Pregnant Women Seeking a Great 5-6 Day Adventure
 

I will be six months pregnant at the begining of September. Can anyone recommend a place for me and my husband to go in Latin America or the Carribean? We love exploring little towns/villages, we love the exotic, and we love to have something to do! Nature and animals are a big hit for us. So is relaxation and culture. Any thoughts????

In the exact same boat as you. 6 months pregnant, you probably want to be careful in a number of respects. First and foremost, assuming you live in the States, you don't want a third world country where medical care will be poor or difficult to get to if you have an emergency. This eliminates most of Latin America.

St. John or Puerto Rico could be good options for you. Not many animals there, but they have national parks, good hiking, lots of activities, sun and the benefit of being U.S. territories and close to the States - things which you should be looking for at 6 months.

Follow-up: of course, another consideration may be the fact that September is peak hurricane season in the Caribbean. Hence - if you go this route, I encourage you to buy travel insurance.

zydeco, Buenos Aires could be a good choice, culture, architecture, tango and gaucha' parties, fun nights, relax, good prices and so on. I live here and recomend you. September is a good time to visit us. good luck!!! (any doub ask me by mail)

Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio area comes to mind. Medical care as good here as Puerto Rico, my opinion. . .there are some excellent private hospitals in and around San Jose. Way more state of the art with regard to medicine and medical facilities than you'd expect.

Another thought would be to stay close to the city and just relax for a few days in a nice hotel like Peace Lodge or Xandari. Combine that with either a couple of nights at Arenal or a couple of nights at the beach (Manuel Antonio) and you've got yourself a great time! Have fun. . .and congratulations!

IMHO - loved Costa Rica. One of the best trips of my life. Having been there, and my wife being an obgyn, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is 6 months pregnant. Cars are known to get stuck in the middle of nowhere for hours at a time. Also, while San Jose may have okay hospitals, I wouldn't think so for Arenal, Manuel Antonio or the other rural places that you will want to see. I would definitely save this one for another time.

True, traffic can back up occasionally. Fortunately, both Manuel Antonio and Arenal offer very decent alternative routes back to the central "metro" area.

Our daughter spent an entire summer studying Spanish in Costa Rica during her pregnancy (although not the last trimester). Most physicians are U.S. trained.

You know, the nice thing about being in a medical predicament of any kind in a place like Costa Rica is that the people have such a strong sense of generosity and hospitality. Time and again I have seen this one or that one absolutely go WAY out of the way to be of help to someone in need.

It is just my opinion, but take someplace like Puerto Rico--not the same consideration and kindness and level of assistance will be present.
There are some nice people there, but out among the general population, you certainly don't get the same feel of helpfulness and friendliness. At least that has been my observation in numerous visits to both places.

Just for the record, I am certainly not promoting Costa Rica as a place for you to go. I simply suggested that it would be a reasonable choice for many reasons. At the same time, I want others to know that there are very positive aspects about this country that could and would make a difference if someone (anyone) were to find themselves in dire need.

I haven't spent much time on St. John, but it's right across "the way" from Tortuga where I visited for a week last summer. I wouldn't want to be in that area at 6 months. True, St. John is part of U.S. "territory", but you wouldn't be making a quick trip back to the U.S. from there, I wouldn't think. Can't comment on their medical facilities.

Sorry, forgot to add. .

Your post title, zydeco, suggests you are looking for adventure. The point none of us are making here is that perhaps getting away from the good ole U.S. would be more adventure than you'd like to have at 6 months! If you want to "feel" perfectly safe, it would probably be best to stay closer to home, wherever that is.

But if you are wanting to spend a few days, as you mention, enjoying animals and wildlife, then I refer to my previous and first post. There isn't a better place for what you mentioned you were looking for!

Ultimately, you have to make the decision, as a pregnant woman, what you feel more comfortable with regarding travel during this time. Anyplace you decide to go, should it be out of the country, you would want to consider getting travel medical insurance that would offer you some good options during any kind of emergency.

Trust me,
After having 3 kids, even if you are in good shape, at 6 months you may not feel like lots of exploring/adventure and feel more like relaxing with short walks. Keep in mind that you don't know how your body will feel at 6 months.

Have you discussed this with your doctor? Sitting for long periods of time can be a no no when you are pregnant.

BA is about 12 hrs direct from the DC area. That is how we went and also had flight time to get to DC.

Most of your trips to Costa Rica are going to be 3-4 hrs. Medical care btw is excellent there. Baylor Hosp from Houston has people down there.

That might be a wonderful time to get up into New England and wander around some of the darling little towns. Not a whole lot of adventure, with a name like zydeco I am sure you like a little fun, but walking is good for you. You could head out to Reno, Tahoe, Las Vegas. New York City is full of culture. Chicago has great music....maybe even a zydeco band someplace too. Heck we have several of those here in Ohio and I love it.

Thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and advice. Having never been 6 months pregnant, I am a bit worried about over doing it and some of you causiouly pointed out that I might not be my full energetic self. I recently had an idea...how about Rio de Janiero? Culture, beauty, beach, food, things to do...and perhaps a side trip someplace else? Any thoughts?

Again, that is an awfully long time to be sitting. Blood clots are a possibility for anyone doing long trips like that but it can be even more dangerous for a 6 mo pregnant woman. By then you will really know you are pregnant so there will be more pressure and demand on organs, your bladder and more. Your doctor should be your first choice of people to ask.

I have seen women running road races pregnant! Every woman is different. If you are used to doing things then they shouldn't be a huge problem but that sitting part worries me.

Agree 100% with Suzie2. I don't know why you insist on pushing yourself at 6 months. There are plenty of nice locations that aren't as far and won't be as taxing on your system or risky of a proposition. Save the high adventure long-distance vacations for another time.

True story - a friend of ours is an obgyn (like my wife) and was on a plane to Aruba just last month. There was a preganant woman on the plane who was having some complications and our friend was asked to assist. After some monitoring, she advised the captain that it was best to land in Puerto Rico and have the woman seek immediate medical attention. Needless to say, the entire plane wasn't too happy. You don't want to be that woman.

Thank you for the thoughts...I guess a long flight may not be a good idea. Perhaps a trip to Maine in early fall might be nice or a secluded island near florida. I will keep your thoughts and ideas in mind. thanks again.

That little one is precious and so is its mom and it will need you for a long time to come. Better safe than sorry.

Happy travels

I'd go north or to the mountains somewhere. You won't want to be anywhere near Florida at that time of the year while pregnant - mid 90s with 100% humidity.

hills,

Been there done that???? That definitely sounded like the voice of experience. I had one child in July and I knew my next one was going to be a winter baby. Next one was born the end of Feb and I was warm as toast almost all winter.

haha...nope. I Just can't stand being in Florida in August and September, even without being pregnant!

zydeco - My family spent a lot of time in New England when I was growing up, you can have plenty of adventures!

Book early, fall foliage in high season in NE. Enjoy.