Long haul flight after FET?

[Hopewhite]

Hi all , hope you're well and keeping strong at whatever stage you are in your journeys xx

We just had a FET earlier today. I'd like to get your experiences about long haul travelling after FET. what have you been advised?

Our OTD is on the 14th of November, have a flight booked for the 17th . I asked the consultant today and she said she wouldn't recommended it until after week 12. I know I still need to wait and see if the miracle happens, but I didn't think before that it was advised against. She also mentioned the GP would need to sign a waiver for the insurance? or something like that?

I felt a bit emotional after the transfer, as this is a trip to see my family (who I've not seen for 1.5 yrs) and meet my new nephew , it already got pushed from earlier this year because of treatment.

I know i have to take 1 day at a time, and I'm getting ahead of myself, but there's a practical side of things because we have already booked flights, the nurses we have spoken with didn't think it would be an issue, so I never worried about it before. I'd like to plan ahead to know what to do on the 14th if everything goes well.

Thank you very much for your help, I send you all loads of good luck for your journey! let's hope we are all getting closer to having our dream come true xx

[Skittles11]

This is interesting as it's the complete opposite of the advice my consultant gave to me. I haven't had a transfer yet so it was all a bit hypothetical. But when asking about travelling long haul to Australia my consultant did not appear to have huge issues with it, she commented they had good healthcare there and was very encouraging. She mentioned about miscarriages and ectopic sadly always being a possibility but went on to reiterate about the good healthcare in Australia so wasn't too worried. It is me who is worried. So maybe it depends where you're going? She didn't say anything about getting a GP to sign it off. I'd be interested to see what others say. Xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Skittles11]

thank you so much for sharing this Skittles !! this is so interesting, as I'd class Australia as 2 long hauls 😂 we are going to the US , the longest flight would be c.11 hours. I didn't fully understand the GP bit to be honest, i hope someone here can shed some light! I hope you're doing well, sending good luck your way xx

[Skittles11 in reply to Hopewhite]

Yeah she was also talking about not putting your life on hold and that kind of thing xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Skittles11]

that would definitely help for coping mentally xx, thank you very much for sharing x

[MrsOrangejuice]

I can't understand why it would be an issue. So many women must do long flights in very early pregnancy (even before they find out). I went on a long haul flight after a FET when I was about 9/10 weeks and it was a wonderful holiday and sure did me nothing but good. I did have pretty awful morning sickness and was on progesterone pessaries and injections (the latter of which you need a letter from your clinic to take in cabin baggage) so it wasn't straightforward, but no issues.fpr the pregnancy. This pregnancy I took a long haul for a work trip at about 7 weeks and again bar the sickness and being quite tired, everything's been fine x

[Hopewhite in reply to MrsOrangejuice]

Thank you for sharing your experience MrsOrangejuice, this is exactly what my husband said, many people wouldn't even realise they are pregnant at that point!, I think I may have to call back to clarify the GP point as that's still not clear, I asked my husband after reading your post if it was to do with getting medicine through the airport and he didn't think that was even mentioned, it sounded like it was something to do with insurance requirement?

I hope your pregnancy is going well. sending you loads of good luck! xx

[WillowPark in reply to Hopewhite]

Not long haul, but I was flying to Norway not long after my first FET. I asked if I could speak to someone about flying and the nurse said they would come back to me and just handed me a letter to get the injections through customs. They didn't even ask where I was going 🤣

I disclosed the treatment on my travel insurance. It came up as "Fertility treatment" under the list of disclosed health conditions.

Hope you have a great trip 🙂

[Oopsieloopsy]

hi lovely I’m a flight attendant so I asked about this for the TWW as I don’t want to tell company until I know I’m pregnant and I was told it’s absolutely fine. There’s also a FA’Q thing in my clinic documents one of the questions is it ok to travel after transfer and it says yes just not to zika virus areas. I have colleagues fly until they were about 20 weeks.

Just make sure you get up and move often to keep your circulation going and stay hydrated.

[Hopewhite in reply to Oopsieloopsy]

Hi oopsieloopsy I hope you’re well xx thank you for sharing this lovely advise , it’s reassuring to hear from someone who does this often ! Did they say long haul was fine too ?

