Knocked up abroad: pregnant travel in the first trimester

For more on pregnant travel, see parts 1 and 2 of Knocked up abroad: pregnancy in a foreign country here and here.

There’s no question that having a baby changes you: your body, your lifestyle, even your shoe size. One thing I hoped not to change altogether was traveling, as long as it was reasonably safe and comfortable for me and the baby. From the beginning of my pregnancy in Istanbul, my doctor has okayed travel, as long as I get up to stretch frequently on flights and try not to overdo it. Most doctors (and mothers) agree that the second trimester is the most comfortable time for pregnant travel but the first trimester can be a good time as well (while you can still squeeze into pre-maternity clothes and walk without waddling) with a little extra precaution and a little more babying (of the mother, of course).


The first trimester of pregnancy is a tricky time for many women: the risk of miscarriage is highest up to 10 weeks, morning sickness is common, and hormones are running wild. It’s too early to tell anyone outside family or close friends and without a visible belly, it’s impossible for strangers to tell as well. At later points in your pregnancy, a baby bump acts as the international symbol for pregnancy and can make it much easier to express your condition when traveling abroad. If you travel in the early months before showing, you may want to learn the local language words for “I’m pregnant” to avoid a Bridget Jones-esque “mit kinder” scene if you need extra help while traveling.


Over this past December, my husband and I were looking for a good trip to take over the holidays, when I was around 10 weeks pregnant. Our location in Istanbul changes the list of short-haul destinations considerably from what we would have considered from New York, and we debated between a warm-weather beach destination (husband) or a snowy and “Christmassy” European city (me). We ruled out Egypt (not warm enough and not Christmassy), New Zealand (even less convenient to get to than from New York), and Sri Lanka (not enough time to plan properly and some risks of disease I couldn’t be vaccinated against). In the end, we chose…Russia.
Going to Russia in winter while pregnant may seem crazy to some, but for me it made sense: Moscow and St. Petersburg are a few hours from Istanbul by direct flight, my husband speaks fluent Russian in case of any problems, and there was no risk of malaria or eating any food that had spoiled in the sun. While it was cold and snowing during our trip and I couldn’t take advantage of some of Russia’s cold-weather remedies like vodka and saunas, a week in Moscow and St. Petersburg was a perfect mix of exotic and comfortable.

Nearly every cafe had a variety of non-alcoholic and caffeine-free beverages for me to choose from, I even had non-alcoholic sangria, mojitos, and mulled wine in addition to fresh juices and herbal teas. Both cities are beautiful to explore in the snow, with plenty of museums and cafes to warm up in, and the New Year holiday displays made it festive.

If you are planning a trip to a foreign country while pregnant, it makes sense to keep in mind the following guidelines. Always discuss plans with your doctor before booking and err on the side of caution when choosing a destination.

Check airline restrictions – Most airlines allow pregnant women to fly internationally up to 28 weeks, after which you must provide a doctor’s note issued within a week or so of departure. 35 weeks (earlier for women carrying multiples) is the cutoff for nearly all airlines to prevent women from giving birth on board. Most US domestic carriers will allow pregnant women to fly up to the final month; hilariously, Continental will not let women board if “physical signs of labor are present” though they don’t specify what.

Consider travel insurance – If your medical insurance doesn’t cover you overseas, you may want to look into supplementary medical travel insurance, but be sure it covers pregnancy as many policies do not. Additionally, if you are traveling to a country where English is not spoken, you may want to research the name of a clinic or doctor in case of emergency as well.

Be prepared for jet lag – Before pregnancy, I had little issues with jet lag, trying to get on local time as soon as possible. I discovered when flying back from the US to Turkey that it hits you much harder as a pregnant traveler, especially as you can’t use sleeping pills or alcohol to help you sleep. Factor this into your schedule and give yourself plenty of time to acclimate and adjust to time changes.

Realize your limits have changed – On a usual trip, I’d be up early to walk around a city all day, have a late lunch (or maybe just a big afternoon beer) followed by more museums and exploration, and still be up for checking out the local nightlife. Once pregnant, I required more sleep and three solid meals a day (plus maybe some snacks, I am eating for two!), tired after walking short distances, and was ready to call it a night long before last call. If you have an itinerary, pare it down to the must-sees and double the time to see everything; better to take it easy and enjoy your trip than feel exhausted and sick.

