Air travel and miscarriages?

[Melaine]

My friend asked me to start this thread and see if anyone had heard of this or experienced it. She has had three early miscarriages. Two of them happened right after flying around weeks 5-6. She has wondered if the two are related.

She is now 8 or 9 weeks along :yay:and is supposed to fly for work in about a month. She is contemplating procrastinating the trip just to be on the safe side. Has anyone heard risks associated with flights in the first trimester?

I told her I had no idea but I am paranoid enough about flying to believe it. I think if she is worried about it she should try to put it off.

[swissair81]

I'm not allowed to fly in my first trimester, but I've been high risk from the very beginning of this pregnancy and the last.

[hillview]

I traveled a ton when pg with both boys. That said I have someone on my team who was not to travel the first few weeks -- she did IVF so it was more tied to that.
/hillary

[hillview]

I traveled a ton when pg with both boys. That said I have someone on my team who was not to travel the first few weeks -- she did IVF so it was more tied to that.
/hillary

[Melaine]

I'm not allowed to fly in my first trimester, but I've been high risk from the very beginning of this pregnancy and the last.

So do you think flying itself poses an additional risk to pregnancy? I guess it must, but I haven't heard people told not to fly. Is it the altitude?

[MamaMolly]

I don't know if there is an actual correlation, but if not flying makes her feel better then I think there is nothing wrong with avoiding it.

[Mopey]

I've had a flight bring on AF before, but I also took two 8 hour flights this past summer when I was between 6 and 8 weeks and I was fine. So not sure. Mojo for your friend and I say delay it if it makes her feel better :)

[L'sMommy]

Honestly, I don't know if there is any correlation to flying and miscarriage. I didn't fly anywhere during my first pregnancy and i miscarried at 8 weeks. My second miscarriage happened after an international round trip flight. I was 5 weeks. In my 3rd pregnancy, I flew domestically in my 5th week and gave birth to a healthy boy. In my 4th pregnancy, I flew domestically at 5 weeks and had a miscarriage at 7 weeks. I've been pregnant 4 times and have only one child. Do I think flying had anything to do with it? I don't. But if your friend is worried, she should play is safe.

[pb&j]

There's no evidence that flying increases the risk of miscarriage. I used to be an airline pilots, and pilots and FA's alike flew in all stages of pregnancy.

I'm sorry for your friend's losses, but if it would make her feel better to postpone the trip, then she should. Flying didn't cause her losses, it's just an unfortunate coincidence that she flew early in pg, when miscarriages are most common.

[smilequeen]

I don't think there is any correlation at all, but if it makes her feel better with her history, she should do it. Being pregnant after miscarriage is scary and stressful enough.

[edurnemk]

I don't know if there's any scientific study, or any way to prove it. My dad has always worked in healthcare, and he always says PG women should not fly during the first trimester, since it's the riskiest phase. But my Dr. had no problem allowing me to fly at 8-9 weeks.

A close friend finally got PG after TTC for a LONG time, she was expecting twins and when she found out she asked the Dr if she should cancel a trip (loooong flight), he said it wasn't necessary, that if she miscarried she'd miscarry wherever she was and at that point in a PG there's really nothing to be done. She decided to err on the side of caution and cancelled the trip.

So, I've heard both versions, I have never seen any evidence of there being a risk or not. However if the stats are right, and about 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriages in the first trimester, then maybe a lot of them just happen to coincide with a flight, without there being a real correlation.

The important thing to remember is that while PG you are at an increased risk for blood clots, so when flying you need to get up and walk for a few minutes every hour, and drink lots of water.

[Twin Mom]

If she is going to be nervous then I think she shouldn't fly. She will always wonder if she does have a MC after flying if that was the reason. It is worth her own peace of mind to skip it.