Travel to Bali - 16 weeks pregnant

[Lottieb89]

Hi all.

I have a trip planned to Bali, and I will be 16weeks pregnant by the time I travel. I had no idea Bali was on the Zika list and now I’m freaking out a bit. My midwife has told me not to worry and that I just need to be vigilant with mozzie bites. I’ve done the research and the risk seems so low! Especially is Bali... has anyone travelled to a zika country when pregnant?

Looking for a bit of re-assurance!!

Quite honestly i think Zika is the least of your worries in Bali

Terrorism level is high, people being spiked by drink, food and stabbed with syringes, a couple of volcanoes going nuts and rabies.

local medical care can be very poor and if you do find yourself needing it they cn charge up front - you also need to see your GP 4-6 weeks before travel for any injections needed and Dengue Fever is high at moment.

(this is coming from uk gov btw)

personally - avoid as risks are too high even for someone not pregnant.

We went to Bali and surrounding islands on honeymoon, albeit i was not pregnant but we knew we wanted to start trying soon.

Barely a mosquito bite and felt completely safe - didn't see or experience any of the above. My suggestion would be to not spend too much time on actual Bali though - the surrounding islands which can be reached by boat in no time at all are beautiful, unspoilt and very relaxing!

I agree - place looks lovely and as long as you don't annoy locals or break rules your fine.

My previous post is info from a friend who works in Bali as travel within the UK Gov.

Just make sure your health insurance is valid for pregnancy and covers all eventualities

I am so surprised your midwife was relaxed about this. There is a moderate zika risk in Bali and non essential travel for pregnant women is not recommended. No way would I go.

My BIL contracted zika in south east Asia. Not sure I’d risk it TBQH

Assuming that it’s a holiday rather than a business trip I would be looking seriously at either transferring your booking to another destination or claiming on travel insurance to cancel and re-book.

travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/106/indonesia-including-bali#Other_risks

Non-essential travel for pregnant women highly discouraged. I personally wouldn't even think about risking it.

I am also amazed at your midwife's laissez faire attitude.

My friend just got back, 30 weeks... she went to visit family and didn’t think twice about zika. I guess it’s about the level of risk you’re happy with. I wouldn’t have gone.

It’s probably a greater risk to your baby to travel in a car than go to a country with a moderate risk of zika - but the zika risk is very easily avoided, whereas travelling by car isn’t. So I guess it’s how it weighs up for you, especially as you’ve already told your midwife.

I went at 6 months pregnant as family live there. I have been with baby/toddler as well.

All was fine but we did stick to expat areas.

A friend ended up needing medical care and it was first class.

I personally would go but it is your risk to take so only you can decide.

Only advice is when out, only drink from bottles or cans
Drink spiking is a real risk (more with booze of course) and is how my friend ended up in hospital.

I went to Thailand between 7-9 weeks pregnant and was fine just use 50% deet think I was only bitten 3 times. I'm now 30 weeks baby is totally fine

Exactly the same as a previous poster here, we went to Bali on our honeymoon and little did I know we had conceived the week before. Luckily we were very vigilant with the mozzie spray so when we found out we weren’t too worried, I was more concerned because I’d had food poising whilst there. None of the docs seemed too worried and baby is perfectly fine :)

I went to Thailand at 16 weeks pregnant - baby was fine I was offered extra scans to check for zika. As people above have said just be vigilant with mosquito spray

You should be covered under insurance to cancel and re book a different destination if it's personal travel because it's official advice not to travel if pregnant.

If it's a work trip I'd just tell them you can't go for the same reason.

I can't fathom at all why your midwife is giving this advice. You can't be careful about bites, you could get bitten after taking every precaution.

I wouldn't go - I was there in December and although I don't normally get bitten; I got bitten to shreds as did almost everyone in the group.

It seems an awfully high risk to take considering the consequences. I'd postpone or change the holiday destination. It's a beautiful place; but not the safest at the moment and definitely not somewhere for pregnant women considering zika

There is absolutely no way I would go as I wouldn't be prepared to take that risk. I would never forgive myself if any harm was to come to my baby. Surely as an HCP your midwife should have outlined the risks to you? If not, I would ask your GP for a second opinion.
Probably not what you want to hear OP.....sorry!

Why take the risk though?? I assume you have avoided other risks so far like food issues and alcohol. So why think this is different because it is a holiday?