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Thu 17 May, 2007 08:17 pm
Colleague of mine from Cambodia is freshly pregnant. Just a few weeks. We want her to fly in for a workshop at the end of June, she'd be just at the end of her 2nd month.
It is normal that pregnant women don't do anything during pregnancy in Cambodia. Doctors are quite useless (we had some bad experiences with mis-diagnoses - multiple- and such). So no good doctor to send her to. The one she saw didn't even examine her.... So I have to ask the people of a2k - is it safe to fly at that time of pregnancy? I can't imagine why not, unless it would be a risk pregnancy, which it is not, but better safe than sorry, of course.
I can't imagine why not. Nuthin to do with science.
Who could convince her/them? Dunno. Zillions of pregnant women have flown, many probably not even knowing they were.
Oh dag. You don't have to be embarrassed, and you certainly don't have to make up a story about your pregnant "friend." It's okay, we all care about you. You can admit that it's actually you that's pregnant.
I'm sure you will be fine on the plane, but I'm no doctor.
So who's the father?
We are pretty resiliant animals even during pregnancy. I can't imagine it would be a problem unless there is a pre-existing condition that would be aggravated by a long flight, such as might be done by sitting too long.
I think it's fine. I did a trans-atlantic at 5 months. The first trimester is probably even safer. I believe my doctor told me at the time that as long as the cabin is pressurized there is no harm.
I can't imagine why not. Nuthin to do with science.
Well, the to-be mother might feel ouky, but she would anyway.
I'll agree walking around, standing up fairly often is a good idea, as it is for all of us on very long flights.
That's what I figured and that's what the pregnancy sites say as well.
But her doctor told her not to do anything (without as much as giving her a regular exam....). Cambodian doctors are... errr...how to put it...let's just say that so far (my colleague has been there for almost 2 years) we didn't find a reliable one. They prescribe antibiotics for everything (even migraine!) and advise pregnant women to do nothing. NOTHING whatsoever, to not move.
So I want her to feel safe and give her as many trustworthy assurances that I can... I'm not a doctor, so I want to cite reputable sources.
ehBeth wrote:Fly to North America?
Yes. Phnom Penh to Los Angeles. Then LA to Boston, Boston to Chicago. Chicago to LA. LA to Phnom Penh.... Possibly Washington D.C. inbetween...
so it's actually quite a bit of flying. But she was concerned only about the high altitude flying, which I guess would be the long transcontinental flight.
Quote:Most of the studies on pregnancy and air travel have been done on female flight attendants.
One study did show that there was a slight increase in first trimester miscarriage, but this was for the flight attendants who worked a greater number of hours.
http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/travelduringpreg/a/aa052299.htm
I wondered about this, as two of my colleagues are pregnant. One is 3 months, the other 4.5. Both have been told that now that they're in the second trimester, they can do pretty much what they want. They'd both been given first trimester restrictions of various types.
I'm sad that you have all bought into this elaborate story that dag has obviously made up.
And I still wonder who the father is. Come on, fess up, dag!!! Is it Gus? I think it's probably either him or Bi-Polar Bear.
Hmm. I think she is about one and half months pregnant now. She'd fly on 19th June... so that would be a little over two months... i'm gonna look closer at what the mayo clinic has to say. that sounds like a reputable enough source.
http://airtravel.about.com/cs/safetysecurity/a/pregflyer2.htm
The problem is that most sites talk about discussing this with "your trusted medical professional", and it sounds like that isn't a possibility for your colleague.
http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/pregtravel
Quote:The safest time to travel is during your second trimester, according to ACOG. By your second trimester, your pregnancy is well established and you'll probably be feeling your best. Most miscarriages occur during the first trimester, so it's generally unwise to travel then.
kickycan wrote:I'm sad that you have all bought into this elaborate story that dag has obviously made up.
And I still wonder who the father is. Come on, fess up, dag!!! Is it Gus? I think it's probably either him or Bi-Polar Bear.
it would have to be immaculate conception. I don't recollect any deity whispering into my ear, so i think i'm pretty safe in saying i am nowhere near pregnant.
The Mayo Clinic's one of the world's most reputable medical facilities.
I still think it's Gus. He might be a deity. No one knows for sure.
Sorry if I misinformed.
Would be interested in data on the percentage of miscarriages related to this as a factor - probably hard to quantify, given all the other reasons. And what percentage of female passengers tell folks they're pregnant...
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