# 5 months pregnant travelling to New york



## doll (1 Dec 2008)

myself and my husband are due to travel to new york for 7 days in March, at which time i'll be 5 months pregnant, i will also have my daughter of 18 months with us, has anyone travelled at 5 months pregnant and have any advice for flights etc.  I've been to new york with my husband before so it won't be a mad rush to see everything, so we could take it easy enough over there.


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## merzie (1 Dec 2008)

Im sure if your doctor finds that you are in good health and you have no complications connected to your pregnancy , im sure it would be ok. I know there are certain stages of pregnancy when you cant fly, but im not too sure when that is, you will definately have to speak to your doctor about it


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## gillarosa (1 Dec 2008)

You are safe flying in your second trimester, but if you have any doubts talk it over with your Doctor. You may though have other problems related to pregnancy such as tiredness, morning sickness, if either are something you experienced with your first child you should really evaluate whether its worth the trip as they can both affect the quality of your day. Travelling with an 18 month old is another story altogether, it can be a long flight to keep a young, active toddler entertained in a confined space. Another thing you need to look at is travel insurance and make sure your policy covers you in the outside chance of an emergency.


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## Hillsalt (1 Dec 2008)

I got to know an Italian woman who came to Galway for a weekend  in 2007,  when she was 24 weeks pregnant. She went into labour at 24 weeks +1day and had a baby that weighed slightly over 1KG. The mum only had a backpack with her. 

Her daughter remained in University Hospital Galway for 4 months before being transferred by Air Ambulance to a Hospital in Germany (where she was living with her German husband). The baby spent a further 2 months in a specaialised neo-natal hospital, which was 200km from their home. Sixteen months later, the baby is doing well, thank God.

I got to know this lady because my wife also had a premature baby 12 hours later (born at 27 weeks). It is our 2nd baby and despite a few scares, he is fine now.  Our first child was not born prematurely so don't asume your 2nd pregnancy will be in any way similar to your first. No two pregnancies are the same. 

The only reason I am telling you this is so that you are aware of the risks. Staying is a hospital in USA is many times the price here and check the small print of your travel insurance very carefully. I do not want to scare you but I couldn't ignore your message. 

We only got 8 days notice that there were complications in the pregnancy before out beautiful son came into the world, albeit 13 weeks early.  

I suggest that you log onto the excellent Irish parenting website www.rollercoaster.ie and look at the message boards there.


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## cleverclogs7 (1 Dec 2008)

I would say dont.i went to czech to visit my boyfriend with my daughter.i was 21 weeks pregnant and 2 days after arriving i started to dialate.i ended up staying in czech because i then got high BP.spend a few days in and out of hospital.was not permitted to fly because of my condition and had an emergency c-section at 32 week.(i was fine and healthy before i got on the flight)

The czech health system is super and puts the irish health system to shame.

Just be  careful if you do go.


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## doll (2 Dec 2008)

thanks for all your advice, theres a lot to think about, i don't know whether it would be best to try to change the dates etc to later in the year even when the baby would be born


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## PaddyBloggit (2 Dec 2008)

The old adage ..... 'if in doubt .... ' springs to mind here.


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## Hillsalt (2 Dec 2008)

cleverclogs7 said:


> The czech health system is super and puts the irish health system to shame.
> 
> .




I frequently speak with the parents of the 1KG baby who was transferred from Galway to a German hospital by Air Ambulance. They maintain that the standard of care in the Irish hospital was beyond their expectaions and is far superior to that of the German hospital where their daughter was transferred to. 

They will return to Galway in 2009 with their child to thank the staff who saved the little girl's life.


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## cleverclogs7 (3 Dec 2008)

Czech is a country .as in czech republic.2 hours from poland.omg.........i lived there for 5 yrs.


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## huskerdu (3 Dec 2008)

If you are in good health and there are no risks with your pregnancy, there is no reason why you have to stay at home for 9 months, because someone tells you a scare story.  Sadly, things do go wrong in pregnancy sometimes, but that is no reason to stay at home scared for 9 months. 

Loads of pregnant women travel and live completely normal lives. 

Talk to your doctor about advice when flying. You are likely to be told to have an aisle seat, exercise your legs regularly and wear those really attractive flight socks.

If  you were in good health throughout your first pregnancy, then you will probably be the same, just more tired, as the luxury of naps when you are tired is completely gone, with a toddler in the house.

Get good travel insurance and enjoy yourself.


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## Hillsalt (3 Dec 2008)

cleverclogs7 said:


> Czech is a country .as in czech republic.2 hours from poland.omg.........i lived there for 5 yrs.



I know where the Czech Republic is; I was there in 2003. 

If you read my post you might realise that I am praising the Irish neo-nantal  hospital system. I am not confusing Czech with Germany or Poland. 

