Has anyone flown long haul in first trimester?

[heidipi]

Hi there - am looking for some advice from anyone who has flown in early pg please. I'm 7 wks at the moment (first pg, aged 40, no health probs) and due to fly to the US with work in 2 weeks time.

I've looked for advice and although there's nothing to suggest that flying could cause miscarriage, some places do advise against flying in the first 12 weeks because of the increased risk of mc during that time - I guess because it could be extra grim if an mc started on the plane or while away from home?

I've only had a bit of nausea and tiredness so far - nothing like what some people experience, so I feel perfectly ok to go but obviously don't want to take unnecessary risks. It would be awkward to get out of going but not impossible.

Has anybody flown at a similar time and how did you get on?

Thanks in advance for your help!

absolutely you can fly in the first trimester. I flew to the carribean at 9 weeks; absolutely no problems atll. Harley St consultant confirmed there is absolutely no chance that flying in first trimester can cause a miscarriage.

Obviously you are aware that in your first 12 weeks you are statistically most likely to miscarry than at any other point in your pregnancy, so you would need to be prepared to deal with the worst, should it happen (you must check on your insurance, particularly flying to the states). If you arent covered, there are lots of reasonable policies you could tkae out to cover you (think the one I ended up buying was about £100 for a full year of cover).

For my own peace of mind, I did have an early private scan a few days before I was due to fly, it really put my mind at rest, and knowing the baby was fine before I left made me much more relaxed when I was away. If this is financially possible for you, I would really recommend it.

that is interesting chestnut - I must get some extra insurance to cover pregnancy then

I think it is more important to know where the nearest hospital is once you are there than worry about how to get there in the first place. Flying is fine. Just familiarise yourself incase you need emergency care while you are away.

On the subject of insurance, when I was pg with DD3, the foetal medicine consultant said to make sure that any insurance policy you had after about 24 weeks' gestation, also covered the baby after it was born. He had known of a case where a baby was born prematurely in the US. The mother's care was covered by her policy but the baby, once it was born, was of course a separate person and so was not covered. It can take a long time and a lot of money before a premature baby is ready to leave hospital and travel back to the UK.

Thanks Chestnut and OkieCokie for the extra tips - I've already checked and the insurance is fine, but good idea to find out about hospitals.

Yes will think about an early scan, peace of mind (or otherwise) would be good.

glad to help Heidipi.

I too took a practical view re the scan; if something had gone wrong (ie a MMC) i would want to know before I flew, nad not have to potentially deal with the repercussions whilst abroad. Once I saw a healthy little bean with a heartbeat, I went with the peace of mind that everything was ok. Of course there are no guarantees, but once you see that beating heart, you are on good grounds. Sure everything will work out fine for you! (plus it is nice to have the scan anyway!)

I flew to LA when I was about 8 weeks. Apart from the nausea, the worst thing was my fragile emotional state. When the worlds fattest woman turned out to be sitting next to me, I actually started crying . It was justified though, she really was into my seat space and every time I went to the loo she would lift up the seat rest between us and hope that I wouldn't notice that we were sitting in a cosy double seat!

Can I just say, I wasn't bawling, just welling up - I wasn't that insensitive! (or rather, sensitive!!!)

Hello heidip

I'm actually a trainee pilot, (although not a doctor!)

The manuals say that it is not recommended that pregnant women fly in unpressurised aircraft at high altitudes.

This is because if the plane ascends/descends too quickly, the change in pressure can (theoretically) cause the amniotic fluid to quickly change in volume which can compromise the integrity of the amniotic sac.

While this is a theoretical risk, in reality, for a plane to fly at altitudes where this would be a problem the cabin would have to be pressurised, so the theoretical risk could never be realised, if that makes sense?

All commercial aircraft are pressurised, so really not a worry at all.

I would say that the issues with nausea and the need to pee every 5 minutes would be more problematic, but these are really just annoying rather than harmful.

If the worst really came to the worst and you miscarried on the plane, if there was any immediate risk to your life/health, the plane would divert to the nearest airport.

Transatlantic planes don't actually cross the Atlantic, but fly over Iceland/Greenland so can land at relatively short notice should the need arise (I have been on a plane where this has happened)

I'm in the US at the moment (flew at 6 weeks) and the only problem I've encountered is killer jetlag.

