Long Haul flight while 6/7 months pregnant

[travelqueen2000]

Hi, has anyone here been on a long haul flight ( around 11-13h ) while 6/7 months pregnant ? If so how did you manage and do you have any suggestions on how to make the flight easier.

I went to the US (6ish hour flight) last time I was pregnant at around 5 months and then again at 7 months so not quite the same but similar.
I would recommend pressure socks to reduce your legs/feet swelling but do not try to put them on when you are sitting in the aeroplane seat (as I did the first time). There was no room to move and I could not contort myself around the bump so it was quite a struggle. Put them on in the toilets in the airport before your board.
I also recommend getting an aisle seat so that you can easily get up to go the loo. I couldn't initially book that so called up the airline and explained and they did it for me.
A midwife suggested taking low dose aspirin for the flight so I bought some but then looked up recommendations by the NHS and they said not taking them so I didn't in the end.
For the second trip I paid quite a bit for a fit to fly certificate from my GP but no one ever asked to see it so felt like a waste but maybe important depending on the timing or airline.

Hi, thank you for responding. It’s still a long haul flight. I have got compression socks. Thank you for letting me know about the fit to fly note, how much does it cost ?

I think it was about £40 but my work paid for it in the end since it was a work trip. Check the airline's guidance on what week of pregnancy you need the note.

Thank you so much I was not aware of this ❤️

Compression socks, nothing else really and I didn’t bother with fit to fly as never got asked - I don’t think if you have relatively baggy clothes on most people want to wade into the waters of asking you that Q

I flew a lot of long haul when I was pregnant with DD1 I think I stopped around 32 weeks as our work insurance at the time didn’t cover med-evac beyond a certain point of both mother and child if born early and didn’t want to risk that (I was pretty low risk pregnancy at the time but you never know) so would just suggest you look at your health insurance situation if you are more at the 7-8 months vs 6

Check with your airline up to when they will allow you to fly (allowing time for the flight back). Sensible GPs will just give you a factual note about your pregnancy that doesn't include the words 'fit to fly' - if you need a specific note attesting your fitness to fly then you may need a private travel doctor. Make sure your travel insurance covers neonatal care if you go into premature labour abroad.

I also remember the midwife saying to me that if complications arise they tend to be more likely towards the end of the pregnancy so if you have a choice about timing, I would try to fly as early on in the pregnancy as possible.

I flew a 13 hour flight when I was 22 and 24 weeks. It was absolutely excruciating, sorry, even though I was in premium economy. I was incredibly uncomfortable. I had pelvic girdle pain and tailbone pain and back pain. Sitting for that long was awful.

Also, British Airways ran out of food AND water about 3 hours into the flight. Never happened before, didn't know it could. So pack a lot of snacks lol. I ended up eating food gifts I had bought for family.

This happened to me too! 12 hour flight to Joberg when I was 7 months pregnant and no food available due to some ridiculous issue, typical BA nonsense.

So yes, second bringing lots of snacks. Other than that, I think if it’s an easy enough pregnancy you won’t feel much worse than a normal long haul flight. I did lots of long haul flights both pregnancies, it was a bit uncomfortable at the time but nothing near as bad as the many long hauls I chose to do with babies and toddlers so in that sense enjoy it while you can, it might be the last time you sleep or watch a movie on a flight for many years!