The Lollipop Road

Posts Tagged ‘pregnant travel’

Your third trimester has just arrived and you could no doubt use some rest and relaxation, right?  Well, although most airlines allow you to travel right up until the very end of your pregnancy, most cruise lines impose more severe restrictions during this period and you just might be out of luck.  Maybe traveling during pregnancy isn’t the best idea anyway, but you’ve had enough of just sitting around and waiting and you’re in need of some serious pampering, so you decide to go for it and book a cruise.

Have no fear, so long as you cruise before your third trimester (weeks 28-40), you should easily be able to find a cruise line that will allow you to sail.  Although the majority of cruise lines require that you are no more than 23 or 24 weeks along at the time of disembarkation, you can find a few that will allow you to stretch it out a bit…or indefinitely, although that isn’t necessarily recommended.

There are only a couple of mass-market cruise lines that provide a bit more flexibility.  Costa Cruise Lines will permit you to sail as long as you’re 24 weeks or less at the time of embarkation, which depending upon the length of sailing, could bring you right up to your third trimester.  MSC Cruises also has a more liberal policy, allowing you to cruise if you’re 27 weeks or less on the day of disembarkation.  In both cases, your doctor will still need to demonstrate your fitness for travel.

Moving into the specialty market will definitely grant you more flexibility.  Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Star Clippers and Swan Hellenic all allow pregnant women to sail right up to 27 weeks (based upon disembarkation date).  You’ll even find a handful of cruise lines that have no formal written guidelines or allow you to cruise throughout the third trimester (AMA Waterways, Cruise West, Peter Deilmann and Viking River Cruises).  However, this does not necessarily mean that there are no restrictions.  At the very least, you’ll need to demonstrate your fitness for travel by providing a physician’s report and you should also fully understand the risks associated with traveling during your third trimester.

No matter which cruise line you choose, you should plan on visiting your physician the week prior to sailing.  Because cruise ship medical facilities are not equipped to handle medical emergencies, you should not travel if you are experiencing a high risk pregnancy or if you are not in perfect health at the time of departure.  Be sure to contact your travel agent or cruise line well in advance to confirm their policies and requirements.

Bon Voyage!

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The majority of airlines impose some sort of travel restriction or requirement on women who are pregnant.  Traveling during pregnancy should be planned carefully and you should always consult your physician in advance to make sure that it is safe for you and your unborn to travel.  Your physician can also explain what to do in the event of an emergency while away from home.  A little advance planning and preparation will give you great peace of mind.

In order to protect your safety as well as their liability, many airlines require women who are more than 36 weeks pregnant to provide a physician’s clearance to travel.  However, the restrictions vary widely amongst airlines, so we’ve included a chart below that will help you sort through the maze of requirements imposed by domestic airlines.  Note that although some airlines have no restrictions, you should always consult your physician if traveling in the final stages of pregnancy.

Of course, airline personnel and crew always have the final authority when determining if an individual is fit for travel.  So, even though you obtain a medical certificate, you may still be denied boarding if you are determined to be unfit for travel due to health or safety reasons.  Traveling while pregnant is generally safe so long as you’re prepared.  Look for more upcoming articles on this topic, including tips for making your trip more comfortable and cruise line restrictions on pregnant travelers.

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I know there many of you out there who are pregnant and wondering what to do about taking that long planned vacation before your little bundle of joy arrives.  After all, this is a time for celebration, seemingly endless research (if you’re anything like us) with hopefully a wee bit of rest thrown in before your world is turned upside down in the nicest way possible.  There is definitely a lot of information to digest and many twists and turns to navigate throughout this very special time, but what about taking that darn vacation? 

Many people will warn you about going anywhere farther than your backyard, but modern medicine and communications has made traveling a whole lot safer and easier now.  But what if you’re sick?  This is a valid question and for most of us, not a big issue if we just plan ahead.  Typically, the first 3 months can be challenging for most mothers-to-be.  Between morning sickness, frequent urination, food aversions, and mid-afternoon exhaustion, you may wish you were on another planet, never mind an exotic Caribbean island. 

Taking your vacation after this “initiation” period should alleviate many of your pregnancy symptoms that may cause you to secretly plot to eliminate your travel companion (your husband) who convinced you to go on vacation in the first place!  And not straying too far from home during the last 6 weeks of your pregnancy is advisable as well.  For many of us, carrying baby around for 8 months takes its toll on our backs, and you never know when baby is ready to make their debut into this world.  There are also strict airline, as well as cruise ship pregnancy timeliness you must adhere to as well.  These guidelines are for you and your baby’s safety as well as their protection from any lawsuits should any early arrivals occur. 

Note the McDonald's Salad!

Now, of course this doesn’t mean that if you follow the above guidelines your travels will not be without challenges.  I have never seen a vacation that goes 100% as planned anyway, have you?  When I was pregnant with my first son, my husband and I traveled to Japan for 2 weeks.  I was almost 4 months along and was fortunate to never really suffer morning sickness during early pregnancy, so what could possibly go wrong, we thought.  If you ever go to Japan, as you might have guessed their food is stunningly different from what you might find in the United States.  In fact, fried food is the norm and fresh fruits and vegetables (you know, the high fiber foods) are rather difficult to find.  When you have to rely on a salad from McDonald’s for your vegetable selection, you know you’re in trouble.  Hmmm, what do you think happens to a pregnant woman devoid of fiber?  So, during our 2 week whirlwind tour of Japan, I paid a visit to a pharmacy to see what remedy I could find to alleviate my little problem. 

Fortunately for me, the pharmacist was a woman because what transpired during the next 20 minutes was nothing short of storybook fodder.  I played a game of charades called “name that ailment” with a captive audience of 3, the pharmacist, her assistant and another woman who may or may not have worked there!  Once they finally understood my situation, the pharmacist quickly pulled a remedy off the store shelves.  Hmmm, is this okay for a pregnant woman to take?  So the game began again, only this time, the pharmacist realizing that I was pregnant, quickly snatched my salvation out of my hands.  With sadness I said “thank you” to my new friends, hung my head low and staggered out into the busy streets empty handed.  The assistant clearly made out much better, with an unbelievable dinnertime story to tell her family and friends, as was obvious from her non stop laughter during our little impromptu game show.

Yummy - Miso & Rice...Again

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the miso with rice served for breakfast every morning.  My husband and I couldn’t keep it down after the third day. I guess it’s just not our thing (I did more vomiting in Japan than the first 3 months of pregnancy).  A giant thank you to the British Pub is Kyoto – you saved our lives! 

When I was 5 months pregnant with our second son, we went on a 3 week RV trip through the Midwest, Canada and Alaska.  The trip was great with the only pregnancy mishap being my accidentally sitting on the seat belt buckle and tearing a large hole in the leg of my maternity pants!  I quickly sewed them and we were on our merry way.  I don’t think we can blame the large rock flying out from the dump truck in front of us and cracking our windshield on pregnancy.  Nor can we blame the bridge that scraped the side of our RV as we precariously crawled over it during the road construction.  And I don’t know what to say about the drawer that flew out of the kitchen in the RV as we went around a mild curve at 20 mph, screws and springs flying everywhere!  Yes, mishaps happen, even when you’re not pregnant; the stories just aren’t as funny. 

Check back tomorrow as we review some of the specific airline restrictions regarding travel during pregnancy. 

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