Holidays - first trimester

[Mae2B]

If all goes well I'll be going on holidays to Qatar/Dubai weeks 7 and 8 of pregnancy. I want to book a private scan before the NHS w12 - would you book it at w6 before going on holiday for reassurance even though if it's bad news it might ruin it; or at week 9 once back (also when my partner will be here)?

Also, how are typical symptoms around those weeks? Should I brace myself for exhaustion and stick to hotel life?

And are there any risks with flying this early? The flights will be 6h.

Week 9. There's a good chance you won't see anything at week 6 which would stress you out and defeat the point of the scan.

Why would you want a 6 weeks or 9 weeks scan? NHS scans for a reason- 1st scan to date the pregnancy, 2nd scan to screen for anatomical anomalies. Scans are safe but why unnecessary expose a baby to some technology that's only been around for 50 years or so?

Cant think of any risk with flying, no. I’ve gone abroad in pretty much all stages of pregnancy across my 4 pregnancies and not had an issue but depends if you have any health factors atplay.
a scan at 6 weeks won’t show anything though and will probably only make you panic.

Thank you all for the replies. I am quite nervous/anxious, and thought a scan at w6 could provide some reassurance that it's not an empty sac, and I thought you could already hear the heartbeat from w6. But yes, if they don't see anything it might make me worry even more...

I wouldn't bother at 6 weeks as you won't see anything and might not even hear heartbeat yet.

You can't hear a heartbeat at week 6. I had a scan at 7 weeks because I was doing IVF and they scan at 7 weeks before discharging you. They did say to me before the scan that it can take a while to "see" the heartbeat (it's like a flashing on screen). But any earlier than that there's no guarantee it will be visible as it's so small. With my pregnancy it was known exactly how far along I'd be due to the nature of conception, but natural conception isn't as well known due to variations in ovulation. So as PPs have said, doing a scan at 6 weeks will unlikely show anything reassuring which would just spoil your trip.

Week 9, at 6 weeks there is a chance you'll see a heartbeat but also a big chance you won't, even if everything is fine.

I started getting morning sickness weeks 6-7 I think? But it was worse weeks 8-12 so hopefully you'll miss the peak of it!

6 weeks almost always causes more stress than reassurance. If you are even a day or so earlier you might not see anything and potentially be upset. Week 9 is lovely as you see so much more and also miscarriage risk drops more and more each week so you'll feel in a good place by 9 weeks.

Oh ok, I didn't realise that, I thought it was more guaranteed to hear the heartbeat at 6w. In that case I won't do it at w6, and will consider the 9w instead just to have an idea of how things are progressing. Thank you all for your input ☺️

@JC89 I hope I can cope then, I don't want to miss out on hotel breakfasts 😆

Do you have travel insurance that will cover if you couldn't go? I know lots of women can cope with travel but by 7 weeks I'm usually signed off work and barely able to move from the sofa with sickness, nausea and fatigue.
My last pregnancy was the only scan that I had an early scan and it was at 7 and a bit weeks but I was measuring behind. They saw a heart beat but I was only measuring 6 weeks. I had to go back two weeks later to see if it was tracking with the same delay. Unfortunately I lost the pregnancy during that 2 week wait. Had I had that scan shortly before I 2 week holiday I wouldn't have been able to enjoy that holiday at all. Early scans are great if they give you a definitive yes or no but more often they give you maybe/maybe not in which case you just have a nervous wait until they can see how the pregnancy changes with time. My early scan was at the epu as a reassurance scan for a previous loss and they didn't want to do it prior to 7 weeks so I'd use that advice for private scans.

Truly appreciate that @Superscientist , and I'm really sorry to hear on your loss. I see your point on worrying if there are only maybes at 6w, so will completely forget about scanning at 6w.
I don't have travel insurance, I will get one before my trip in case I need to use their medical system, but it won't cover the trip expenses I think, I didn't think about that in advance :/
I'm just really really hoping I can cope and if quite bad I'll try to take it as easy as possible, but I know some people really struggle during the first trimester. I'm still early on and without any symptoms, but I need to start thinking of the different scenarios indeed.

Agree that you should wait. Flying is perfectly safe. If you were a week or two ahead of where you are then I’d say maybe before, but you risk being left in limbo and not enjoying your holiday for the stress of the unknown.
I was going on holiday at 7 weeks with my DD. I had a scan the day before or two days before (can’t remember exactly). Thankfully it went well, was measuring 7+3, heart beat, all good, and that did provide me with relief in that moment and feeling okay to travel. But you aren’t likely to have that same experience if you are closer to 6 weeks than 7. And unfortunately the reassurance only lasts for the rest of the day that early on. Because even a healthy looking pregnancy at 6 or 7 weeks isn’t any guarantee it will stay that way.
Enjoy your holiday though if you go- it probably won’t be the busiest or most fun-filled holiday you’ve ever had (spent mine feeling sick and exhausted by the pool!) but take it as an opportunity to relax, and a couple of weeks away from people who you don’t want to cotton on to the pregnancy that early on. Bought me a week off of having to explain my odd behaviour to people at work anyway!

I honestly would sort out the travel insurance out tonight or tomorrow to be honest. It covers you from the day you get it, you could get it tomorrow and have a reason to cancel on Monday and it will cover you. Ideally you would sort travel insurance out when you book the holiday failing that as soon as is practical. I know it feels a lie priority but it's so important prior to the holiday not just on the holiday.
My mum had a fall a few years ago about 6weeks before she was due to go away. Within a day or so it was clear she wouldn't be well enough to travel and because she had travel insurance she got a full refund.
It would depend on the policy what will covered with regards to pregnancy symptoms and if anything goes wrong that means you can't travel it's best to get it in place as soon as possible and pay keen attention when you are comparing policies to get the best coverage to protect you should you not be able to go. It's best to be prepared and not needed it rather than find yourself unwell and out of pocket for a much looked forward too holiday!

You will get far more reassurance at week 9 as there is much more to see plus the odds of miscarriage drop significantly once you've seen a healthy heartbeat at 8 weeks or over.

Week 6 is very early and there may be nothing to see except for an empty gestational sac..... maybe a yolk sac and fetal pole if you're lucky but it's unusual to see an embryo and heartbeat that early.

As for symptoms, you may be one of the lucky ones but for a lot of pregnant ladies, weeks 7-9 can be quite tough, especially with sickness and nausea. .

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I can see lots of advice about the scan date so I won't pile on with similar. With regards to sickness though, it's completely different with everyone so don't be too disheartened by it. In my first pregnancy I had Hyperemesis and was seriously ill from about 5/6 weeks until around 30. This time though I'm 20 weeks and have only been sick twice so far (knock on wood)

It's not guaranteed, just be prepared for it. Maybe avoid prebooking any outings if you can, base it on how you're feeling day to day. And if needed, ginger biscuits and dry toast were good for settling nausea in my experience. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

A scan doesn’t guarantee anything. I’ve miscarried twice after having scans and seeing heartbeats.

I went to Jamaica at 10 weeks in my first pregnancy. It was great because I was exhausted and being able to laze about on the beach and and by the pool was exactly what I needed.

that pregnancy went fine and I didn’t have scan until 12 weeks.