Sending loads of good luck your way ! Hope it’s all going well for you x

[Oopsieloopsy in reply to Hopewhite]

Yes I told them I do flights up to about 8 hours x

[Hopewhite in reply to Oopsieloopsy]

Thank you very much, that’s really reassuring xx , we have a 10+ hour flight on the way back, we are torn about what’s the right thing to do, I think mainly because of our previous experience. We need to wait until Sunday at least to test early 🤞🏼and see if that helps us decide x

[Chubbstep]

I just went on holiday- I was about 8.5 weeks and the flight was about 4.5 hours. I got a fitness to fly letter from the hospital but no one asked for it, the outbound flight wrote something on my boarding pass so the attendants were aware but the inbound flight were baffled why I was even telling them and said they only need to know when you're over 24 weeks or something. I was also given blood thinning injections to take just before and 24 hours after flying and was told by the midwives that this is now standard procedure for any flight longer then 4 hours although I'm not sure this would apply in the 2 week wait. I didn't get a letter to have them on board and again no one checked or appeared to care i had jags, sharps bin or pessaries and pills galore in hand luggage. The midwives told me to wear the compression socks, stay very hydrated and move around as much as possible on the flight but there's no problem with flying till later on.

[Hopewhite in reply to Chubbstep]

Hi Chubbstep , thank you so much for sharing your experience x I hope everything is going well for you xx this is good to know , I did wonder why she said I needed a fit to fly letter from the GP, Google says that’s only much later on so I’m still somewhat confused ! Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely get the socks if we end up going xx

[flamingopher]

I flew when I was about 6 weeks pregnant, just days after my first scan. I told my clinic about it and there were no concerns and no questions about flight time. I also took a ton of needles and progesterone meds and literally no one cared 😂 It was only about a 3 hour flight but it didn’t affect anything and now he’s 9 months old. Make sure you wear compression socks, move around lots and drink plenty of water. Good luck for your tww!

[Hopewhite in reply to flamingopher]

Hi Flamingopher thank you very much for sharing this ! And congratulations on your baby boy xx I’m just reading through all the comments and you’re the second one to say no one checked 😂😂 , thanks again for the tips ! We need to make a decision on this soon xx

[Whattheivf]

I had to go to the US and back from the UK with work the week after my FET, and my doc wasn’t concerned at all.

I got my BFP whilst I was away and am currently 12 weeks

[Hopewhite in reply to Whattheivf]

Ahh congratulations that’s such lovely news !! Glad to know it all went well xx I hope you have a smooth pregnancy, did you have to get any special insurance ? Xx

[Whattheivf in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you! Just normal business travel insurance because of small chance of ectopic and needing treatment out there. Imagine lots of people trying naturally could have early implications if they are early and travelling? My biggest problem was the nausea that kicked in whilst trying to hide things!

[Hopewhite in reply to Whattheivf]

Thank you for explaining, we’d have to get the same for covering for that risk. Omg poor you that must have been fun whilst trying to work !

[Lee_Lee_w]

I flew 9 days past FET from UK to Egypt last year, 5.5 hours, then flew back 7/8 days after a bfp and everything went well, baby is here now! I made sure to walk around the plane from time to time, kept hydrated and wore my flight socks. On the actual holiday I made sure to take all of my meds at the same time each day and never missed any. It was extremely hot and there were time that I thought I was going to pass out like when we went on quad bikes in the desert.

I was ever so careful with what I ate and drank and made sure to rest and keep cool.

The medical staff gave me the ok to go, and had written me a letter for my medication to be taken in my luggage.

I would read up on how flying can affect the body and what you can do to protect yourself whilst possibly being pregnant, then make the decision.

Good luck x

[Hopewhite in reply to Lee_Lee_w]

Hi Lee Lee thank you very much for sharing your experience, this is very helpful as reassurance, glad everything went well for you and congratulations on your baby ❤️, I’ll start googling what you suggested and we’ll have to make a decision , I’ll feel better informed after reading all your stories too , many thanks xx .

