International travel while pregnant?

E

emackay

Cathlete
Hey gang,

I am 6 weeks and 3 days right now ... and am supposed to go to Argentina for a week at the end of July. Does anyone have any travel experiences to share while preggo? I am trying to decide whether or not it will be worth going (long trip, have to pee ALL the time, sleepy, etc.). DH and I would be going to see his daughter during her year abroad - she will be our official translator and tour guide. If I don't go, DH still will, so he would not miss out ...

TIA,
arancini
 
I see no need to curtail travel plans because of pregnancy. Both me and my sister took regular trips during our pregnancies.

My sister was 8 weeks along when she took a trip to France. She really didn't have any morning sickness or other symptoms besides fatigue, though. The excitement of being in another country more than made up for the pregnancy fatigue. The only drawback was that she couldn't drink the wine or eat a lot of the cheeses!

I went on a ski trip to Colorado at 14 weeks. I was *very" worried about being in the high altitude and away from convenient bathrooms all day. I just took it easy and drank plenty of water. I also planned for regular bathroom breaks and had no problems.
 
Well, I am almost 14 weeks and I will leave next week to go to Germany for 3 weeks to visit my parents. It'll be a long flight, but my doctor said it is ok for me to go. I will take it easy, rest as much as I can and make sure that I walk around a little bit every hour. I am only worried that the flight will wear me out, but I am really excited to go and as long as my doctor says it's ok, I will not worry.

Kristine :)
 
All of the above advice is great. I would just add something as an american expat in Europe who is 17 weeks pregnant. Check out the local Argentinian food guidelines for pregnant women before you go and combine this with the advice given to American women in pregnancy. I say this because every country may or may not have food handling (preparation, preservation, cooking requirements) that you have in your home country and you may take certain things for granted. I got caught out here with high levels of saccarin in my yogurt because European countries are not required to post any warning labels on foods for pregnant women. Also, pasteurization may or may not be used for all products like cheese, milk, or fruit juices like they are in the US. Or some foods like fish may have high levels of pollutants that are only discussed locally among pregnant women. The internet should be able to give you this info. I hope this isn't too much info, but it's just good to be aware of these matters. That said, I have been here for several years and have never had a problem. I even accidently consumed blue cheese before I knew I was pregnant with no problem. Just relax and relish the time in Argentina before your bundle arrives:)
 
Thanks for the great advice, everyone! Yes, I am leaning towards going - I know travelling is not a threat to the baby, I just go up and down about how I am physically feeling and if I'll be able to be much fun. I will definitely look into the food there and make sure I don't eat anything sketchy. I've done a lot of world travel pre-preggo, but only to cities and not small towns/villages (I have a feeling we'll only spend a little time in Beunos Aires since her thesis is on how rural workers are taking over factories from the establishment).

Thanks again - it's nice to hear that other pregnant travelers have been able to overcome fatigue and have a good time :)

arancini
 
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