The Complete All Round Travel Guide for Pregnant Women

Preparation:

• Talk to your doctor about your travel plans, you may need your prenatal chart and a reference to a doctor at your destination.

• Make sure your travel insurance covers your pregnancy. This may mean paying extra premiums.

• Take plenty of water and sick bags for the journey. If travelling by car, make sure there are plenty of regular stops at services so you can stretch your legs and visit the bathroom. If travelling by plane book a seat near the middle of the plane over the wing for a smooth ride and pick out an aisle seat to ensure you can easily get up and walk about.

• If travelling by plane check with the airlines beforehand to make sure you will be able to fly both on the way there and on the way back. Most airlines refuse boarding for anyone over 35 weeks pregnant if not before. This can also be true of ferries.

On The Journey:

• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated during your trip and make sure you can visit the bathroom regularly.

• Make sure you can get up and move around freely during your journey. If not make sure there are plenty of regular stops along the way so you can get out and move around.  While sitting down, rotate your ankles and wiggle your toes.

• Avoid heavy meals, greasy food and caffeinated beverages. Eat light snacks like fruit to settle your stomach.

On Holiday:

• Make sure you have your referred doctor’s contact details, your insurance policy, your prenatal chart and your EH1C card with you (If you are a UK resident) at all times.

• Carry an emergency contact list with you at all times so people know who to call if anything happens.

• Either get a list of local hospitals from the tourist information centre or, if you have a doctor assigned to you, make sure you have an address to go to in an emergency.

• Wear a very high sunscreen factor and avoid staying in the sun for too long.

• Avoid insect repellents containing DEET, try natural alternatives instead.

• Do not engage in diving, water sports or other such activities.

• It is perfectly safe to wear your seat belt whilst pregnant and studies have shown it to be much more beneficial considering the risks involved. Tuck the lap belt under your stomach with the shoulder strap over your bump.

• Car airbags are perfectly safe so don’t disable them. You may want to move back a little from the dashboard though to make room for your bump.

• You cannot get radiation poisoning from plane travel in any way. Metal detectors do not use x-rays and are perfectly harmless for you and your baby. Luggage scanners are focused so you can’t be exposed to any radiation by standing near them, you would have to put your hand directly inside the machine to become exposed. Finally, cosmic radiation exposure during flight is minimal and perfectly safe; you can even travel by plane up to 200 hours during the length of your pregnancy.