Low lying placenta and flying

[Oatmilktea]

I know this has likely been asked a number of times but hoping for some advice before I see the consultant on Monday.

At my 20 week scan today the sonographer told me I have a low lying placenta which is fully covering my cervix. She said there’s a chance it will migrate to where it should be on its own however she referred me to the consultant and booked a 32 week scan.

I have a short haul holiday booked for the 11th of March for a week when I will be 21 weeks.

Does anyone know if the consultant will tell me not to fly? I do have travel insurance already which I bought last week before I knew about the low lying placenta. If my consultant says I can fly, does this mean I need to inform my insurer about the low lying placenta?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I absolutely would not fly with a placenta covering the cervix. If you go into early labour it could end very badly for both of you.
id he speaking to the travel insurance to see if you could claim.

Thanks @UpUpUpU, will speak to them asap

Yes I second that advice, the doctor will advise you not to fly and there are very few providers who would insure you to travel, sorry.

Thanks, just glad to know the outlook now ahead of my appointment and will try and claim our insurance for cancelling the trip!

Just an update, seen my consultant today who said that she doesn’t have an issue with me flying and that I am fit to fly

I had a placenta completely covering the placenta. No one really explained what that all meant. The staff were quite blase about it earlier on. Only as the pregnancy progressed did they manage it more and more closely, up to self admitting to hospital for two weeks so they could monitor the day by day decision to deliver by c-section and wouldn't let me leave the hospital. I did fly, but with hindsight would not have. So I can share with you what was not properly shared with me.
There are huge blood vessels in the placenta, which means a bleed could be prolonged and dangerous, worst case scenario you bleed out quickly. If it happened abroad it could mean you being confined to bed in the foreign hospital until the baby was born. Or it could mean the baby being delivered early abroad. It being a complete previa it's actually less likely to move. And I would expect to monitored more closely than waiting for 12 more weeks. Did they tell you to come straight into the hospital if you have the slightest bleeding?
Now that's the worst case scenario, but it's a real scenario, and I was upset that no one explained it to me properly earlier on, because they got more and more serious as it progressed.

thank you for sharing your experience @TryingNotCrying24. May I ask how many weeks you were when you flew? And may I also ask did you have any bleeding episodes in the lead up to your birth? I know it’s different for everyone.

The consultant said that the risk of me having a heavy bleed at this gestation is low. She said if I was further along, say 28 weeks then she would say I wasn’t fit to fly to err on the side of caution.

She did say to go to the maternity assessment unit with any bleeding and was satisfied that Tenerife has good hospital care, should the worst happen. She did of course say that if I had a heavy bleed in the air, that would be a problem. But she said the chances of that happening are extremely low.

I am still deciding whether we will go or not

Risk is always a difficult one to acess. I would go with your doctora advise.

Thank you @Bramblecrumble22, it is. Her advice is that I am fit to fly and she sees no reason I can’t travel abroad

I had placenta previa with my first and couldn’t fly. You’re at risk of big bleeds and if something happens while you’re in the air god knows what could happen.

You're often not covered for pregnancy. Do you want to be abroad with a medical emergency? Take it easy, enjoy your pregnancy, go away in the UK if you need a holiday. Some pregnancies are not straightforward.

I do have travel insurance that covers me for a low lying placenta. We are still weighing up whether to go or not

It's so difficult isn't it? I had complete placenta previa and was told I would definitely bleed and likely several bleeds. I didn't bleed once. I lost a minimal amount of blood during my section but all the worry (and worry I did!) was for nothing. Very fortunate I know. I did go on holiday but this was before my 20wk scan so didn't know at that stage.

Good luck with it all!

Many women will have placenta previa with different risk factors for their pregnancy. For example age, if they take blood thinners, if they have had previous pregnancies and what they were like. Your Dr has decided that only at 28 weeks onwards the risk is more. Now your cervix is fully closed. You can never remove risk. Everyone also has a risk of an interracial hamorrhage during a flight, but very busy small. Older people would have higher risks of an emergency on an aeroplane too.

I was probably about 24 weeks. I never bled once! My own maternity hospital had a two bleeds and you're out policy - I.e. you bleed twice you're on bed rest for the rest of it! They did get more serious about it as time progressed so maybe I'm applying the level of seriousness later on to the earlier periods. But at 36 weeks when they wouldn't let me even leave the hospital to have a cuppa with my husband in a local cafe "because an ambulance wouldn't get you back in time" I felt like I had been too casual earlier on.

It's not just the bleed on a plane, it's that you could be stuck in Tenerife for months!

I know this is an old thread but I'm in a very similar situation and I was wondering whether you decided to go or not? @Oatmilktea

The advice seems vastly different for everybody looking at this thread, as are the experiences of PP.

I had low lying placenta identified at 20 week scan and flew to Spain a week later. Consultant was happy for me to fly at that point and said they saw no issue. I had another scan at 28/32 and 36 + 5 weeks. Baby was delivered 37 weeks on the dot as placenta had settled even lower.

I was never advised about bleeding or pelvic rest etc, I was still doing fitness classes 3 days before C-Section and didn’t bleed once. It was all a bit non-eventful, I did have some extra precautions and staff during the section but they managed the blood loss and it was all very calm.

I think it’s very individual.

@Hannah280 yes I did go in the end and was so glad. We had a wonderful time. I did then end up bleeding the week I got home which gave me a fright as god knows how long I’d have landed myself in hospital in Tenerife for! I ended up having my baby at 35 weeks, two days ago via c section as my placenta never did move and I had recurrent bleeds and also vasa previa which was diagnosed at 30 weeks

@Oatmilktea congratulations! Hope everything is okay with you both. Thanks for replying! I can't decide what to do, I know it will probably be fine but I can't shake the idea of a bleed happening on the plane or something.

@Hannah280 that was my biggest concern, how many weeks will you be and how long is the flight?

@Oatmilktea I'll be 23 weeks going and almost 25 coming back, it's a 4.5 hour flight. Every time I think I've decided one way or the other I start second guessing myself!

hey! just wondering if you decided to go in the end? I'm also in a similar situation.

@monchik If it helps, I have a low-lying placenta and went away on holiday last month at 26 weeks/back at 28. Two mid-haul flights to get there and two back, no issues - I just double checked that my insurance didn't consider low-lying placenta to be a known complication of pregnancy that would invalidate my cover. I was also told by a midwife that I didn't need to make any adjustments to my usual routine for it - they only advised avoiding strenuous exercise, sex etc. for placenta praevia (which I couldn't have travelled with as my insurer wouldn't cover it).

@CluelessInLondon thank you so much, that’s reassuring! do you know how low yours is, how many mm from the cervix? from what I’ve read, that’s usually an important factor.