How to travel abroad safely while pregnant
(Editor's note: This post was originally published on Blueprint Daily.)
You’re a world traveler. Your bookshelf is full of travel guides and Rosetta Stone DVDs. You have a map hanging up full of tacks that mark the places you’ve been and the ones you’ve been dying to visit. In fact, you were already planning your next trip abroad until you found out you were pregnant. Now you’re convinced (and so are all of your friends) that traveling abroad probably isn’t the best idea since you’re expecting. Don’t call your airline just yet, preggo! Some big names in the health game – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States Department of State, and the World Health Organization (WHO) – believe pregnant women can still be world travelers. So if you want to adopt seven kids from Africa or see the Mayan ruins, here are a few ways to safely enjoy the journey:
Carry a travel health kit – In addition to a general travel kit, “a pregnant traveler may also want to include prenatal vitamins, talcum powder, acetaminophen, and a topical anti fungal agent for vaginal yeast,” suggests Dr. Cohen in a recent CDC expert commentary on Medscape. Dr. Nicki Cohen is from the United States CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine.
Beware of Hepatitis E – Although Hepatitis E (an important public health disease in many developing countries of Africa and Asia) is not severe for most people, it can be especially dangerous for pregnant women. Since it can cause fulminant hepatitis or even death, pregnant women need to be extra cautious. If you’re traveling to an area where Hepatitis E is endemic, be extremely careful of your food and water preparation and intake.
Travel prior to or during your second trimester – If you’re planning a trip to a developing country, Dr. Denise Jamieson, an obstetrician from the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, suggests traveling early in the second trimester. “Medical care in those areas may not be adequate to manage any complications that could arise [at the end of the second trimester or later].”
Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate – The CDC usually groups vaccines for pregnant women into three categories, and they can be found in the CDC’s The Yellow Book. All the vaccines and their uses are listed here, the online version of The Yellow Book. (However, do not merely rely on a book to know which vaccines to get. “These decisions need to be made by travel medicine or infectious disease specialists in consultation with patients and their obstetricians,” encourages Dr. Cohen.)
Wear insect repellant – Pregnant travelers need to be advised about mosquito avoidance. If you’re pregnant, look for repellants containing DEET.