Traveling During Pregnancy

Traveling during pregnancy can be challenging. With baggage rooms, overcrowded airport waiting rooms and having to sit twisted in uncomfortable seats, you can lose your interest in going anywhere. To avoid discomfort, you have to follow some precautions.

In a recent TLC’s A Baby Story show Dr. Charles Hux, an obstetrician and expert for mother and fetus health, told what precautions pregnant women have to take so traveling don’t cause them any trouble.

Here are some tips from Dr.Hux for pregnant women who are going to travel.

• See your doctor about your plans. Since most of pregnancy complications occur during the first and the third trimesters, the best time for traveling would be the second trimester.
• Reschedule your travel dates if you have complications. You doctor would advise you to stay home if you have vaginal bleeding, previous hospitalization for premature labor, preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), type 1 or type 2 diabetes or sickle cell anemia.
• Air travel is safe for most women up to 34 weeks of pregnancy. But different airlines have different policies on this issue. Some airlines permit women to fly during later periods of pregnancy if they have a letter from doctor stating how many weeks pregnant you are at the time of the flight.
• Prior to the trip, learn about the hospital nearest to your place of destination. Make sure you carry along all necessary medications and the set of documents just in case of an emergency.
• Spend some time doing low-risk physical activity. You don’t want to take a shot at some new sports such as surfing or water-skiing. Pregnancy substantially affects the coordination of body movements.
• Avoid swimming in the sea to prevent catching vaginal infections.
• Drink plenty of non-caffeine fluids while on the road. Dehydration may cause uterus contractions.
• If you suffer from nausea, have pregnancy-safe anti-nausea medications with you.
• Make sure you move during the travel. Get up and walk once every hour to prevent fluid accumulation in your arms and legs.
• Use your seat belt. Don’t forget to fasten the seat belt under your belly.

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