between 2 jobs, currently travelling and pregnant

[Phoenix2022]

Hi there,

I am in between 2 jobs, currently backpacking in Zanzibar, then Dubai, then turkey. I've been scuba diving for 5 days and as I had cramps I thought I would have my period but it was pregnancy. It was planned but I was not able to get pregnant for a while as my last job was so stressful and really didn't think that would happen now. I believe I am 3/4 weeks pregnant.

I have a few questions:

• I am a foodie, so I eat a bit everything, i know I can't eat raw meat/fish but I still eat all the fresh fruits like mango, pineapple etc... in the morning I get scrambled eggs but I read that I should be careful. Maybe a silly question but should I be avoiding any food in those countries?
• I can't get in touch with my GP so could someone let me know what's the next steps normally? I'll do them as soon as I am back in the uk start of March.

I wonder if they send a list of what you can do / not do (food/ exercise)

• I have belly aches at night and feel a bit nauseous but nothing strong yet - any advise on how to handle this? Is ginger any good?
• Also, I'm starting a new job then but I'm a bit concerned that they will be annoyed at me. I told my partner before let's not try for a few months but as I'm too old (40), we said let's trust nature. I haven't seen the maternity leave conditions but I suppose I'll have a short one. Any advise on how to handle this? My probation period is 12 weeks.

Many thanks!
Em

There's zika in Zanzibar so I hope you're being very careful with repellent.

Food, have you not read up generally about what to eat when travelling? Because you don't want food poisoning, which I had pretty much the whole time in east Africa!

@MrsTerryPratchett

There's zika in Zanzibar so I hope you're being very careful with repellent.

Food, have you not read up generally about what to eat when travelling? Because you don't want food poisoning, which I had pretty much the whole time in east Africa!

Now Zanzibar is pretty safe in terms of Zika so should be fine, I checked the governmental recommendations. Yes I checked the food, I'm well travelled and it has been good until now, I am more concerned about if there are ingredients to avoid? Although I'm reading on the internet I'm wondering if there is an exhaustive list of ingredients I need to avoid (raw meat / fish / unpasteurised milk / alcohol) provided by a gp or nhs?

The NHS has a lot of guidance on foods to avoid but it's only based on you being in the UK and UK food standards eg raw or partially cooked egg and raw fish are usually fine in the UK (as long as the eggs have the British Lion stamp and fish has been frozen) but would have to be avoided in many countries.

www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/

You probably don't need to get in touch with your GP, in the majority of areas in the UK they won't do anything apart from refer you to the hospital/maternity unit and you can self refer to save time and effort - look up your local hospital and most of them have a form you can just fill in to get your appointments started. I would do that before you get back tbh so they can arrange your booking appt and scan at the right times.

Congratulations!!! You should do your own research on this, but I remember reading something about decompression issues with scuba diving in pregnancy, so you may want to look into this.

When it comes to food, you want to be careful with anything fresh that has been uncooked. This includes salads, fruits, etc., anything dairy that has not been pasteurised and cooked until boiling, etc. Eggs should have nothing runny, unless they are British Lion ones. This is a concern in all places you are visiting. You already know that meat needs to be cooked through fully. Check also on the fish you are eating, as some are not considered safe (and you should not have too much of it). Caffeinated drinks is a key one to keep an eye on, as well. Ideally decaf now..

And you 100% could do scans like the twelve week scan, etc. in a place like Dubai or Turkey, where they have decent health care systems, especially if you go private, in case you are not back in the UK by then. Considering your age, perhaps also arrange for a NIPT test, which checks for Down’s and some other ones. They can be taken from week 10 onwards.

Also take your finances into account. Being newly employed you are unlikely to receive any company financial support during your mat leave, and government maternity pay is not much.

(on the age thing, I did not mean this badly. I am late thirties and pregnant myself, and decided to have one for this reason.)

The NHS can't tell you because watermelon would be fine in the UK for example and not in East Africa. You'd need the NHS guidance AND a travel book.

