This is another topic I find interesting. Before having my first baby my life was all about traveling. I traveled for work and leisure. 8 – 10 months per year. I even found out I was pregnant while on tour in Peru. That was also the time when I started browsing the internet for more information on traveling while pregnant. Mostly I want to discuss long distance travel during pregnancy in this post. I might get into details on shorter trips closer by in a separate post. Let’s start with flying.

Is flying long distance while being pregnant a good idea?

I believe it is. First of all we must clear out one thing. You must have a normal pregnancy for travel. If there are any issues, you have to discuss with your OB/GYN. I did a few long distance flights pregnant before I even knew I was. Officially you can fly pregnant until your 36th week. After that it depends on the company. Also, some of the companies will ask for a permission from your doctor even after the 28th week of pregnancy (it happened to me while we were returning home from Indonesia in 2016). It all depends on the company. So check before booking. Other than health and airlines regulations, you’re good to go.

If you want to travel while pregnant and have a chance to do so, just do it. I was actually quite scared of flying back home from Peru as it was a totally unknown area for me, but it turned out just fine. And while pregnant fort he first time I travelled to Peru, Kenia and Tanzania, Myanmar. All these places required long flights. I felt confident as I was used to flying long distances and travel a lot. I also read a lot of tips from pregnant flight attendants and really I was fine on all flights. It’s good to drink a lot of water during the flight and to always have some snacks with you. If you are lucky enough, you can get more than one seat which is also great to stretch out. Once your belly shows everybody will be so friendly and trying to help you.

So flying is ok during pregnancy, what about choosing a destination?

You can read above where I travelled during my first pregnancy. Well, I did that for work and my pregnancy was normal all the time. I felt really great. During my second pregnancy, we travelled to Lanzarote (Canary islands) and Indonesia. Both were great and without problems. Still, it’s good to check about health providers at your destination and the location of the nearest hospital just in case. Traveling to any well developed country pregnant is usually easy and you don’t need to worry too much. Traveling to lesser developed countries brings questions. But it’s still possible as mostly everywhere you can find great private hospitals (again just in case).

When you plan keep in mind you will need to rest a bit more while traveling pregnant. Also try to avoid some really long walking distances in cities (nature is great). It all depends on the person and the situation. For me it worked that I slept a lot each night and ate well at least three times a day. This way I felt energized every day while traveling. I also had some snacks with me and of course, always drank a lot of water. So choose an easy going trip to a place you believe is safe for you. I’m sure it will be great! I loved how everyone was interested in my pregnancy in so many different places around the world. I only have really good experiences.

In Stone town, Zanzibar, 3 months pregnant with my first kid.

Babymoon or one last holiday during pregnancy before the baby arrives

I think it is a good idea. Again, depends on the situation, but if all of the above discussed subjects are ok, do it. It definitely is the last time for a while that you’ll be almost worry free on your holiday (almost because you already worry about your baby). It’s the time to enjoy and relax, stop worrying about what baby equipment do you need and just unwind. Babymoon is quite common in some countries. I like the idea. For us, babymoon was a trip to Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia. It was awesome as Balkan always is. We did it all by car. All the trips I did before to places far, far away were for work.

For a conclusion, if traveling makes you happy, go for it even during pregnancy. It will be great. I will most probably write more about traveling while pregnant, more focused on tips.

Until next time,

Ajda