Flying While Pregnant: What You Need to Know

Perhaps you and your partner want to get away on a babymoon before you welcome children into your world. Or maybe you have some business travel coming up or a family event you’d like to attend.

The first thing we want you to know is that there are about 5+ million pregnancies each year in the United States, and plenty of these women travel without incident. 

That said, there are some guidelines and considerations that the team of board-certified providers at North Atlanta OB/GYN wants to cover. Here, we look at a few points to consider when flying during pregnancy.

Timing matters

Let’s first look at the timing of your air travel, which you need to plug into the equation. During the first few months, you might run into some morning sickness, which doesn't exactly go well with flying or traveling of any kind. If you don’t have a history of morning sickness, then you might be OK.

At the other end of pregnancy, most airlines don’t allow pregnant women to fly after the 36-week mark, and this number is often lower for international flights.

The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists reports that 14-28 weeks is the real sweet spot for travel.

Risk factors matter

You should also consider your risk level during pregnancy. For example, if you have a high-risk pregnancy because you’re carrying multiples, then flying during the third trimester is often discouraged altogether.

Or, if you have any of these conditions, you might want to rethink flying during pregnancy:

• History of pregnancy problems, such as miscarriage and premature labor
• History of preeclampsia, incompetent cervix, or gestational diabetes
• Pre-existing heart disease
• History of blood clots

As well, if you’re pregnant for the first time after 35, we want you to err on the side of caution and maybe hold off on air travel, especially in the third trimester.

Destination matters

There’s a big difference between flying to Hawaii for a beach vacation and flying to a more remote destination like a safari in Kenya. Clearly, our wish is that you only fly to places where you know you can get back quickly or where there’s familiar and adequate obstetric care.

Length of flight matters

Even if you’re flying to a relatively safe place, it’s never a good idea for a pregnant woman (or anyone) to spend hours in a locked position. One of the big risks is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which you can offset by moving around regularly during long flights and doing leg exercises in your seat (we’re happy to show you some best practices for avoiding DVT).

Getting clearance for flying during pregnancy

We recommend that pregnant women who want to travel sit down with us beforehand so that we can review their health, history, and any risk factors to consider. From there, we can provide more specific recommendations for air travel. 

For peace of mind flying during pregnancy, contact us by phone or online today at one of our offices in Atlanta, Alpharetta, or Marietta, Georgia, to schedule a pre-flight consultation.