Look for destinations that don’t require vaccinations – One of the first tests your doctor will give you after confirming pregnancy will be for immunizations to hepatitis and rubella. If you haven’t had the vaccines, they will have to wait until after the baby is born as they are not safe for pregnant women. I have not had the hepatitis vaccine yet, and thus have a greater risk of contracting it, which rules out much of Africa and southeast Asia for travel, but also means I must avoid raw vegetables including salad in Istanbul. Most other medications and vaccines commonly given to travelers before going to an area prone to Malaria, Typhoid or Yellow Fever are not advised for pregnant women. But there’s still a big world out there, check the CDC for destination-specific information.

Be extra aware of food and water safety – Pregnant women are more susceptible to food poisoning the average person, as the immune system is suppressed so it doesn’t reject the fetus. This is the reason most pregnant women are told to avoid sushi and food that is not prepared in sanitized conditions. Even adventurous eaters should play it safe while pregnant and drink bottled water when in doubt. I recently had an opportunity to visit Mumbai, India but after consulting with a few friends who had lived there, I worried I’d spend the trip inside my hotel room eating pre-packaged food. Again,

check the CDC and use the same common sense you’d use anytime while traveling: stick with food that is freshly prepared in restaurants full of people.


Stay tuned for more on pregnancy travel, including Turkish superstitions and customs, travelling in the second trimester, where to do pre-baby shopping, and more on having a baby in a foreign country. Check here for further updates.

[Photo courtesy Mike Barish from the Istanbul tram]

Photo of the day (10.14.10)

For many of us, dreaming about travel and planning a trip is a favorite part of a travel process. Those early days of discovering a destination and imagining the delights it may hold, before the reality of long airport security lines, bad hotel rooms, and jet lag spoil the fun, are some of the sweetest. This photo by Flickr user Chris Maki titled “Wanderlust” recalls the immense possibilities a map and a few guidebooks can hold. When traveling on frequent flyer miles, I used to look at places where American Airlines and Marriott hotels intersected (a lot of South America and Western European destinations), and now my inspiration tools include a Turkish Airlines timetable, a stack of inflight magazines, and a Kindle full of Lonely Planet guides.

Have any travel photos to inspire wanderlust? Upload them to our Gadling group on Flickr and we might use one as our Photo of the Day.

Top 10 jet lag strategies from Gadling readers


Jet lag is a complex problem. It can be embodied as an annoying propensity to yawn through some of the grandest experiences of your trip, an embarrassing incapacity to stay awake for drinks after a business dinner or a highly inconvenient invalidity upon returning home. It can cost you time and money. It can lose you a business deal or even cause you emotional distress. Everyone hates it, and while some say you can get used to it if you travel a lot, no one really knows how to cure, prevent or outsmart jet lag.

Like in the field of love, no one can be an expert in jet lag. It’s different for every body and every trip. What might work is to read how other people (real people) deal with it and find a plan that works for your style and schedule. We asked our sharp community of readers on Facebook about their jet lag strategies — and we hope one of these speaks to you!

Top 10 jet lag strategies from Gadling readers

  1. “Up til midnight local time, three espressos on day 2.” — Jana
  2. “‎(1) Try to adjust to the new time (meals and sleep time)
    (2) Eat lots of protein, avoid carbs
    (3) Drink lots of water” — Raul
  3. Carbs.” — Terry
  4. Take a pill on the plane and sleep most of the flight, and then stay up the first day to get acclimated to the new time zone. Eat an early dinner and get to bed around 9 PM. Also, no alcohol.” — Alyce
  5. Vodka.” — Kathy
  6. Massage.” — Lawrence
  7. Work out when you arrive, eat healthy instead of high sodium plane food, don’t get all boozed up, and make it to your first night without sleeping too hard during the day (Europe) or crash early and make yourself sleep in a little (Asia).” — Justin
  8. “Slowly adjust body time clock wk b4 u travel … Goin west go 2 bed later … Go east bed earlier … Break travels in 4 hour blocks …” — Troy
  9. “Plenty of water and vitamin B.” — Martha
  10. “A short sleep when I arrive, lots of water and an espresso to top it off. A good long walk always does one good.” — Laura

Got a better idea? Want to join in the conversation and see what today’s question is? Visit Gadling on Facebook.

[Photo by Skunks via Flickr.]

