Healthy Travel During Pregnancy

With proper planning and advice, travel during pregnancy is not a problem.
To ensure that you and your baby remain healthy during travel, you need to
consider the stage of your pregnancy, your current physical condition, and
any restrictions or problems you and your doctor have discussed.

Also, talk to your doctor about visits or tests you need to schedule, so
that you are not away during the time these are to take place. Prenatal
visits, scheduled ultrasound tests, glucose screening tests or Rh
immunoglobulin injections (for those whose blood type is Rh negative).

Assuming your doctor says it is OK for you to travel, be sure you prepare a
complete list of contact names and phone numbers to take with you. If you
have problems during your trip and need care or attention, health care
professionals or other travelers can ensure that you get appropriate care.

This information should include:

Your name, age and blood type, and any medications you are taking, as well
as your health care insurance information. Also include your due date, the
date of your most recent doctor appointment, any allergies you may have to
medication or foods, and any immunizations you may have had before travel.

Your doctor's name and contact information

Any doctor's name and phone number you may be using while you are away from
home

Emergency contact information for your family (include more than one
contact)

Be sure you have ample supply of prescription and over the counter
medications, and prenatal vitamins.

Make certain that your health insurance polity covers pregnancy, delivery
and other complications during travel and be sure to double check any
restrictions that may apply to travel in foreign countries.

Check the availability of travel insurance on your airline, or other
carrier, to be sure that you are covered if you have to miss part of, or
your entire, trip because of pregnancy related health problems or if you
incur emergency expenses during your trip. Ask if this insurance covers
complications from pregnancy and emergency transport.

Carry a cell phone, especially if you're traveling alone, and be sure that
your cell phone will function in any foreign country to which you may be
traveling.

You can plan normal activities while you are traveling, but understand that
you are likely to get tired m ore quickly when you are pregnancy, so plan
for extra rest during each travel day. Take a relaxing bath, use room
service, sit on the beach or watch an in-room movie.

Eating healthy is important, and your schedule is likely to be different on
the road, so take nuts, dry fruit, and cheese and crackers with you. Drink
plenty of water and avoid dehydration, especially if you are flying to your
destination.

Take your bathroom schedule into consideration. As an expectant mother, you
are likely to need to use the bathroom often. Don't plan vacation or travel
activities that require you to be out in the middle of nowhere, away from
facilities. And plan extra time for 'pit stops' if you are traveling by car.

Remember that your feet and legs are likely to swell during pregnancy if you
are sitting for long periods of time. Wear comfortable, expandable shoes and
socks and elevate your feet whenever possible. Get up and walk around
whenever you can on a plane, train or bus and if you are traveling by car,
be sure to walk around a bit when you stop to use the bathroom.

If you are traveling to a foreign country, you and your doctor will have to
consider any vaccines you will require to determine whether they are safe to
administer during pregnancy.
Avoid live vaccines like varicella for chicken pox, measles, mumps, and
rubella. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report no fetal damage from
live vaccines, but they admit that their information is limited, so these
vaccines should still be considered risky. Vaccines for Hepatitis B,
Hepatitis A, and tetanus, are safe and recommended for pregnant women at
risk of getting these diseases.

In many developing countries local healthcare and the quality of available
food and water are questionable. It is best to avoid travel to these
countries while you are pregnant.

If you are traveling to a hot, humid destination, avoid yeast infections by
wearing lightweight, loose-fitting clothes, and cotton underwear. Change out
of wet bathing suits as soon as you can, and talk to your doctor about
carrying a tube of anti-fungal cream, just in case you need it.

Avoid risky activities, especially late in pregnancy: snow skiing, water
skiing, surfing, horseback riding, parasailing, scuba diving, water slides
and some more extreme amusement park rides. You may also wish to avoid very
hot saunas and hot tubs, as they elevate your temperate beyond what is
normal in a regular bath.

You can walk and hike at low altitudes, swim in calm waters (not in heavy
surf or rapids), ride a stationary or regular bike, exercise in the hotel
gym (if you have been used to exercising before and during your pregnancy)
and jog if you jogged before pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about your
planned activities before you leave for travel or vacation.

Be smart! If you start to feel tired, overheated, dizzy or uncomfortable,
slow down, rest, take a break or stop what you are doing.

Travel, especially to other time zones, can throw your eating schedule off
and cause more problems with bloating, and indigestion. Try eating several
small meals during the day.
Don't eat close to bedtime (allow 2-3 hours to digest your food). Sleep with
your upper body propped on pillows. Avoid alcohol, carbonated beverages,
caffeine, chocolate, acidic foods (citrus fruits, tomatoes, and vinegar),
and spicy foods.
Try to eat high-fiber foods to avoid constipation and bloat, and stay active
to keep your digestive tract moving.

Avoid motion sickness by sitting in the front seat of the car and keeping
the window open to get plenty of fresh air. In an airplane, sit over the
wing, and on a boat, try to stay on the deck and focus on the horizon.

You can try wearing a specially designed wristband to deliver mild
electrical current to a nerve at an acupuncture point on the underside of
your wrist. Studies show that this device helps some pregnant women with
morning sickness and motion sickness.

If you follow these suggestions, you should have a pleasant and healthy
trip.

And, remember, that if your doctor advises against travel, you are wise to
follow her/his suggestion. It is best to put off the trip for another time
after the baby is born, rather than to risk your health and the health of
your unborn child!

About The Author: Janet Hart is the owner of http://www.freefamilyhelp.com A
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