Long Haul Flights at 14 weeks

Hi, We just found out last week that im pregnant and i am 5 weeks and 3 days. Fingers & toes crossed that everything goes well for us. We booked a once in a lifetime holiday at the beginning of the year , 6 nights in san francicso and 5 nights in las vegas. We are due to fly out on the 19th of May which will make me 14 weeks pregnant. Do you think it is okay to still go on this holiday as I dont know what to do! all help is greatly appreciated as im a hormonal mess at the moment!

most will say its fine to fly but your best talkin to your GP bout it. everyone's past medical history etc is so different. you may not have had your 1st app in the hospital depending on where u plan attendin

Hi Flynno, You would need to ask your doc but I would say, depending on how you feel at the time, that it would be fine. North America would be good for a pg lady as they have good healthcare and infrastructure so, god forbid, if anything did happen you could be treated properly - not sure about the costs involved tho! If it was me I would go but then I have had no morning sickness just exhaustion. You would def need to take it a lot easier than a 'normal' holiday and no wild nights out!

I would say ask your GP for your own peace of mind, but many pregnant women travel with no problems, was just flying myself this weekend only short haul though, and I flew from San Fran to NY and home from NY in the first few weeks of my pregnancy. I second what babybrain said that I was pregnant while on HM and I was exhausted, so be aware you might be more tired than normal. Hopefully you may not suffer from any morning sickness. Do make sure that you have health insurance!

We took a 11 hour direct flight when I was 13 weeks and 15weeks and it was fine. I was more conscious of making the effort to move about more and I needed an aisle seat as I was up and down to the loo a lot but other than that it was fine. I was much more tired than I would normally be but you will be fine. We went to Sri Lanka too, not exactly A+ for heathcare but everything was grand even when I was sick. You don't have to change your plans because you're pregnant, you just have to re-adjust a little I hope you have the most wonderful time!

I have taken short flights already during this pregnancy but would talk to my GP before taking a long haul flight. There is nothing to say its not safe to fly during pregnancy but it would depend on how you are feeling. I mean if you are experiencing terrible nausea etc it would make the flight most uncomfortable for you and not nice at all. Drink plenty of water and move around as much as possible. Very jealous of your trip, we were in Vegas in September and can't wait to get back there again

Like others I think you'll be fine. It might be your last chance for a long time to do a holiday like that - have a blast!! The only reason I could see for you not to travel is if you were experiencing some sort of complications - discuss with your doctor but Id say they'll most likely give you their blessing.

It's really one for you to decide on after talking to your gp/midwife. We had booked just before we got the bfp, so I went to NZ at 24 week, back at 27 and although it was tough, it was worth it. I found the couple of days either side worst, the usual tiredness of flying was much worse than usual as was the swelling in my legs, but it was very managable - lots of water, walking miles around the plane and flight socks are essential. Just in case you don't know, unless you have a medical complication with the pregnancy, your travel insurance is very unlikely to cover you for cancellation because they do not consider pregnancy a medical condition and therefore not an insurable event.

Hi flynno I'm in a similar situation. I haven't seen my consultant yet, but I asked my GP and she said absolutely fine and the place I'm going also has good maternity care in case of an emergency. The only thing she said that shocked me was to bring a change of clothes with me in my handluggage in case I was to miscarry mid-flight . Its not that the altitude brings on the MC its just that you'd be stuck in the air in a mess if it did happen. Think it was how she said it so casually that shocked me. Anyway the other advice was to walk around the plane loads, drink water and I'm planning to wear the circuation socks too.

Thank you so much for all your help. @ allingoodtime! That's a horrible thing that your dr said, my own dr wasnt much help. We asked him was it safe to fly and his words were "well yes but if you have a miscarraige you will always blame yourself for it, this could be the only time you get pregnant so think before you do"...I was really annoyed at that...Also from the minute we sat down all he talked about was miscarraige! It was constant.