Create a snapshot of your sleep and fight off jet lag – Gadling reviews the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach

As part of the National Sleep Awareness Week, we’ve been taking a look at some gadgets and services that can help improve your sleep. Earlier this week, we introduced you to Sleeptracker, and today, we’ll show off a gadget that actually creates an exact snapshot of how well (or poorly) you slept.

The Zeo Sleep Monitor consists of three parts – the bedside clock, a headband sensor, and an SD memory card. The combination of these allows you to monitor your sleep down to the minute – the system knows when you are awake, in deep sleep, REM sleep or light sleep. At the end of the night, you can review your sleep on the display, and upload your sleep report to the Zeo web site.
The Zeo unit and headband

The Zeo unit looks really nice – it features a large display that shows the time, battery status of the headband and your sleep numbers. On top of the unit are buttons for changing settings and on the back is a small dock for the headband.

When wearing the headband, there is no denying that it’ll take a little getting used to – during my first night I was very well aware that it was on my head. But by the second and third nights I barely noticed it. The headband makes electrical contact with your forehead, and its sensors detect how well (or poorly) you sleep.

The alarm feature in the unit is fantastic – it can wake you exactly when you want it to, or it can wake you within a “window” when it feels you won’t be too groggy.

The online sleep log

When you wake up the next morning, you place the headband in the docking base of the Zeo unit, and it transfers your sleep data. Alternatively, you can enable wireless transfers – this constantly uploads your sleep data to the unit, allowing you to keep a close eye on it. This is handy if you regularly wake up in the middle of the night. Of course, you’ll still need to dock the headband to charge it.

Once the data has been loaded into the Zeo bedside unit, you can remove the SD memory card to upload your sleep data. The myZeo personal sleep coach is an extremely well built online sleep analyzer that keeps track of your sleep, and acts as your coaching hub.

The heart of your sleep report is your “ZQ” – this is a number between 0 and 120, calculated by Zeo to determine the quality of your sleep. The number is calculated based off how much sleep you got, your restorative sleep and whether your sleep was disrupted. In addition to your ZQ, your myZeo pages also report your “morning feel” – based on how well you slept, and when you woke up.

This is an hour-by-hour overview of how well I slept – you can see exactly when I fell asleep, how long it took me to fall asleep, and when I was in deep sleep, light sleep or REM sleep.

This information is great for two reasons – first of all, it is just plain fun to look back at your sleep, and get a very accurate overview of how you spent your night. Secondly, it gives you a great way to start work on getting a better night sleep. Combined with the coaching tools provided by Zeo, you really can take a close look at why your sleep

Zeo for travel?

Zeo is not necessarily designed to be travel friendly, but the alarm clock is not too bulky to carry on the road. Its included power supply works on 100V-240V, so it’ll be happy on any outlet you can find, no matter where in the world.

Sleep and travel normally don’t go to well together, but with the tools inside Zeo, you may be able to pinpoint why sleep is an issue when you travel, and adjust your routine. In addition to this, Zeo may be able to help snap you out of nasty jet lag symptoms.

Final thoughts

The Zeo system is an amazing piece of technology – being able to wake up in the morning, and see exactly how you slept is just plain cool. The system retails for $249, which includes the Zeo unit, headband, SD memory card and reader, as well as access to the myZeo site. For $349, you get the same package, along with lifetime sleep coaching, an extended warranty and replacement sensors for the headband. The unit comes with a 30 day money back guarantee.

If you have problems with your sleep, or if you’d just like to keep a closer eye on your sleep performance, I can highly recommend Zeo. Taking Zeo on the road can help you pick the best time to fall asleep, or when to wake up – this can greatly speed up getting used to a new time zone, or to fight off jet lag.

Product page: Zeo Personal Sleep Coach


Before you go, be sure to check out Gadling’s Travel Talk TV, in which the guys visit the Monterey Aquarium, interview the pilot who filmed his entire flight from the nose of his 747, and offer up international dating tips!

Plan out Day One – International travel tip

When traveling across time zones, have an itinerary upon arrival: take a walk in the park, grab a coffee, and familiarize yourself with your temporary stomping grounds on Day One. Not only does this make the most of your time, it also combats jet lag and keeps your mind stimulated, allowing you to go to sleep at a regular hour.

Best way to start: go online and look at websites for your destination. Pick out a few low-key places you’d like to visit, and write down their addresses and entrance costs, if applicable. Keep this sheet with your other travel documents, and pull it out when you reach your destination.