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Taking
Flight During Pregnancy
When is
it no longer advisable for a woman in a healthy and normal pregnancy to travel by plane?
For her
own health and the health of her preborn baby, it’s best for a pregnant woman to keep
her feet on the ground during the last month of pregnancy. Domestic airline regulations
prohibit air travel in the last four weeks of gestation (from 36 weeks), and foreign
airlines prohibit air travel after 35 weeks.
Don’t count on flight attendants being trained midwives. If you
look obviously pregnant, an airline will require a note from your health care provider
stating your estimated date of delivery. If you are at risk of premature delivery after
your twenty-fifth week, it’s safest to avoid travel to any place unless it’s
equipped with newborn intensive care facilities.
Here are some tips to make air travel safe and comfortable while you
are pregnant:
- Position yourself for comfort. Request a seat as far forward
on the aircraft as possible. Not only is the air circulation better in front, it’s
easier to get on and off the aircraft. Some women find a window seat helps minimize
queasiness early in a pregnancy; others prefer an aisle seat, which makes it easier to get
to the bathroom.
- Exercise. Elevate your feet as much as possible and walk
frequently during the flight to lessen leg swelling. On long flights, expect your feet to
expand a size no matter what you do. In fact, once you remove your shoes you may not be
able to get them back on, so be sure to take along a roomier pair — or even a pair of
slippers.
- Breathe smoke-free air. Absolutely avoid flights where smoking
is allowed.
- Drink to your thirst’s content — and then some.
Airline air dries the mucus membranes of the mouth and nose which contributes to
dehydration. Drink plenty of caffeine-free, non-alcoholic fluids before, during, and after
the flight.
- Humidify. The humidity of cabin air is only around seven
percent. Besides being uncomfortable to your nasal passages, dry air can contribute to
dehydration. So in addition to drinking extra fluids, prevent your nasal passages from
drying by breathing steam from a cup of hot water. Or bring along a bottle of saline nasal
spray (available without prescription at any pharmacy) and spritz some into your nose
every hour or so.
- Eat comfortably. If you plan to travel during your first
trimester or are still experiencing morning sickness, calling ahead to request a
vegetarian meal will increase your chances of getting airline food that is more
stomach-friendly. Better yet, pack your own already-tested munchies and nibble frequently
while in flight to keep your stomach settled. Take special care to avoid gassy foods; low
cabin pressure can cause intestinal gas to expand, leading to uncomfortable bloating.
- Avoid non-pressurized, high-altitude flights. Be especially
careful with commuter flights. Because they generally fly at low altitudes, most commuter
aircraft are not pressurized. While a short time spent in an unpressurized cabin above
7,000 feet is unlikely to harm your baby, it can reduce the oxygen in your blood —
making you lightheaded and impairing your ability to think and move.
- Consult your health care provider before you travel. Check
with your doctor to be sure you don’t have any complications of pregnancy — high
blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes, multiple pregnancies, an incompetent cervix,
or preeclampsia — that would put you at risk for a preterm delivery. If any of these
complications exists, your doctor may advise you to avoid airline travel (or any long
trips) during your third trimester.
- Don’t worry about airport x-ray security machines. These
security scanners emit low levels of either ultrasound or non-ionizing radiation —
not the potentially dangerous type of radiation that comes from hospital x-ray machines.
Dr. Bill & Martha Sears
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