Travelling at 30 weeks

[hahavzv]

I've just found out im expecting my third early next year!

I've got a trip to Malaysia booked for the December holidays and I will be about 30 weeks at the time. Will be travelling with my other 2.

What is your opinion of travelling at that stage in pregnancy? I think I'll be fine because I'm quite active during my pregnancies but wondering if there's anything I need to consider.

Check your airlines requirements. Usually after 26/27/28 weeks they require a fit to fly certificate from your midwife or doctor.

I would also check the vaccination requirements for Malaysia, and make sure you get travel insurance that covers you for 30+ weeks.

Just being ultra cautious I would make sure I knew where the nearest hospital was too.

Enjoy your holiday 😊

I personally wouldn't want to go that far away (unless you've visiting family or something). As PP said, you'd need a fit to fly, and make sure you have comprehensive travel insurance that would cover premature baby cover. I'd want to be staying in or near urban areas with bigger medical facilities. And check if there's Zika risk.

Congratulations on your news!!

A lot of airlines require a fit to fly certificate from midwife or doctor after 28 weeks of pregnancy. In addition, there is a risk of current or past zika transmission (spread by mosquitos) in Malaysia and so you would be advised by medical professionals not to travel to these areas as the virus can cause problems for your babies development including with brain growth. On that basis you’d possibly struggle to get a fit to fly certificate to be able to go.

https://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html

On that basis it’s well worth now looking into terms for cancellation for your trip, perhaps looking into somewhere without a zika virus risk.

I'm going to be staying with my brother and will be there for 2 weeks. I really do not want to cancel as I waited over a year for this.

Best bet is to contact your GP (or your midwife if you have one) for advice then. The difficulty will be whether anyone would give you the fit to fly knowing your destination, so they’ll be the best to advise you.

I drove back from Spain with 10 days to spare. Def was cutting it a bit fine. 30 weeks def doable!!

I feel like I'll be fine as I tend to find the last month challenging. It's a matter of if they'll let me go to Malaysia 😖

I went on a pre-booked holiday to Spain last summer when I was 27 weeks pregnant and found it hard work in the heat. It was also uncomfortable on the flight being so squashed in and that was only a 2 hour flight. I had to have a sleep
every afternoon which worked to keep me out of the sun at peak times. As pp have said, you will need a doctors note I think at that stage and some airlines have a cut off - you will need to check with the specific airline.

Staying with family would reassure me re hospital etc as they would have the local knowledge you’d hope. For me it’s not necessarily the 30 weeks I’d be worried about, but being 32 when you fly back. I just couldn’t imagine being crammed into a plane seat for that long at that stage. And every pregnancy is different so this one you may not feel the same as with your other two.

I went at 29 weeks and flew back at 32 I believe. I got a fit to fly letter which I'm so glad I did! One of my friends got refused boarding last month and that was just a hop from Spain!!

Would be happy to travel in UK or to Europe- not to the otehr side of the world, honestly. Your insurance will probably not cover you anyhow.

Mmm I’m usually fine on holiday but went to Malaysia while heavily pregnant with my son, with a friend who lived there. We stayed with her family. I struggled a lot. My legs swelled up, which had never happened before or after, the heat was sapping, my blood pressure plummeted and I was a magnet for any biting insects.

I wouldn’t do it again. The wait for healthcare checks was long and they’ve got very different standards to us.

As others have said, talk to your GP about vaccinations, zika, the flights and the climate. And I'd check that you can get insurance in case of premature birth. I don't know what a nicu stay in Malaysia would cost, but I can't imagine it being cheap! I wouldn't risk that without insurance.

What's your plan if you give birth while there? Are you OK with staying until your baby is ready to leave the hospital and travel home? It could be weeks, if not months...

Just a warning re blood clots with such a long flight. I did a 13 hour flight at 24 weeks and ended up with a blood clot in my leg (in spite of moving every hour, wearing the compression socks and drinking lots of water).

Also, the heat! I'm from the UK but live abroad right now. 32 Celsius and 85% humidity feels VERY oppressive when you're pregnant.

I think it's an ambitious trip but you've been pregnant before so maybe know what to expect.

My family will be with me as well as my brother who lives there. We will be staying with him while we are there.

It sounds perfectly doable. Especially as you'll be staying with family. It obviously depends on how the pregnancy goes but if all is straightforward there's no reason why you shouldn't go.

I had a rough start to my pregnancy and was worried about even managing a 3.5hr flight back to the UK to stay with family (frequent flier before!) I feel completely fine now though and will be going at 27 weeks, flying back at 29. This is the point at which a lot of airlines want a fit to fly note as PP say, although mine apparently doesn't.