It’s not uncommon for a woman who is expecting a baby to go on vacation beforehand, knowing that the early months of motherhood will be filled with diaper changes, feedings and sleepless nights.
But there are a number of scenarios to keep in mind when travelling while pregnant, not the least of which is the possibility of an early delivery.
It recently happened to Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was on holiday with her family in Cornwall when she gave birth on Aug. 24 to a daughter – a baby who had not been expected to arrive until September.
The cesarean delivery was at Royal Cornwall Hospital, and everything turned out well for mother and daughter Florence.
Michele Hakakha, co-author of Expecting 411, a new guide to pregnancy and childbirth, says travel advice for pregnant women varies depending on the mode of transportation and how far along they are.
“The one concern that is across the board for all trimesters and all pregnant women is sitting for long periods of time, whether that's on a plane or a boat or in a car, and that's the increased risk of developing a blood clot,” Dr. Hakakha, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Beverly Hills, Calif., said in an interview. (The other co-author is pediatrician Ari Brown.)
She recommended that pregnant women get up and walk around periodically, and wear support stockings to help improve circulation. “Typically if you’re pregnant, you have to go to the bathroom all the time anyway, so it's usually not an issue,” she said. “You have to pull over your car, or you have to get up from your airplane seat and move around.”
Pregnant women who flip through travel brochures pondering a cruise or flight need to ask questions about medical care and restrictions.
Most cruise lines will not allow women to travel in their third trimester, Dr. Hakakha noted.
“Airlines will let pregnant women fly up to 36 weeks, which is four weeks before delivery. However, individual ob-gyns may have different cutoffs. I typically let my patients fly up to about 32 weeks,” she said, adding that women should check with their own practitioners.
A woman with a normal pregnancy and no previous history of premature labour can travel up to and including the 36th week at Air Canada. Airline spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said any queries can be put to the airline’s medical desk.
“If something happens and you're on a remote island or you're in the middle of the ocean or you're on a tiny plane where there’s not going to be anyone to help you, it’s a really tough situation,” she said.
“Trains and cars are fine. Usually in your third trimester, you want to stay pretty close to home, and that means that if you want to be within an hour or even an hour and a half, that’s probably fine.”
Otherwise, if the pregnant woman starts bleeding heavily or her water breaks, she will need to go to the closest medical facility – without her prenatal records or a familiar doctor on the case.
Almost daily, Dr. Hakakha said, she gets asked about airport scanners.
The older airport scanners are really just “glorified metal detectors” and they’re completely safe, she said, and the new full body scanners being introduced are also fine.
“They've actually estimated that you’d have to go through 2,500 times during a pregnancy to actually potentially cause some damage.”
Food is always an issue for pregnant women, who need regular sustenance. Dr. Hakakha advised having healthy foods on hand, such as almonds, apples, carrots or peanut butter.
