Travelling While Pregnant
Pregnant women need to plan their holidays and air travel with some extra care. Whilst the second trimester is generally considered the best time to travel, it is important to check with your doctor that there are no medical reasons not to fly before booking your tickets. Medical reasons which would prevent a pregnant woman from flying can include, blood loss, raised blood pressure or swelling.
Whilst it is almost universally accepted that it is safe for expectant mothers to fly up until the thirty sixth week of pregnancy, it is best to check this detail with the airline involved. It is also advisable to carry a medical certificate issued by your doctor if you will be over twenty four weeks pregnant by the time you fly.
Pregnant women are advised to arrive at the airport check in desk earlier to have a better seat allocated to them, one with easier access or room. People traveling to Africa or Asia would normally be expected to have inoculations for hepatitis A and B but expectant mothers are advised against those for typhoid despite the fact that there is not evidence to support that there will be any damage to the fetus.
However, there are many places where malaria is still a problem and it is recommended that they be missed out as contracting malaria when pregnant an cause problems. Children under six also have restrictions in Australia where it isn’t recommended for them to have vaccinations against hepatitis A or typhoid.
The best advice in these circumstances is for any expectant mother to check with her doctor before she makes plans to travel or fly anywhere.Always refuse to drink water unless it is bottled with an unbroken seal and the same goes for ice in drinks if you want to avoid contracting hepatitis A or typhoid.
In some countries eating most fruit and any raw vegetables is also dangerous as is failing to sterilize hands before eating. A handy travel accessory is the small 60ml gel bottles of antibacterial hand wash that dries almost immediately on contact with the air but does mean that special washing facilities aren’t required before eating.
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Air travel also increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis which is statistically more likely in pregnant women so to guard against this it is recommended that expectant women wear the special flight socks or tight that are now available. To keep maintain a good circulation, it is advisable that walking about or other exercises be carried out whilst in flight whenever possible.
Travel insurance policies will cover costs relating t the pregnancy up to twenty six weeks but even policies that cover travel related claims after that period will not include those for the pregnancy itself.
Do you find the information here useful? If yes, visit pregnancy101.org to get all the information about being pregnant and having a baby and have a look at symptons of pregnancy.
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