Pregnant and want to travel
 

We have been planning to take a trip to Greece at the end of June once our 2 kids are out of school. Then found out that I am pregnant. I will be in my early trimester at the end of June. Doctor says ok but I'm beginning to be a bit hesitant. I want to hit Europe b/c my kids have never been there and we probably won't be able to go for a while once baby comes along. Anybody have advice on where in Europe might be the best in my situation?

Hi Y,

If your physician says it's OK to go to Greece, why are you hesitant?

((I))

As you already have 2 kids you should know how your body reacts to pregnancy. Follow your instinct. I would not want to be traveling while morning sick or extremely sleepy.

Hi! I'm also pregnant and trying to find a good place to travel as well. We have a 2-year old (that we would prefer NOT to bring with us) so I understand the need to hop on a flight to Europe before a little baby and older kids makes it even harder to travel.

What trimester will you be in June? If you're already pregnant, will you be in your early third trimester? How were you feeling with your previous pregnancies? Did you go into labor early for any of them? If your OB is giving you the go-ahead, I would feel comfortable travelling. If I wanted to play it safer, I would go as soon as the other kids are out of school (maybe early June instead of late June). How are the flights that you're looking at? Can you get a non-stop to Athens? My legs were pretty swollen in my third trimester, so I would be a bit concerned about a long flying day, but I think that as long as you get up and walk, and try to prop your feet as much as possible, you'll be OK.

I guess I am more concerned about missing out on the food (haha). Since I may not be able to enjoy cheese (no unpasteurized dairy products but how do I make certain that that feta cheese I eat is pasteurized?) or meat w/ nitrate (gyro might be an issue?). My previous pregnancies were easy: traveled for business, no swelling, no morning sickness, babies arrived around due date, etc. I am due 9/3, we're planning travel 6/23-7/3.

Hi Y,

> I may not be able to enjoy cheese (no unpasteurized dairy products but how do I make certain that that feta cheese I eat is pasteurized?)....

You could ask. :)

However, the Greeks haven't yet died out from eating unpasteurized cheese while pregnant.

>..meat w/ nitrate...

That should be limited to sausages.

Again, ask.

((I))

Haha. Thanks Ira. Yes, I could ask. Note to self: learn greek word for pasteurization. Unfortunately, if anything happens, the "death" would be of the baby, not me. I'll just avoid hole-in-the-walls as I do enjoy eating in them.

We were planning a trip to Ireland when I found out I was pregnant. Because I was extremely tired (I would sleep in my office at work--luckily I can close my door and my boss were VERY understanding and I was asleep by 6:00 pm--though I would take that anyday than being sick), we figured it'd be better if we re-scheduled. We did travel 6 months after our son was born.

I suppose if you feel, physically, you can do it, go ahead. Just make sure you contact your insurance company if you ever need to see the doctor or buy travel insurance. There are travel insurance there that excludes pregnancy. We are trying again, and I hope (cross my fingers) to be pregnant by Spring when we go to Italy, and I ran across a travel insurance through insuremytrip.com that does not exclude pregnancy-related illness.

Good luck!

PS Just be extremely careful of what you eat and drink. I remember an aunt who was pregnant and lost the baby at 4 months while traveling. This was when I was younger but I remember being said she was extremely dehydrated.

Sounds like you'll be late in your second trimester/early third; from what I remember from my pregnancy days, that's supposed to be the best time to travel.

You may find that the Greeks know all about the unpasteurized cheese issue and can help you out with it. When I was in France while pregnant, and obviously so, I was warned numerous times not to eat lait cru (raw milk) cheeses.

I did have a pregnancy issue arise when we were in Italy on that same trip. It all worked out ok, and it probably would have arisen if we hadn't been vacationing, but it did result in a rather frantic call to my OB and a day of bedrest, then taking it easy after that. Until we reached the OB, we had some unpleasant moments of thinking about how to quickly get from where we were (the Cinque Terre) to the nearest major hospital, if it came to that. That was not fun. Make sure how you know how to reach your OB, and know about medical facilities in the area where you'll be traveling, just in case.