Bumpy bus ride- any risks?

[PurpleCath]

Hi girls,
I have been traveling on London buses and trains since the beginning of my pregnancy, but today was the first time I had an experience like this. The bus ride was quite shaky and bumpy, and I remember feeling vibrations through the seat a few times. The journey lasted about 25 minutes. I am now terrified that this could harm the baby. I've read that it can trigger the cervix to open, which could cause miscarriage. I am currently 14 weeks pregnant.

I spoke to my midwife, and she wasn't concerned, but I am still so worried because I don't think all this shaking could be good for the pregnancy. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Please let me know. Thank you!

Excessive worrying will do more harm than a bumpy bus ride could ever do

Please go back to your midwife and talk about anxiety

People have been travelling on buses and trains in much worse conditions for many years before and it's been fine

Google what happens to your uterus when you laugh. It's a video that is widely shared on SM or you can see them on YouTube. Your baby is thrown about all over the place!

A bumpy bus ride is fine.

Although why do you think random people on MN know more than your trained and qualified midwife?

If anything like this could cause a miscarriage it would be well known. I actually find posts like this quite upsetting and offensive - having had a miscarriage. It fuels the rhetoric that it’s my fault I had a miscarriage. Get some help for your anxiety

I know she's a trained professional. I'm just looking for someone who experienced smth similar.

I'm so sorry for your loss. The reason I feel this way is that its my first pregnancy after 9 years of trying.

Agreed, pregnancy can be stressful enough, no need to stress about things that happen to pregnant women daily :)

Tons and tons and tons of people, most of them without ever thinking about it.

I can understand you're anxious, but try and apply some logic. Why would women have gone to terrible desperate lengths in the past to terminate unwanted pregnancies if they only needed to take a hot bath or have a bumpy bus ride? A healthy pregnancy is extremely robust and in the vast majority of cases it takes powerful drugs or invasive surgery to end it. You have to be literally on the point of death before your body will relinquish a healthy viable pregnancy.

You are advised not to take up rugby / horse riding whilst pregnant but will be able to carry on playing/ ridding if you normally do

Your body is amazing and babies also - if there is a miscarriage ( to all of us who have been there ) it's nothing to to with your actions

There are millions of women living in London, many of whom commute by bus, tube and/or train. If a bumpy journey on public transport caused miscarriage, there would be very few babies born in London and I imagine someone would have looked into that.

I mean this kindly, but you are in for a very long pregnancy if this is the sort of thing you are worrying about. Take a step back and try to think rationally about what you're worried about - if you can't, speak to your midwife about getting some support with your anxiety. Good luck.

Christ, you want to try getting in a car with my DH around the bumpy, winding country roads where we live while he seemingly aims to hit every pothole he sees!

At 14 weeks this is nothing to worry about!
In the first few weeks after ovulation/ implantation it could definitely be a problem as the vibrations could cause the embryo to dislodge.
I did a round of IVF in Spain and we had a 2.5 hour car ride to get back home after the transfer - the clinic said to take a minimum 20 break every two hours to break up the vibrations a bit. I sat on a huge cushion too to absorb them. But at 14 weeks it’s a fœtus floating around, not a tiny embryo. You can jump around, do sport, the baby is well protected :)

I had a crash at 70mph that closed the motorway at almost 16 weeks. No issues. Terrifying and neither the epu nor maternity triage would see me in a and E as I was too far along for one and not far enough for the other but aside from an anxious wait to get to my 16 week midwife appointment and a bit bruising for me we were both ok.
Women generally get on with their day to day life. Imagine how much jostling they get for those doing a vigorous run or dance class. Do talk to someone about your anxiety though, if fears of pregnancy are getting in the way of your normal life or questioning normal life it might be that you need a bit more support. Take care

In the first few weeks after ovulation/ implantation it could definitely be a problem as the vibrations could cause the embryo to dislodge.

No, they really couldn't, or nobody would ever have a successful pregnancy. The clinic was just giving you a feeling of control and that you'd "done everything". A healthy pregnancy cannot be "dislodged" by a car or bus ride.

Pregnancy is a worrying time - but you will be just fine! DH elbowed me in the nose by mistake when heavily pregnant - thought I was going to pass out - that and bumpy car rides and crowded trains used to drive me nuts.

I had this fear when I was commuting on bumpy roads throughout my pregnancy especially in the early stages.
Then I reminded myself that for much of history, women rode horses on bumpy lanes and then sat in carriages with no suspension on cobbled roads. They managed to carry babies to term. A bumpy car/bus ride is nothing compared to the olden days jolting.

I don't often jump in to say that people are posting incorrect information, but this is absolutely untrue and should be ignored by anyone who ever comes across this thread. Bumpy transport cannot prevent a pregnancy implanting, just as it can't cause a miscarriage.

No, they couldn't. It would be like trying to dislodge a speck of sand from inside a jar of peanut butter.

I did not say that a bumpy bus journey can cause miscarriage, I was just conveying the information that was given to me by a team of doctors and fertility experts in a specific context: IVF. They are specialists and have done research on steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of implantation failure, which according to them may include 2.5 plus hours of sustained exposure to low level vibrations such as those in a car.

The embryo implants in the endometrial lining which is not as thick as a jar of peanut butter. I was getting regular measurements of my endometrium before the transfer and it was never more than 7 millimetres.