would you fly 7 hours at 26 weeks with low lying placenta?

[kizzie]

Hi - my sis has been told at 20 week scan that she has low lying placenta and will have another scan at 36 weeks to check position. (we know that theres high chance that could move before then.)

She has a 7 hour flight booked at 26 weeks. Its an important trip but obviously not more important than the baby (long awaited after fertility treatment and mc.

Her dr said not to give it a second thought and no prob to fly? Does this seem right - and also wouldnt she at least need to tell the insurance company?

Would really appreciate any thoughts (including 'stop worrying for nothing' or 'wouldnt consider it in a million years' ).

Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kizzie x

Yours sisters doc might be a bit blase because most placentas will move but not all do (mine didn't) and if she starts to bleed (I did, like fruitful, a staggering amount in a short time and ended up in hospital for 2 days) the last place she'ld want to be is on a plane. Nightmare for the cabin crew too.....

Hope you can persuade her and stay friends!

I know it's not quite the same but I've been advised to cancel a trip to Malta (at 24 weeks) as expecting twins. Dr told me they wouldn't be able to give me a letter saying I was fit to travel (despite no probs in previous pregnancy or this one so far) and that I therefore wouldn't be covered by insurance and the airline wouldn't fly me anyway. Like your sis babies are result of fertility treatment etc and we cancelled the trip without a thought. Everything may well have been fine but why take the risk?

Just to offer a different opinion:

I flew at 27 weeks for 5 hours with a low-lying placenta diagnosed at 22 weeks and planned scan at 36 weeks.

It never occurred to me not to travel because I was not considered high risk. At 22 weeks my placenta was low-lying (next to cervix but not covering it in any way). I was told that in this position, 95% of placentas have moved sufficiently for natural delivery to take place. My best friend, pregnant at the same time, had major placenta praevia (covering entire cervix) diagnosed at 22 weeks and there was no way she would or should have travelled as CS was required and she had a very high risk of bleeding.

Your sister should find out what level of concern they have about her placenta as that could hugely affect her decision. There is a big difference between definite placenta praevia diagnosed at 20 weeks(very unlikely to have shifted so cs needed and v high risk of bleeds) and a low-lying placenta (very high chance of moving before labour, minimal risk of bleeds, and 36 week scan just checking that it has moved before labour commences). I was in the latter category, and in fact was told that I probably didn't even need the 36 week scan as they were certain it would have moved but they just wanted to make sure.

I did go to my doctor beforehand to talk through my pregnancy history and to ensure I was fit to travel.

FWIW, I flew back from Africa (where I'd been living) at 28 weeks. It was fine, but I wouldn't have liked to leave it any later, despite having a straightforward pregnancy.

I discovered that most international airlines will fly women on international routes up to 34 weeks now, and of course they have no way of proving if you're over that.

Tbh, it was as much a matter of comfort for me, as risk of something happened. On an eight hour flight, I was lucky enough to be in business class so had a flat bed, but can't imagine how difficult it would be to be cramped in an economy seat even for just an hour, queueing for the toilet, squeezing down the aisle etc. And don't even think about the trials of transfering between planes, struggling through airports, down endless corridors and taking shoes on and off at security!

Second the others on low lying placentas. It's really not worth the risk. Most people with low-lying placentas go through their pregnancies with no problems at all. No bleeding and the placentas tend to move out of the way. However, there's a small minority who don't and you don't get any warnings on the bleeds. One minute your pregnancy is yawn-inducingly normal and fantastic and the next minute you're bleeding, on your way to hospital and your notes are suddenly a metre thick.

My placenta moved from partial coverage of my cervix to around 2cm away and I still bled like a tap. Some small bleeds, some massive bleeds (which triggered labour at 25 weeks, 28 weeks and 31 weeks which they blocked) None of which would have been any fun on a seven hour flight. They came with no warning, stopped with no warning and resulted in me spending a month in hospital on bed rest before another massive bleed and delivery at 35 weeks. And yet aside from this I had a textbook pregnancy - felt amazing, healthy, etc. and no outward signs that anything was wrong. And a friend with total praevia (entirely covering her cervix) who was told bleeding was a certainty had no bleeds whatsoever. It's very unpredictable and a placenta that lies a short distance from the cervix can be perceived as 'safer' than one that closer but it's not an exact science. They are unpredictable and the risks, however small, are present.

So in my waffly, humble opinion I just don't feel it's worth it. Not after fertility treatment as well (which I had too so I know the stress of that particular journey). She'd probably do the flight and be absolutely fine but there's a small risk that she could have a bleed and it's better if she's near a hospital and with access to proper medical care just in case.

Hope this helps.
Kx

absolutely no way on earth. not even for a family funeral. definitely not i have seen how much my friend bled with her low ying placenta and it was not nice. her baby is FINE now but she was v v careful and was in/out hospital a lot over 25-35 weeks .....