Pregnancy Travel

[Newbie199]

Hello ladies,

Really great to see so many women sharing their experiences on this platform. My hubby and I found out about my pregnancy about 2-3 weeks ago - and it's going to be a December baby! We are really excited about the new addition to the family, but have decided to keep it a secret from family and friends till we get the first scan done. Some of my friends had been active on mumsnet when they were pregnant and they really appreciated the discussions they could have with other mums-to-be (and I can see why ).

There are so many new experiences I've been having that I've started writing a pregnancy journal to keep a track. This is my first pregnancy, so with every new experience, I've been looking online to see if things are normal, but discussing them here is definitely much better.

I've been thinking about going out of the country to meet my folks, but not sure if it is safe to travel internationally when you are about 8 weeks pregnant. I was told that the first 12 weeks are crucial for a baby's growth and extra care needs to be taken. Any ideas?

Well, I would probably avoid countries where the zika virus is present, as that's the advice I think. Same goes for other unpleasant diseases I suppose too. As long as you are careful with hygiene and accessing a healthy diet, what other problems do you foresee? I can't imagine there'd be any problems with travelling to Western Europe for example.

I went on holiday abroad when I was 5 weeks pregnant. It was booked before we found out and we'd been trying for so long it seemed unlikely.
It's safe to fly at that point in pregnancy and I was just mindful of all the things I'd be careful of anyway such as food hygiene etc.
I think DVT risks can be higher in pregnancy so maybe consider flight socks and keep as active as possible on the plane.
My morning sickness has kicked in so that wasn't much fun and I'm not sure if I'd have booked the holiday for that point in pregnancy if I'd known but it all went fine.

In theory it should be fine to travel but will depend on how you are feeling - by 8 weeks I had been hospitalised with hyperemesis and basically spent the first 14 weeks lying on the bathroom floor feeling and being sick. I couldn't even make it to work let alone travel on holiday - but that was me, you might be absolutely fine which in that case I would travel.

Congratulations on your pregnancy

I flew from Australia to back to London when I was 9 weeks along with twins, am now coming up to 24 weeks.

At my booking in appt the consultant said I was at risk of dvt ( age >35 and long haul travel) were the main factors so am now on baby aspirin for the remainder of my pregnancy. If I had a high bmi the consultant would have prescribed clexane.

Since then I've flown to Spain, Germany, and in the next few weeks Italy and Malta. The consultant said I have no flight restrictions barring the ones the airlines impose. I wore compression socks and plan on wearing for those for my next few trips too....

Thanks a lot ladies. Really helpful! I've been planning this trip for a really long time and then we found out about the pregnancy.

Would be great to be able to give the news in person to my folks! Can't wait to see their reactions!

I went on a pre booked long haul at 8 weeks in Jan. I was nervous too, but all ok. So glad I went. Congratulations!!!!

Congrats!!
We flew to Austria for a ski trip with family when I was about 4 weeks pregnant. Like you, didn't tell parents etc until the scan at 12 weeks so keeping it quiet (& hiding the fact I wasn't drinking) was tough but so worth the looks on my parents' faces when they saw the 12 week scan image! At 25 weeks I will be flying to Spain for a conference and the doctor said that was fine.
You should be fine, maybe speak to your doctor about any precautions you might take but I would say if it's a long haul flight make sure to move around the cabin and drink plenty of water.
Best of luck and congrats again!

Thanks ladies!! Just came back from my trip. It was awesome! No issues at all and the look on my folks face when I showed them the scan pic was just priceless!! Definitely worth the long trip!!