Travelling to Abu Dhabi, unmarried and 24 weeks pregnant

[Nadiedodsie]

Hi all,

Myself and my partner would like to go away in February when I am approx 24 weeks pregnant. We want to go somewhere that is warm enough for a beach holiday and after a lovely experience in Abu Dhabi last year we were thinking it would be a nice place to return to. My only worry is that I’ll be showing quite a bit by then (I’m already visibly pregnant) and we are not married. I am also worried about healthcare.

Has anyone been whilst pregnant and do you have any advice?

Many thanks! 😊

I just had to laugh. Humans are a tropical species and many many women have children in hot climates. Abu Dhabi in February has temperatures in the mid 20s. Would you tell somebody that they shouldn’t go to Spain because of the temperature?

Don’t go.

I’d definitely go if you enquire with the hotel beforehand

Exactly! It was hotter in London (40 degrees in our back garden!).

What’s your concern? UAE hospitals are world class, maternity wards are all suites, not shared. But up to you to buy travel insurance.

It’s not illegal to have a baby there while unmarried. You don’t even need to know who the father is. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/government/2022/11/08/how-unmarried-mothers-can-apply-for-a-birth-certificate-for-their-newborns-in-the-uae/?outputType=amp

I know MN leans Islamophobic but the willful ignorance is embarrassing.

As others have suggested I’d go for Canary Islands. I just wouldn’t risk it and I’d feel stressed all the time.

Trusting you won’t buy anything American, given the genocide that country is currently funding. Or within the UK - that awful government supports bombing of children. Or does your conscience only work one way?

DP has a condition that sometimes needs to be treated quickly. He usually emails the hotels we’re interested in to see if they have a doctor or nurse onsite and checks which hospitals are nearby so he can research them. Why don’t you try something similar OP? Maybe you’ll find one near to a good maternity hospital, just make sure you have insurance and savings should you need to access care.

I'd go to the canaries. I would never set foot in the middle east.

I’d say it’s very relevant in the OPs situation. She’s basically saying that she’s happy to travel to a country whose human rights are so fucked that she would be ostracised for being pregnant and unmarried.

I think you would be very silly.

Just something one might want to consider. If OP is concerned about how she’ll be perceived and judged as an unmarried mother, she could think about the other marginalised, unsafe people suffering in the Emirates and change her mind about going there. I wonder if you go round policing every single post on this site that is not 100% black and white relevant to every OP.

I felt it was more a value judgment of OP wanting to visit Dubai in any event, rather than an observation that related to the question she asked.

This. For your child’s sake, start considering the ethical choices you make. Go to the Canary Islands or southern Europe

Completely agree. Why so many women go on holiday to Islamic countries is beyond me, the misogyny alone should be enough for most people to steer clear but under age marriage in some, fgm in others and so on. But places like UAE/ Dubai etc spend a lot on PR to gloss over their human rights records whilst tourists prop up the economy. Anyway it's a free country so people can go where they like.

You paint a very rosy picture but the UAE's human rights record is poor.... as Amnesty International recognise.

healthcare is excellent there but at 24 wks you dont know how you will be feeling and whether a long flight will agree with you. tbh I don't think they would care about the marriage thing, but best to check hotel regs first.

They won't know you're not married unless you tell them and they literally give no shits about unmarried tourists. There are also loads of gay and unmarried couples living together in the UAE. When we were there we were married but two of our best friend couples weren't and it was all fine- you only run into issues if one of you doesn't have a proper visa and is just doing visa runs (you cant sponsor an unmarried partner as a dependent ) but that's an immigration issue.

The main thing to check will be if your medical insurance covers maternity because the health service there is predominantly private, quite expensive and you don't want to get stuck with a bill for uninsured emergency care.

I’m saying there’s zero issue with being pregnant and unmarried in the UAE, especially as a tourist, and provided a source. That appears to be the OP’s concern, so I addressed it.

If you want to start a separate thread about your unrelated opinion, that option is in the menu above.

What about going to Dubai? Laws have changed- you are allowed to have a child outwith wedlock.

That's the law in Dubai -perhaps the whole
Of the UAE.

Hotels will have no issue - i checked in with my partner in Abu dhabj( not married) and had no issues.

Please also note that Muslim women keep their fathers name when they marry. So- having different surnames on passports etc won't be a problem.

Hospitals are excellent.

Feel free to PM me - I currently live in Dubai.

The fact you even need to ask these questions says all you need to know about the place.

This, don't be stupid, don't go there. Your anxiety and starting this thread tells you all you need to make a decision of not going there.

@Zebedee999
I honestly don't know why people think
Women in the UAE are treated badly.

They're treated amazing! I'd love an emirati husband 😅
Women are valued for being mothers!! They're so well provided for and protected.

I'm back to the UK for Xmas and have already have couple of men be creeps. Sorry, but I'm much much MUCH better treated in the UAE.