Flying while pregnant

Does anyone know when is the last flying week while you are pregnant. It is suppose to be 35 weeks for Cathay, but can anyone confirm this and is it safe for the baby.

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I flew longhaul when I was 30 weeks pregnant and I wasn't asked how pregnant I was. However, I told them because I was trying to wangle a seat with extra leg room! (Try fishing for an upgrade, or use your airmiles to get one - being able to put your feet up is SOOO worth it when pregnant.) They didn't ask for a certificate, but it's good to have one just in case, as you don't want to be refused boarding if you meet an officious member of staff. It might also help your peace of mind to have had a recent checkup to make sure the likelihood of anything unexpected happening is very low. Wear the ugly flight socks, and keep moving; I found I quickly got pins and needles in my arms and legs. Ask the staff for a big bottle of water (don't carry your own as it will be heavy) rather than have to keep asking them for puny plastic cups. Hope you have a fantastic time!

WARNING!!! I had a terrible experience with BA this summer when I was 30 weeks pregnant and flew back from London to Hong Kong. I was travelling alone with my 3 kids (12, 10, 2 years old), heavily pregnant. Upon check in, I tried to ask from front row bulkhead seats as I didn't want anyone putting their chair back down and I couldn't move which happened on the outbound flight. Upon BA check in at London I was asked how many weeks pregnant I was and duly produced my HK doctor's letter confirming I was fit to fly and the EDD of my baby. The check in later called her supervisor for approval for me to fly but I was refused the flight as I was informed their cut off date for insurance purposes was 28 weeks and they needed another certificate from a British doctor that day to confirm that I was fit to fly. This was Sunday afternoon at 4pm and I asked where they thought I could get this certificate at that time of day as private doctor's all closed. They refused to help, gave me back all my luggage and left me standing at the check in desk in a state and with three kids in 28 degree heat! They told me to go to the nearest hospital and try and see if anyone there would help me but warned me that there may be a 3-4 hour wait in the A&E department!!!! I begged, pleaded with them to let me board the flight but they refused. I informed them that I was travelling home to HK to have the baby and already had a letter from my HK doctor stating I was fit to fly (their argument was that I had spent 5 weeks in the UK so the letter from the HK doctor was not relevant as out of date!).


I ended up dragging my three kids around London hospitals to find a doctor that would help. After two hospitals I got a lovely doctor to give me a certifciate (without even examining me!). By this time I had missed two flights and needed to wait to see if I could get the next day flight. I was exhausted, the kids were shattered and BA staff refused to even let me use their lounge facilities as I was flying economy class and they said their lounge was full.


I did eventually get a flight out of London but it was truly a nightmare experience. By the time I got back to HK I had to two weeks off work as I was experiencing strong Braxon Hicks contractions and doctor told me probably irritated by stress - no kiddin! Eventually had a lovely baby boy 4 weeks early but no thanks to BA...


Please take every precaution as I would hate this to happen to anyone else....

I think that sounds about right but ring the airline for confirmation. They will be very helpful. Flying is not a problem at all. I flew to Singapore when 27 weeks pregnant as I had to do an exam there and met an Indonesian lady on the plane looking more pregnant than me.

Well I have to fly on the 35th week of my pregnancy because of my sisters wedding in Kuala Lumpur. The wedding is the day b4 and it was arranged before I got pregnant. Did you have to tell the check in staff how many weeks you are.

I flew with BA to London when I was 35+6 days as their limit is 36 weeks with a doctors letter that explicitly states you are "fit to fly". See their website at

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthplan/public/en_gb

Virgin was a lot earlier see their flying policy at:

http://www.virginatlantic.com/en/gb/passengerinformation/inflighthealth/pregnant.jsp

Every airline seems to have a slightly different policy but BA was the best one for me as I went back to the UK to have the baby and going direct was better for both baby and me. Check with the airlines that fly to where you are going, I did have the info for loads of airlines but threw it away.

I had 2 doctors letters and as long as the doctor doesn't see a reason why you shouldn't fly (baby's heartbeat rate, low lying placenta, history of early delivery, if you are carrying twins or triplets or if you have had any problems during your pregnancy) you should be fine. Fly with a reputable airline that you trust just in case you need any help. BA were great, they kept checking on me, giving bottles if water (un-asked for )and offered assitance both in HK and London.

Hope this is of some help

Good Luck !!!

Just flew to Malaysia with Cathay, they asked how many weeks I was (26) which was OK they said because you can fly up to 32 weeks, so I would check the 36 week rule if I was you. Was not allowed to fly Malaysia Airlines as they won't let you fly after 24 weeks unless you have a Malaysian passport or worjk permit.

I am flying home with KLM at 30 weeks, their policy is 36 weeks as long as you have a letter from Dr. Best thing to do is ring the airlines to check, don't rely on the website and always have a fit to fly letter with you. Good luck!

I flew with Cathay at 33 weeks to London once and nobody even questioned me about being pregnant.

Bit of a late addition to this topic! But I just did a search for information and thought of something else to add.


Somebody mentioned requesting the bulkhead seat. Great idea to avoid people reclining into your bump, but only if you are still relatively slim in the bottom. These seats are narrower than the others because they have larger armrests to accommodate the folding tray tables. You also can't lift the armrests to spread out if you have a vacant seat next to you. I was UK size 14 before pregnancy and gained average weight but found it very uncomfortable to wedge my bum into the narrow bulkhead seats (can't remember which airline) which also kept me in a too-rigid position. If you think you're in danger of having this problem, check out the airlines' websites for seat width info (they all vary slightly) and consider business class! I'll be using all my asiamiles to get upgrades next time.

I am glad you mentioned this as I recently flew Cathay at 26 weeks and got a bulkhead. I thought my bum had grown to gargantuan proportions!!! Luckily I got moved to a whole row on my own to accomadate a family who needed a bassinet!