[quote trrk]The NHS has a lot of guidance on foods to avoid but it's only based on you being in the UK and UK food standards eg raw or partially cooked egg and raw fish are usually fine in the UK (as long as the eggs have the British Lion stamp and fish has been frozen) but would have to be avoided in many countries.

www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/[/quote]
Makes sense thanks a lot!

@ButFirstTea

You probably don't need to get in touch with your GP, in the majority of areas in the UK they won't do anything apart from refer you to the hospital/maternity unit and you can self refer to save time and effort - look up your local hospital and most of them have a form you can just fill in to get your appointments started. I would do that before you get back tbh so they can arrange your booking appt and scan at the right times.

Thanks for your advice! I will self refer then!

@4thtimethecharm

Congratulations!!! You should do your own research on this, but I remember reading something about decompression issues with scuba diving in pregnancy, so you may want to look into this.

When it comes to food, you want to be careful with anything fresh that has been uncooked. This includes salads, fruits, etc., anything dairy that has not been pasteurised and cooked until boiling, etc. Eggs should have nothing runny, unless they are British Lion ones. This is a concern in all places you are visiting. You already know that meat needs to be cooked through fully. Check also on the fish you are eating, as some are not considered safe (and you should not have too much of it). Caffeinated drinks is a key one to keep an eye on, as well. Ideally decaf now..

And you 100% could do scans like the twelve week scan, etc. in a place like Dubai or Turkey, where they have decent health care systems, especially if you go private, in case you are not back in the UK by then. Considering your age, perhaps also arrange for a NIPT test, which checks for Down’s and some other ones. They can be taken from week 10 onwards.

Also take your finances into account. Being newly employed you are unlikely to receive any company financial support during your mat leave, and government maternity pay is not much.

Thanks a lot for your answer!

There are not many articles about diving and pregnancy. It seems that there is no real proof of contraindications but that it should be avoided because of decompression but I'll check that again !

In terms of food, thanks that's very helpful, I presume that I should not eat fruit or drink natural juices abroad either..?

I'll definitely look into the NIPT test!! And no worries about the age thing, I didn't read that badly at all!

@MrsTerryPratchett

The NHS can't tell you because watermelon would be fine in the UK for example and not in East Africa. You'd need the NHS guidance AND a travel book.

Cheers!

The NHS advises against diving in pregnancy although their advice tends to be quite precautionary. Snorkelling is fine. Be prepared in case you get fatigue and breathlessness which might affect how much excerise you want or are able to do. Extreme fatigue started for me at about 6 weeks but not everyone will get this.

www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/exercise/

I think fruit is generally regarded as fine if it can be pealed like mango and pineapple. Fruit juice too if it is just fresh juice and hasn't come into contact with unpurified water or ice.

As above. In terms of nausea/sickness it depends how bad it gets! But yes, if its not awful things like ginger biscuits or tea, lemon drinks, mints may help. Travel bands that go on the wrist to prevent travel sickness can help. Eating little and often rather than fewer larger meals. Take it easy if you need to.

Are you taking folic acid?

Also, post a couple of pictures! I loved Zanzibar.

You have good advice already!

When I was in UK you could self refer to the maternity of your choice. I would do it in a week or 2.

Be careful with fresh fruits/salads in terms of hygiene and handling. I would not drinkg fresh fruit juice unless it is pasteurised.

And yes get yourself some prenatal vitamins with folic acid.

Be Careful with some mosquito repellents some are not recommended during pregnancy. Especially the ones for tropical areas etc...
Some toxic ingredients.
Same for sunscreen I think? But could be wrong about sunscreen.

Make sure the water you drink is clean and just try to minimise risks of food poisoning obviously.

Congratulations!

Thank you all for all the helpful information, I'll take all your advise into consideration.
@toomuchlaundry yes folic acid
@MrsTerryPratchett pictures from the Matemwe area :)

So beautiful.