10 Tips for Traveling While Pregnant

Motherhood is probably the biggest gift that a woman is bestowed upon by nature. But being pregnant comes with a lot of qualms upon health and limited bouts of movement.  In order  to ensure that your unborn child stays hale and hearty inside the womb, you have to take adequate care while you are expecting. During pregnancy, you might have to get on the road and travel for the annual sales meet which can’t give a miss for the world, or its your favorite cousin’s wedding, maybe its time for you to make the annual trip to the in law’s place, or maybe, you and your partner need to take a ‘baby-moon’ before the little bundle arrives and the parenting journey starts.

In circumstances like these, you have to follow certain precautions pertaining to your condition, keeping in mind what’s best for both you and the little bundle of joy growing inside your belly. For the sake of not undergoing any trouble, all you need to do is to ritually follow the list mentioned below!

Traveling tips for pregnant women

1. Talk with your doctor

The ob-gyn as well as your GP needs to be informed while you’re making the plans and  before you take off for the vacay. And only consider embarking on the trip once your doctor gives you consent on a medical capacity. In any case, do not forget to carry all your medical files along, as sometimes circumstances might make you  see some other doctor at the location you intend to visit. Emergency and accidents don’t come calling, and the correct preparation always ensures that you’re on top of it.

2. Check medical insurance cover

It doesn’t really matter whether you are traveling to Moscow or China or Paris or London, before packing your bags, make sure you have checked on the benefits that your medical insurance covers. Before hopping on a plane, check your medical insurance papers to see if they cover expenses incurred out of the country you live in. Having a medical insurance policy that is applicable across multiple locations is your best bet on being traveling safe, especially while pregnant.

3. Sit in the front of the airplane

Always make a special request for a front row seat while traveling via the airplane. It is the one that is close to the bathroom and will make things easier for your bladder in the current pregnant state. Or else, you are doomed once the pee express starts calling, as you will have to make quite an effort to reach out to the stall.

4. Water is you biggest savior

As it goes without saying, you need to drink a lot of water to keep yourself hydrated once you go out, and especially if its sunny! We may suggest downloading an app on your android or apple smartphone that regulates the amount of water you need to drink everyday.

5. Dress adequately

Being on a vacation means relaxing and chilling’ – and that’s exactly the vibe you should be putting on once you get in the zone. Keep your dresses light and breezy and roomy, let your pregnant body enjoy the last hurrah. Also, pack clothes according to the climate, and do your outfits in a lot of layers, if the weather requires so. Make sure you bring a set of emergency clothes in case the weather changes – be it either in a pleasant way or the ugly way.

6. Travel in the afternoon

Try to get the bookings done for the later hours of the day. Except for a few lucky moms to be, most of the pregnant women get some form or the other of morning sickness. If you manage to get a ticket for the afternoon plane or bus or train or any form of transportation, take it. You do not need to encounter first hand how ugly early morning travel gets for people suffering from morning sickness in their pregnancy.

7. Carry light luggage

You don’t need to be a doctor or a genius to know that you shouldn’t do any heavy lifting while pregnant. The same goes without saying while you’re pregnant, even more so. Carry only the essentials, and ask your travel buddy, partner or spouse to carry the luggage for you – after all, you are the one carrying the baby. Also, it is advised that you shouldn’t travel alone while pregnant, if not your partner, then maybe a friend or a family member should always accompany you in the journeys.

8. Carry your food

We all know what being pregnant does to the appetite, you’re eating for two now (this is what is the pregnancy myth right)! Therefore, always keep snacks or finger foods handy, as you never know when you might start feeling like eating a sandwich with a stuffed olive pickle – the pregnant brain is a think tank of the weirdest food combos, the famous ‘bizzare pregnancy craving’ you remember!

9. Stretch your legs

If the duration of the travel stretches more than 2 hours at once, make sure you get to move your limbs a bit while you’re at it in order to avoid feeling stuffed. Stretch out, and take a small walk along the seats if possible. It will help you feel level-headed and relaxed.

10. Carry special socks

Pregnancy means swollen feet, and while you are travelling, that is the last problem you need. Some maternity stores keep specially made pregnancy socks for the times you need to feel free and move around without feeling the soreness in your feet. Make sure you pack them in the suitcase marked ‘Absolutely Important’!

11. Enjoy all the attention you are getting

Being pregnant means people you haven’t even seen in the past few months stopping you in the grocery store aisle and asking ‘How far along are you?’ Or ‘How is the baby doing?’ And on vacation, that attention takes a turn for the oh-so-better. You will see the hospitality of the hotels you live in and the restaurants you dine at go up several notches once they see a pregnant lady coming up the steps. Even though pregnancy poses a number of problems, the kindness that people genuinely offer you during this period is bound to make you feel really special – as you are. However, there is always the problem of the overeager ones who want to touch the pregnant belly, and its really eery. Make sure you set some boundaries when people approach you and you decide to engage yourself.

Now that you have read our tips on traveling while pregnant, make sure you follow them – but do not forget the reason for the well-deserved time-off – having fun!

Hey mommies out there, share your personal experiences and learning on traveling in pregnancy and help out our mommies to be, as I always say it, sharing is caring.