If you’re planning to travel while you’re expecting, it’s wise to plan for your comfort and safety, both for your sake and your baby’s. We’ve put together some tips and links to help you make sure your trip goes smoothly from beginning to end.
Places to avoid
The Travel Doctor pregnancy fact sheet suggests it’s best to avoid places where the standard of medical care may be not as high as Australia. If anything goes wrong with the pregnancy while you are overseas, or you become ill or injured, you’ll want the best care possible.
Travel Doctor also suggests you avoid places where there is malaria, as it can cause severe damage to your baby if you catch it, and taking malarial tablets while pregnant is not recommended. You don’t want to risk catching the disease at this time.
Live vaccines, such as those for Yellow Fever, can affect your baby if you are vaccinated while pregnant, so avoiding places that require these if possible is a good idea. If you’re not sure whether the country you’ll be visiting has diseases that may affect your baby, or requires vaccinations, the World Health Organisation has a list of countries and the vaccinations they require. If you have to travel somewhere where a vaccination is required, check out this chart of vaccinations and the affects on pregnancy, offered by ACOG
Staying well while travelling
Try to avoid places where the quality of the food or water may not be high. You’ll need to stay hydrated and eat well, and you’ll want to avoid food or water-borne health risks such as listeria, which can harm you and your baby. If you can’t avoid travelling to these places while pregnant, The World Health Organisations 5 tips for safe eating overseas can help you stay well.
If you have to travel to places where the quality of food, water or medical care may be questionable, consider taking out medical travel insurance. which will cover you for medical care if you become ill or develop any problems. Remember though that you can only get Travel Insurance for pregnancy related medical conditions for travel up to 26 weeks gestation; most companies will not cover pregnancy related medical expenses past this date.
Worldcare Travel Insurance offers comprehensive medical Travel Insurance, which you might want to consider before travelling. Worldcare is owned and managed by Mondial Assistance, and is underwritten by Allianz, so you’ll have peace of mind.
Making yourself comfortable in-flight
Long flights or bus trips where you are sitting for a long time can increase the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) – the risk is especially high if you are pregnant. Try to walk around every hour if you can, and wearing elastic pressure stockings can also help avoid this condition. Most airlines will have more information on their airline safety card or in-flight magazine.
Your hands and feet will probably swell even more than usual on a long flight. Drinking lots of water can help, as well as resting with your feet elevated when you get to your destination.
It’s easy to become dehydrated on flights, which can make you very uncomfortable if you are pregnant. Remember to drink water regularly and avoid drinks that can have a diuretic effect such as coffee, tea or cola.
Above all, enjoy your trip and take lots of photos to show your baby when they are old enough to understand about their ‘first’ trip with Mum!
The above advice is general in nature only. You should always seek advice regarding your specific situation from your GP.
Disclaimer
Any advice here is general only and does not take into account your specific needs or circumstances. Pre-existing Medical Conditions exclusions may apply. Please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement to consider whether our products are right for you and for details of policy benefits, limits and exclusions. Any medical advice here is general only and you should always seek advice regarding your specific situation from your medical professional. Mondial Assistance does not endorse the content of linked websites nor comments by contributors or the content of websites linked by contributors.