Your original post says that _*"the Czech health system puts the Irish system to shame"*_ and I am merely defending the Irish system which saved my son's life. 

I am not disputing the standards of the Czech system but I wanted to put the Irish system into prespective with the German one, which has a reputaion of being world class.


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## Megan (4 Dec 2008)

I am not disputing the standards of the Czech system but I wanted to put the Irish system into prespective with the German one, which has a reputaion of being world class.[/QUOTE]

Are you saying the Irish system is world class?


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## Bronte (4 Dec 2008)

I agree with Huserdu.  There is no reason for you not to fly, I've flown long haul right up to the cut off week.  Just walk around a lot, get on plane last etc.  I've also travelled to the Newark and on to the West Coast with a two year old and a 4 month old.  The only problems was the smoker accompaning us - very agitated, (I stood outside the toilet to watch for security while she had a cigarette) and the attitude of the staff at American airports.  A little bit of power had gone to their heads at that time (after 9/11).   There will always be scare stores for anything one does in life.  Make sure you have proper insurance for the USA, medical care is shockingly expensive should you need it there.


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## doll (4 Dec 2008)

thanks huskerdu and bronte, your right, i've also been through a pregnancy before though i know no two are the same, thanks for the tips, i'll check my insurance and definately speak to my doctor about also.  i don't want to miss this opportunity to travel there again, no doubt with two little children it will be a long time again before i can afford to go again


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## Hillsalt (4 Dec 2008)

Megan said:


> Are you saying the Irish system is world class?



Absolutely. I didn't expect it to be but my eyes were truly opened. 

DOLL, Sorry for drifting off topic. Enjoy your holiday. I strongly advise you to read the small print of your Travel Insurance regarding traveling while pregnant. We went to Portugal when my wife was expecting our first baby (at about 20 weeks) and had an enjoyable trip.


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## cleverclogs7 (4 Dec 2008)

Irish health system is totally crap.sorry but its true.can you see other countries sitting on a chair for 10 hours waiting to see a doc.my friend is dying with cancer....weeks to live.took 2 hours for ambulance to come for her.and waited for 13 hours for a doc to see her.this will be last xmas .now if thats not bad health care,i dont know what is.


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## Hillsalt (4 Dec 2008)

cleverclogs7 said:


> Irish health system is totally crap.sorry but its true.can you see other countries sitting on a chair for 10 hours waiting to see a doc.my friend is dying with cancer....weeks to live.took 2 hours for ambulance to come for her.and waited for 13 hours for a doc to see her.this will be last xmas .now if thats not bad health care,i dont know what is.



I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Clevercloggs7. I have heard similar stories from A&E too. 

I was only refererring to the neo-natal system for premature babies. The standard of care is excellent. My son was only given a few hours to live. His lungs collapsed soon after his birth but he received great attention from dozens of medical professionals over a period of almost four months in hospital. 

This is a standard practice for all premature babies, regardless of if you have health insurance or not.


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## gillarosa (5 Dec 2008)

Hillsalt said:


> I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Clevercloggs7. I have heard similar stories from A&E too.
> 
> I was only refererring to the neo-natal system for premature babies. The standard of care is excellent. My son was only given a few hours to live. His lungs collapsed soon after his birth but he received great attention from dozens of medical professionals over a period of almost four months in hospital.
> 
> This is a standard practice for all premature babies, regardless of if you have health insurance or not.


 
I have to agree here and statictics will bear it out, when my daughter was born Dublin had the lowest infant mortality at birth rate in the entire world, there may have been problems in the interim period as there was a short period of time when expectant mothers were presenting in labour or close to labour for their first visit but I think its back to normal now. So it wasn't fun sitting on the hard seats in Holles Street waiting for ante-natal appointments, but the care, knowledge and expertise of the Staff was beyond reproach. And when I did have a major problem at 8 months we both received excellent care and left that hospital happy and heathy a week later.


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## mariagalway (5 Dec 2008)

I travelled back and forth to NYC a couple of times both when pregnant and pregnant with a small child.  Once you get your GP's OK you should be fine.  If you are flying AerLingus ask them if you can have the seats right in front of the TV screens with the pull down baby cots - although your 18month old will be too big to sleep in them (and they are really just a cardboard box) there will be more room there for him/her to play.

Also remember how cold it will be in NYC in Feb for your little one so bring plenty of warm clothes.

You will have a great time - there is a great kids museum in Manhattan [broken link removed] if you are looking for a kiddy thing to do.


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## supertrooper (8 Dec 2008)

I travelled to NY when I was 5 months pregnant. I asked for Bulk Head Seat to get the little bit of extra room. It was fine, just keep mobile, which is obviously going to happen with an 18 month old. Got a bit of sciatica from the flying I think but other than that there was no problem. Still managed to shop for Ireland when I got there.


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