Flying at 22 weeks

[18yearsoftrying]

Safe or not please? Would you fly long haul?

I thought it was safe but having told friends I have booked a week in the Caribbean at 22 weeks, I'm received a barrage of abuse basically telling me I'm being naive & jeopardising my situation.

If I need to cancel, I will...am I being silly to travel?

I flew to South Africa at 22 weeks, Australia at 24 weeks and Canada at 27 weeks - no problems at all.
To be frank, if the worst happened it's unlikely any hospital would be able to save your baby at 22-23 weeks pregnant, but if you want to be extra cautious you could get travel insurance to cover the unborn infant as well. This means if the baby is born early their (very expensive) medical costs would be covered too.
And don't allow your friends to make you feel bad - your pregnancy will feel interminable if you wrap yourself in cotton wool for the next few months.

This isn't quite applicable to you op but I thought I would mention it. Beware of conflicting information on the easyjet website about flying when pregnant. I flew with them at 31 weeks just two weeks ago with no medical certificate and wasn't asked as the Dutch site said no certificate needed. Their corporate website says it is needed so I was lucky.

Just back from another trip with BA at 34 weeks who do require a fit to fly letter from 28 and received jip from the gate staff as my letter was in Dutch. Fortunately the captain said it was fine, particularly as I had just been on the outbound flight 24 hours earlier!

What are your friends expecting to have happen? That everything will self combust the only slight risk is DVT and you can take precautions against that. If in any doubt speak to your doctor about what you can do. And enjoying your holiday :)

Oh and I flew at 7 weeks too no problem. You know, life itself is a risk and if we all went around during worrying what might or might not happen no one would ever get out of bed!

If you get business class then all the better. You can put your feet up and get spoilt :) all the air hostess were super lovely to me knowing I was pregnant and I even got looked after at the airport on either end! Relax and have fun. Why does every person and their dog suddenly get an opinion on a woman's body when she's pregnant

I'm so glad of this post!

Found out last week I'm (now almost 8 weeks) pg with ID twins and I'm due to fly to Japan for some project work at about 18 weeks - 2-3 weeks out there with a couple of domestic flights between north and south islands.

I'd hate to turn it down as it's the most exciting project I've had in a few years and could lead to more but with a 'high risk' pregnancy I was worried what the doc and midwife would say - assumed that when Japan confirmed the funding next week I'd be telling them to find someone else...

Maybe it won't be so bad

18years I'm not sure I'd be able to bite my tongue with those 'opinions' being spouted at me (and they probably would make me cry too, like everything does right now!). Time to lay down your boundaries I'd say - it is not okay for them to tell you how to be pregnant.

Congratulations

My latest flight was at 34 weeks, about a four hour flight. It was a bit uncomfortable but fine.

I'm flying tomorrow at 22+1. Midwife was fine about it. Have a lovely holiday.

I found dvt support tights on eBay and wore them for flights when 16 and 18 weeks pregnant. I found them more comfortable than socks. They also seemed to make my legs ache less on days where I did a lot of walking.

Miraculous2 - twin pregnancies are a different ball game in terms of rules for flying and insurance.

I don't want to worry you, or put a damper on your excitement, but you'll probably be having scans at least every fortnight, so do check with your mw's / consultant before preceding any further with your work plans.

I cancelled a trip abroad when I was 16 weeks pregnant with twins. I knew the chances of something happening was minimal but I didn't want to risk it. I also got SPD at 16 weeks so I made the right decision.

UPDATE FROM OP

Thanks for all your messages - Miraculous, I have had to bite my tongue at a lot of things said - it's starting to hurt!!

DH & I went to the GP & she was completely professional about it.

She explained everything in simple English but also in a scientific but non-baffling way.

Apparently the baby is very clever & making its' own haemoglobin as well as making enough to keep in reserve. On top of this, if s/he needs to, s/he will automatically as a Plan C absorb all the oxygen from my blood too .

She advised to drink a lot of water to keep oxygen levels high & to walk every hour to lower risk of DVT. She said that the socks had never been proven to reduce risk but certainly wouldn't do any harm.

Flying has never been proven to cause harm.

Fantastic news.

I'm asking MW/ Consultant tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Have an amazing trip!

Excellent news OP. Your "friends" were being very silly.

I've flown at 10 weeks (5 hrs each way), 20 weeks (10 hrs each way) and 22 weeks (8 hours each way) so far. I have another short haul trip planned for 27 weeks. The trips were a mix of work and pleasure.

I wore flight socks, drunk loads and made sure I moved about more than usual (made sure I had an aisle seat). I also turned down the x-ray scanners they use in the US in favour of a pat down (perhaps OTT but I'm unconvinced they are a good idea for a partially formed human). I checked my travel insurance policy before I left and the airline's policy (most don't require anything before 28 weeks but I did take a letter showing my due date to the US as immigration can be funny about preggos entering as anyone born there gets citizenship).

Mine is also a long awaited (IVF) pregnancy, but we were ttc a fraction of the time you were. 18 years - wow. You must be thrilled. :)

Enjoy your holiday!