Pregnant & travelling : Where to go?

Starting with the most important part...
>As this is my first Pregnancy i am completely clueless about travelling whilst pregnant

You might also be clueless about the possibility of "morning sickness", backaches, frequent urges to urinate, hemorrhoids, and many other joys of pregnancy ;-) . Nobody, including you, can predict how you will feel physically and emotionally. (And while I do not wish you bad luck, there is even some statistical probability of miscarriage, thus perhaps not being pregnant next spring.) All of this favors traveling as flexibly as possible and not making very complicated plans.

Different airlines might have different rules about pregnancy and air travel. I am not sure about cruise ships, which could be an alternative way of crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Your doctor or a travel medicine clinic can advise you about travel to less developed destinations, especially if immunizations and/or malaria-preventing drugs are recommended.

Congratulations!

The airlines are usually pretty liberal as far as up to what week you can travel. It's usually 36-38 weeks. Check the airlines' website.

Cruise ships do have restrictions on pregnant women on board. Again, check with the company.

Be aware that anything could happen. You go in for your usual checks. Blood pressure too high. Cervix isn't doing it's job. BEDREST. It happens. You may feel fine but still hear bad news at a routine check.

With my first, I had fantasies of travel, exercise, etc. Didn't happen. I was not allowed to travel more than an hour in the car, no long walks, no lifting, etc. pretty early in the pregnancy. The doctor warned, if I'm lucky, I might avoid bedrest. I went into early labor with my first around 7 months. Thank goodness they stopped it. Gave birth at 36 weeks to my second. High blood pressure with my third. Did NOT have that with the other two pregnancies...

I did go to the U.S. while pregnant but I was on U.S. health insurance and I went to see family NOT for travel. Health coverage in the U.S. is prohibitively expensive, as you probably know.

Access to healthcare, for me, was priority. We did go away but not far.

Before I recommend just staying home :/ I will mention that babies between 4 and 6 months are very easy to travel with. You have a short honeymoon period between the needy newborn and the crawler. I did trips with all three at that stage. It'll never be easier. So think about the timing. Having the baby external when you travel might be a better plan...

AFAIK malaria prophylaxis is not recommended for pregnant women, so you might want to think very hard about going to Vietnam and Laos.

book something last minute when you know how you are feeling.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

We decided we will go somewhere according to how i feel at that time and how far i can still travel.
I work for an airline company so health insurance is not a problem and taking a last minute staff travel neither.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer.

Double check that your health coverage would cover the costs involved in taking care of a premature baby and any complications, in another country.

I used to work for the airlines too so you do want to factor in the loads. Make sure there isn't some school break or whatever that means waiting 4 days in the airport to get home. Make sure you have back up tickets, etc.

I loved having travel benefits and miss them. Hope you get in First Class because you wont again for a loooooong time! (Our airline's minimum age was 8 for business and 10 for FC).

Most of the important things have been said, but I can think of a couple of others. You'll probably find hot countries less easy to cope with, but if you are somewhat used to them then not impossible. Aside from malaria, most tropical countries carry a risk of food and water-borne problems and these can be serious when you are pregnant. If you pick somewhere tropical then be extra careful that the food you eat is fresh and clean (I had food poisoning in Malaysia when 6 months pregnant and it wasn't much fun!).

Even if you are feeling good, 6.5 months is a tough time to be traveling. Although, to be fair, I didn't find it too bad during my first pregnancy when I didn't have a toddler to look after as well. The flights probably will be uncomfortable and you will get tired. Best to not pick long flights or very active holidays. Also, no need for 5-star, but too far off the beaten track probably isn't a great idea. In the Vietnam / Laos area, Thailand or Malaysia are good, safer options.

Assuming that all is well with your pregnancy, I recommend Mexico and as great place to go to while pregnant. My husband and I backpacked around for about a month when I was 4-5 months pregnant with no problems. There are of course the usual issues that come with pregnancy but you would have those even if you were staying home! Medical care in all the cities and tourist destinations (even the smaller ones) is easy to find, available 24 hours a day and is both reputable and affordable. I was having some pain while I was there are was able to get an ultrasound for US$50 to make sure everything was normal and that there was nothing to worry about. If you speak Spanish this is obviously a little easier. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that it can be done and it can be really fun! Don't get me wrong, there were some days where I felt terrible but most of the time it was great. 6-months along is also a great time because you're in your 2nd trimester, which is the most comfortable.

haha, I cant believe couch surfing would be an option for a pregnant woman.

As said already Laos might be a little "out there" for you ! If you stick to the more populated areas in Thailand and Malaysia or even Vietnam you should be cool. I twisted my leg in Malaysia a few years ago and was impressed with the quality level of the hospital. I guess i would say you could go anywhere near good medical care!

I gave birth to both my kids in Borneo Malaysia in government hospitals. However, heat & humidity are really tough to deal with (at least for me!) from around 26 weeks onwards. Flying became uncomfortable from about 32 weeks, as I felt so huge, and hefting luggage around wasnt much fun.