Travel to India

[StrawberryField48]

Recently found out I'm pregnant with our first child. I'm now 5w1d. We have a trip booked to India to visit my husband's family - I will be on weeks 9-11 then. I know I should walk around the plane during the flight (to avoid blood clots), only drink and brush teeth with bottled water and only eat cooked food. Where we go at this time of year, there is no mosquito problem. We will also have access to good medical facilities if needed.

I know the risk of a miscarriage only goes down after week 12.. But then, I'm not sure being in India would increase that risk.. anything can happen even if we stay in the UK..

Would you go?

I know at the end it's my decision. But would be helpful to hear some thoughts.

Thank you!

Just purely because of the airports? I missed that one, I just thought it seemed arbitrary.

Here

I'd totally still go! If something goes wrong that early in pregnancy no one can save the baby anyway so it doesn't really matter about healthcare, so only risks are

• you have a miscarriage and have to deal with it while there - you know hospitals are good but you'd have to tell in laws etc
• you get sick from food/water/etc, so you'd have to be extra extra careful

Get some compression stockings for the flight

Decide in a couple of weeks time once you know more about how your first trimester will be.
My morning sickness and fatigue absolutely could not have coped with the onslaught to the senses that makes India so mind blowing.

I did 2 weeks in Japan at 5/6 weeks which is a 14 hour flight so wouldn't have any issues travelling to India which is a much shorter flight. I have family in India so similar to you, wouldn't be worrying about it as if I were a tourist - because you've got access to medical care, family support and are used to the food. In Japan I ensured I had medical insurance and knew how to access healthcare if I needed it. In India healthcare is much more accessibly and affordable as it's all private and very cheap - only if you're in a big city obvs. And you can buy a lot of medicines over the counter unlike here.

I morbidly also carried pads and paracetamol on board the flight in case i started bleeding.

The only thing I would be wary of is lack of public toilets, which if you're like me and wee a lot in pregnancy, makes it difficult to stray too far from home/places with toilets. Just need to plan ahead.

I would just check there isn't a zika virus outbreak there when you travel.

Have a fun trip if you do decide to go!

Thanks for your response. I have just checked following your advice and apparently there is currently a zika outbreak in the state we are planning to go to... I will monitor this in the coming weeks.. will probably not go if this situation doesn't change. Thanks again.

Nope, wouldn't go