I have just come back from NYC. Am now 13 weeks. Had dvt socks & an aisle seat for plenty of walking but slept the while time each way (I was looking forward to the films) and dh had to look after the kids .
only difference I noticed to previous trips was the tiredness & major jetlag!

My travel insurance was fine as long as my gp/ midwife/ medical person was. I saw gp a couple of weeks before & he put in my notes about going away and he thought it was fine. The insurance said mc wasn't the expected outcome so it didn't affect the policy.

I have been though tons of scanners too & not even thought about it. Only new one was on liberty island none at airports!

My baby is fine btw as I had my scan yesterday!

Just to add to comments about hydration and drinking lots - you may find you need to drink more than possibly imaginable. On a 10 hour flight at 12 weeks I bought 3 litres of water in Boots in Heathrow and I drank the lot plus everything offered on the plane. Not only good for hydration but regular trips to the loo make sure you get plenty of movement too. Also had flight socks.

Was fine. If you get travel sick and are suffering from morning sickness as well, worth speaking to your GP as the active ingredient in both medications is the same.

And the same advice for anyone on long- haul about loose clothing, non-tight shoes & not hitting the mini-bar.

Hope you're off somewhere nice

I've flown at various stages of pregnancy and no problems other than the minor ones mentioned.

Lots of water, lots of moisturiser and one of those Evian sprays, plus take some food that you know you can stomach as you may find airline food offputting. You need to put flight socks on as soon as you get up on the morning of the flight for full benefit, rather than just shoving them on when the plane takes off. On a long flight to the US you need to move around a lot rather than sit still for hours on end. Keep stretching your feet and arms when sat down as well.

And don't organise top punishing a work schedule as you will be tired and disoriented more than usual.

Good luck!

Hello - I'll be as brief as I can because I answer this question a lot.

I AM an airline pilot, who is currently 20 weeks pregnant with child number 2. I flew all over the place when pregnant with child number 1 until I actually found out I was pregant - and she is just fine! I flew about a bit during the early weeks of this pregancy too, although not as much as first time as I only work 50% now. Legally speaking, I could be your pilot to fly you RIGHT NOW on your holiday - yes, it is allowable for a pilot in her second trimester to fly a commercial airliner, and I know women who have done it. My airline has a policy of grounding you though, so I am currently working on the ground. But only due to company rules, not due to any health related or legal issues.

Pilots seem to be a particularly fecund lot, with most of the women I fly with at work having produced children with no problem - and all of them have to fly around until they get that blue line! The only problems I know of was that one woman pilot had twins which got so big that one of them came out with a slightly squashed foot, and one woman who had a late miscarriage due to an imcompetent cervix which was not related to flying. So, my guess is that if a couple of hundred of us can fly thousands of hours in early pregnancy (and beyond) and have hundreds of healthy kids between us - you'll be fine going on your hols.

Fourof Four I hope I don't embarrass you here, but my current ground job is helping redraw the North Atlantic plotting charts we use on transatlantic flights, and I can assure you there is a whole lot of sea out there that we fly over! You could be up to 3 hours away from Iceland or Greenland (or indeed anywhere!) And you wouldn't really want to be dropped off in Greenland. Trust me!

I haven't read the other messages so sorry for any repeats!

I flew To the Cayman Islands via Miami when I was just 6 weeks, and had just had some spotting so was quite paranoid. My obstetrician advised that I take one baby asprin and wear DVT socks as the main threat to pg women is DVT so need to thin the blood, otherwies I was fine but lucky my DH had booked club world before we knew I'd be pg as I've also got ds who's 5 so would not have been a fun experience otherwise!. Would your company be sending you in club as it makes a huge difference just being able to lie down, but anywhere is fine just make sure you get up and walk around every so often and get to the loos before the after meal queue builds up!!

Thanks everyone - you are such a knowledgeable, helpful lot! Only been on Mumsnet for a week and can totally see what all the hype's about.

Unless anything drastic happens in the next 10 days I've decided to go - it's to Pittsburgh, only for 5 days, and my schedule will be pretty light so hopefully can sleep a lot while I'm there. Main issue will be keeping pg a secret as most colleagues don't know and they'll be expecting me to hit the bars with them! Think I'll have to come clean.

Thanks again ladies!

I flew to New Zealand at 6 weeks pregnant. No problems at all, except I was most annoyed that i could not partake of the wine at lunch.