to your health that wouldn't apply to all travellers.

Regarding food and drink, you only really need to take the usual precautions that any traveller would ie make sure water is bottled, meat and fish are cooked through thoroughly, salads and fruit have been washed or peeled. Avoid any sauces eg mayonnaise that have been stood in the heat for some time and go easy on alcohol.

Regarding insects you probably won't notice many, and standard insect repellent should be adequate. DEET isn't essential as there is no malarial risk.

As backinthebox has sensibly pointed out, the flight and the seaplane flight are not going to cause you any harm. If you want to be extra cautious you could wear Class I support flight socks. I doubt you would be prescribed aspirin unless you fall into another risk category.

Have a lovely holiday.

Thanks so much for all the advice, i feel much better now. I went to my gp today & he did perscribe me a very low dose of aspirin as I have sluggish circulation. Its only baby aspirin & is meant to be widely taken during pregnancy. Feel better now, my only worry now is coming off the aspirin after the trip-will it create a big jolt to the system... Anyways I feel much better now & alot more confident x

Taking a small dose of aspirin for 10 days or more stops the production of a prostaglandin chemical in the body called thromboxane. Thromboxane causes platelets in the blood to stick together, thus removing the thromboxane from the body means that you won't get clots forming in the blood vessels - the cause of DVTs. When you stop taking it, your body gradually re-starts thromboxane production. (Previous career as a cardiovascular and pain control product pharmaceutical specialist. Have probably just completely outed myself now. ) There is no jolt - what kind of jolt do you imagine it could give you?

Best advice is to remain as mobile as you can on the flight. Obviously don't insist on doing jumping jacks and sit-ups in the forward galley while the seat belt signs are on...

I was in the same situation couple of weeks ago and worried that the plane is unpressurised. We went to Gan which is far away from Make and took a 2. plane which was pressurised. I did a lot of research and contacted the company to ensure that all is fine. The seaplanes are not but I think they fly not high enough so you don`t need to worry. You will have a fantastic time and the baby will love it too! Make sure you only drink water from bottles and be careful with cocktails. I am not sure if they really use ice cubes from bottled water. No foot massages. No extreme sun exposure. No diving. No raw fish/ seafood. Careful with ice creams and desserts made of raw eggs.

Just wanted to add that I went to kuredu on my honeymoon and stayed in a beach bungalow. I lay on the sand on the first day and got very badly bitten by sand fleas, I had to have a steroid injection as bites were so itchy. This was four and half years ago so maybe no issue now but I would only lie on a beach lounger to avoid the risk. Also take a small bottle of calamine lotion, cost me £15 to buy in the island. Its very soothing to bites.
It is a lovely island and I found the food to be fantastic, fresh and tasty. Agree about avoiding the locally bottled soft drinks and ice but I may well have been feeling dodgy due to one too many cocktails, not an issue you will have. Enjoy!

i agree with backinthe box, all a bit over-dramatic about flying. its perfectly safe and plenty of people do it, just relax and enjoy the view.

im not going to get started on my pet peeve of pregnancy food ridiculousness, but again, just relax, use a bit of common sense and you will be fine.