[Debsdex11]

Hi Hopewhite, I’ve never heard of any problem with flying itself, except for much later on in pregnancy. The only reason I have held off from travelling in those early weeks is I’ve had recurrent miscarriages in the past at 6 weeks that I needed hospitalisation for (and an ectopic at 7 weeks) and not wanting to be on a flight or in another country dealing with that. If I didn’t have this history I wouldn’t be worried, although miscarriage is common in the first 12 weeks and that’s probably what they’re thinking in advising against it (nothing to do with the actual flying). I would definitely make sure I had medical insurance to cover me if I was going to the USA, medical bills there are crazy expensive if you did up needing any care. I’m sure you won’t need it but it’s always good to be prepared. I hope you have a lovely trip to see your family xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Debsdex11]

Hi Debsdex thank you very much for sharing your experience, I’m so sorry about your losses. I did have a MMC and the bleeding started exactly at 6 weeks, this is our second try so I know the risk is very real , yes we’d definitely get insurance as I know prices are wildly expensive over there . I hope you’re well, sending you all the best of luck for your journey xx

[CarlottaD27]

Hi! Not quite the same but I recently got a positive test (not following FET) and it sadly ended early in a blighted ovum. After getting the test, i had a trip to Australia planned so asked the consultant if it was okay to travel (at what would have been about 10-13 weeks).

He advised against travelling, but only because there is a higher risk of bleeding and early loss in the first trimester. My husband was still keen to travel so he research the topic and there was no compelling scientific evidence (e.g. that long haul flights cause significant radiation / risk to baby, etc) against travelling. We also identified there were larrge hospitals with early pregnancy units reachable from the places in Australia we intended ot travel to.

We therefore concluded there were actually no extra risks to the baby but it was a case of the consultant being extra cautious as in case there was an issue / bleed, he'd rather we were close to home.

I get the tough decision you have to make - It's likely no risk to the baby to travel but once a consultant warns you against doing something, especially when a pregnancy is so long awaited and precious, it makes you think you should be doing everything the consultant advises or you'll jink it somehow! I wonder if you could talk to another consultant you trust a lot and get their blessing for your own peace of mind?

Best of luck whatever you decide! Ultimately i think whether the pregnancy is viable or not will be determined by that horrible luck and chance that is fertility, not travel plans x

[Hopewhite in reply to CarlottaD27]

hi Carlotta, thank you for taking the time to share your experience, I’m very sorry about your recent loss, I hope you’re feeling a bit better xx this is exactly what my husband and I were discussing earlier, it’s about the risk within the 12 weeks , we did have a MMC earlier this year , but like you say if it’s meant to be it will be!, sending you a big hug and loads of hope x

[CarlottaD27 in reply to Hopewhite]

Wishing you lots of luck too! We have to keep reminding ourselves that one or two losses doesn’t mean it will happen again. X

[Hopewhite in reply to CarlottaD27]

This is very true ❤️, hopefully we are getting closer to having our lucky time xx

[Purpledoggy]

Just bear in mind where in the US you are going. Following the redaction of Roe vs Wade, rapid and appropriate management of problems in early pregnancy are variable by state. It’s just a situation you don’t want to find yourself in if the worst happens so be sure what current laws and processes are for eg handling a pregnancy of unknown location that may be ectopic but can’t be visualised to confirm. And of course check your travel insurance to ensure all pregnancy circumstances would be covered including miscarriage etc. Sorry, not trying to be pessimistic but the clusterf that is healthcare in the States is not to be underestimated (I used to live there and have a friend with fertility issues including recurrent miscarriage over there). Xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Purpledoggy]

Hi purpledoggy , I hope you’re well, thank you for sharing this, it hadn’t even crossed my mind !! I’ll check just in case xx yes definitely we’ll need to get good insurance coverage xx thanks for the advice, all the best of luck for your journey xx

[Purpledoggy in reply to Hopewhite]

Best of luck for your TWW xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Purpledoggy]

Thank you very much ❤️

[Megrumpy]

Hi,

I was adivsed against travelling to St Lucia at 13 weeks. BUT it has nothing to do with the flight. My consultants attitude was, what are you going to do if anything goes wrong on a little island with no proper heatlhcare. So I think it is more about how comfortable will you be with getting healthcare if anything goes wrong.

I travelled short haul at 20 weeks as I was going home and knew that if I needed healthcare I would know where and how to get some. If you are going to see family I would have thought it would be the same. Hope that helps.

[Hopewhite in reply to Megrumpy]

Hi Megrumpy, thank you very much for sharing your experience, yes you’re right access to healthcare would be the key concern, my family would be able to guide us on that if needed , just need to sort out good insurance just in case xx I hope everything is going well in your journey , sending you loads of good luck xx