Traveling pregnant has its ups and downs, but a day away from the normal life is worth it! I never took a break from traveling “just because I was pregnant”. My first adventure traveling while pregnant was as early as 8 weeks.
I’m an explorer, so it’s hard to just sit home until the baby is born. After checking in with my doctor and doing research, I was told that there would be no concern while traveling pregnant. Hearing this was a joy to my ears! The only time an airline wants you to stop flying is near your third trimester since you can give birth at any moment on the plane! For this reason, I definitely agree with slowing down the traveling towards the end of pregnancy.
When I was pregnant with our daughter, she arrived 3 weeks early before her due date. I’m a risk taker but I won’t be taking the risk of going into labor without a doctor and an epidural. So coming upon our last two months of pregnancy, our travels will come to a halt to bring our precious healthy baby boy in this world!
Below are a few truths I experienced while traveling pregnant.
- I experienced less nausea/sickness while traveling. I don’t know if it was because my mind was distracted from not focusing on being nauseous at home, but I felt like my “normal” self again while traveling. I don’t think I could have ever traveled in my first trimester with the sickness I experienced with this pregnancy when everything around made me sick and left me unable to eat. If you could travel through your second trimester I recommend it so you can actually enjoy your vacation!
- Back pain! This is probably one of the most things that made me feel uncomfortable while traveling. Of course, back pain is expected in pregnancy, but walking around more frequently definitely took a toll on my body. I did great my first week of traveling pregnant but the pain kicked in when I started walking around every day, sightseeing. Even sleeping became more uncomfortable. The pain would come and go. Working out or swimming as little as 15 minutes helped subside with the pain. If you could book a hotel with a fitness center/pool, this will benefit your back!
- I actually craved Italian & American food while traveling. At times I wished I was back home just to eat, which is weird because I normally love trying new foods. The closest I got to American food while traveling was McDonald’s. You expect Mcdonalds to be the same menu but McDonald’s in other countries adapt to their culture for the menu, so you can’t expect the food to be the same. If you’re anything like me and you’re a Big Mac lover just know that you’ll always be able to find a BIG Mac.
- Taking public transportation wasn’t always easy. My husband would have to take on the load that I couldn’t carry, so most of the time I would feel bad for him. He had to carry his carryon-on, our daughters, and my load!
- I didn’t save money on food and drinks like I thought I would for being pregnant. I had the idea that maybe now that I’m pregnant and having to skip out on the drinking, I would save money but nope, I was wrong! It was actually the opposite, I ended up spending more cause I would order two meals just for myself and extra snacks for later!
- Pregnancy limits you food wise and you always need to double check if the food has been properly prepared and well done. In Morocco, I didn’t dare to try local street food or food in the market that wasn’t in a restaurant to make sure I was getting the appropriate preparation. When in doubt always choose a busy place with cooked food.
- If you’re already a mother, expect your current child to latch on to you. Being a mother isn’t always easy and being pregnant on top of that can be more hectic. My daughter is always attached to my hip so everything I do she wants to do as well. There were times that I would be exhausted from a flight and my two-year-old daughter may not fully understand that I just do not have the energy like I used to. When we were in Morocco riding camels, she refused to ride with her father.! Thank God I had my energy that day because I had to make sure she wouldn’t fall off the camel and as a pregnant mother, also protect myself from falling off.
- Hopping off and on flights wasn’t a big deal while pregnant for me but when my daughter expected me to carry her off and on the plane, because she was too tired, it became an issue. If our stroller had to get checked in, it was even more difficult. As bad as I wanted to pick up my 30-pound daughter, it’s not ideal to do the heavy lifting during pregnancy. No matter how tired she was we had to fully wake her up to walk.
- Flying pregnant wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. Most flights were short, which could’ve also been a reason why I didn’t dread them! The longest flight we took was leaving to and from the United States which was about six hours. We made sure these long flights were at night so we could sleep on the plane and wake up at our destination, which helped a lot. We flew economy and avoided back pain by bringing the inflatable leg rest so I could elevate my legs and stretch out. To purchase or read the full review on the inflatable leg rest click on the link!
Good luck with your adventure if you decide to travel pregnant! Please note that everyone has a different experience while pregnant and this is just my experience! I hope I can give you inspiration or an idea of how your travels may plan out!
This post was written by Jessica Rooks
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