The first trimester of pregnancy is famous for nausea and fatigue, which can make travel a challenge. But what if you find out that you are pregnant after you have already booked your trip? Everyone’s pregnancy is so different, and you never know what your experience is going to be like. Even second and third pregnancies vary for a mother. If you are planning to travel during your pregnancy, keep in mind that you could have an amazing time or you could be miserable the entire time. You don’t really know what’s going to happen.
I had a few trips during my first trimester. Very early on, I visited NYC. In fact I didn’t even know that I was pregnant yet. At about week 10, I had an international trip to Germany and Spain. And in week 13, I visited my parents in Austin for Christmas.
Personally, I had a very difficult first trimester. I had constant nausea that was at its worst if I was at all hungry. I vomited frequently, at a height of 6 times per day. My brain was very foggy, and I felt exhausted. I had lots of aversions to food, and these would change frequently. A food that I could tolerate one day would make me gag at the thought the next day. For me, these symptoms lasted from about week 7 to week 19, with the worst being in weeks 8-9. Most people wake up feeling better at about week 12, so I kept hoping it would get better. Every once and a while, I would have a day or two where I felt much better, but would go back to feeling horrible again.
If you are going to be traveling during your pregnancy, it’s impossible to predict how you will feel, but there are some things you can do to make it go more smoothly.
Keep plenty of snacks.
I carried a larger purse so that I could constantly have snacks with me throughout the day. While I packed some of my own along for the trip, I also stopped and bought more at grocery stores frequently. Things like almonds, granola bars, carrots, and crackers were lifesavers for me.
Stay hydrated.
This is so important. I have needed to drink a lot more water during my pregnancy, I think because of all of the extra blood working through my veins. If I don’t constantly drink water, I get tired and grumpy. This is especially important if you are vomiting. Keep a large water bottle with you at all times (another reason why a larger purse or day pack is helpful).
Have breakfast plans.
I highly recommend staying at accommodations that have a buffet breakfast, room service, or a kitchen for cooking breakfast. For me, I would even have to snack on a few almonds or crackers before getting out of bed and going downstairs to the buffet breakfast. So keep those snacks by your bed, too! (Also helpful for middle of the night hunger.)
Wear compression socks.
While I didn’t get varicose veins until my second trimester, even in the first trimester I felt a bit of water retention building up in my calves if I was on my feet for too long and during a long flight. Compression socks are a lifesaver for this. I would recommend to at least wear them on your flight.
Wear comfortable shoes.
While this is always important for travel, it’s especially important when you’re traveling during pregnancy.
Pack comfortable clothing.
Even though most people don’t start showing much in the first trimester, bloating can make clothes feel extra tight. Stretchy dresses with leggings were my go-to travel outfits. Also, while most people apparently gain 0-5 pounds in the first trimester, I gained like 15, so I was definitely noticing a bit of a spare tire early on. Comfortable clothes was important.
Have strategies for fighting nausea.
I was very sensitive to smells, so I kept a lemon essential oil in my purse that I could pull out and smell any time that I needed. Also I kept a scarf, which I could use to cover my nose from strong smells. This was very helpful to me while walking through the Christmas markets with all of the roasting meats. I also kept little peppermint and ginger candies with me. I found these to be most helpful in fighting my nausea in cars, busses, trains, and flights.
Get plenty of rest.
I would feel exhausted quickly, so I was not shy in deciding that I needed to go back to the hotel to take a nap, go to bed early, or sit down at a cafe more frequently. Jet-lag just compounded this fatigue. Make rest a priority and don’t push yourself.
Have a supportive travel partner.
If you are traveling with someone else, make sure that they are aware of your needs and will be accommodating for you. I was with my husband part of the time and my mom the other part. Neither complained about my need to go to bed super early. One particular rough day for me (after breaking down and crying while looking for a decent lunch), I decided to go back to my room to sleep while she visited a museum.
Have a list of options for lunches and dinners.
My food aversions would change every day, but when I needed to eat, I NEEDED TO EAT NOW. I really wish that I had researched some restaurant options ahead of time because deciding in the moment was very stressful for me and for my travel partners.
Keep your trip simple if possible.
Our trip was a bit complicated and fast moving because we had it planning before we found out that I was pregnant. I also didn’t know how sick I would feel. If I had known, I would have slowed everything down so that I didn’t have to use transportation as much, which seemed to cause the most amount of nausea.
Other considerations:
As your doctor or midwife will tell you, there are other precautions that you need to take to be safe. Make sure that you aren’t traveling anywhere with a Zika Virus warning, and that you follow your doctor’s advice on food and activity safety.
2nd and 3rd trimester travel:
Everyone will tell you that the second trimester is the best time to travel, and many expecting parents will take a “babymoon” during this time. For me, I didn’t start feeling much better until about week 20, and by then I had a whole new set of symptoms. Back pain and varicose veins made the idea of travel seem like a terrible idea to me. Plus, because I had just traveled earlier on, I didn’t feel a need to get out yet. My advice would be to wait and see how you feel before you book any kind of trip.
If you want to travel in your third trimester, you should talk to your doctor or midwife first. There are extra precautions that you’ll need to take, and the further you are along, the more it is discouraged.
Everyone has such a different pregnancy experience, so I’m curious what your experience was like. Did you travel during your pregnancy? How did it go for you?
