Pregnancy and cruising?

I know that the cruise lines have rules about cruising during pregnancy, but if we are talking about more practical issues, what week would be your personal limit?

Both of my babies were born prematurely and required incubation and specialized care in the prenatal nursery. For that reason I have come to respect the cruise lines' pregnancy parameters and cannot answer your question further than that. :)

That is something you and perhaps baby's dad must decide for yourselves.

Few of us would want to debate something so personal. Every woman has their own thoughts, knows their own risk factors, their general health, their family history.......

Wishing you and baby all the best. :) (assuming you are expecting.)

That's a question for you and your doctor to answer. None of us can possibly know your medical issues. Please don't rely on anyone else's personal experience for such an important question.

That is something you and perhaps baby's dad must decide for yourselves.

Few of us would want to debate something so personal. Every woman has their own thoughts, knows their own risk factors, their general health, their family history.......

 

Wishing you and baby all the best. :) (assuming you are expecting.)

 

Well, I'm a man ;) I know that Kim is a female name in the US, but in Sweden it's a unisex name. We are not expecting a baby, yet. :)

I'm asking since we have two cruises coming up in the begining of next year. We know that Celebrity have their limtit at the 24th week of pregnancy, but since we have long flights from Sweden too the U.S we think that 24 weeks is a bit to long into the pregnancy.

Kim is a unisex name in the US as well.

What you need to consider is this:

Physical safety - illnesses the mother could be exposed to at the airport and on planes. What if the mother is exposed to something like measles, hepatitis or Strep A? Or even crazier, what if she is exposed to someone who has something even more dangerous like Ebola?

Insurance - if your trips are insured and she gets pregnant after the insurance has been purchased, is the insurance still good? If you look on the internet, in some cases, a new pregnancy will invalidate the travel insurance - which is important to know because you don't want to be overseas and then find out your travel medical insurance is no good when you actually need it.

Unexpected grounding and Financial - What happens if there is some kind of emergency and she cannot return home via an airplane. Can you and she afford for her to live in your overseas destination and receive medical care until she has given birth?

Emotional - if something goes wrong with the pregnancy, will you blame yourselves?

It's a very personal decision that you need to discuss with her doctor and also between the two of you to determine what is an acceptable level of risk and how you will handle things if they go wrong. To me there really is not a good one-size-fits-all solution to this question.

Kim is a unisex name in the US as well.

 

What you need to consider is this:

 

Physical safety - illnesses the mother could be exposed to at the airport and on planes. What if the mother is exposed to something like measles, hepatitis or Strep A? Or even crazier, what if she is exposed to someone who has something even more dangerous like Ebola?

All Swedes are vaccinated against measles and we have taken the hepatitis A & B and the yellow fever vaccination. Ebola, well I don't think that the risk of getting Ebola is bigger in the US/Caribbean then in Sweden. With that said, I find the risk to be next to none.

Insurance - if your trips are insured and she gets pregnant after the insurance has been purchased, is the insurance still good? If you look on the internet, in some cases, a new pregnancy will invalidate the travel insurance - which is important to know because you don't want to be overseas and then find out your travel medical insurance is no good when you actually need it.

 

Unexpected grounding and Financial - What happens if there is some kind of emergency and she cannot return home via an airplane. Can you and she afford for her to live in your overseas destination and receive medical care until she has given birth?

We have a lot better insurance / medical safety as Swedes then you guys in the US have, just because we are Swedes. Our high taxes give us some benefits, after all :rolleyes:. On top of that we have a extra insurance added to our householder's comprehensive insurance.

But I do understand your point, since you are an american citizen.

Emotional - if something goes wrong with the pregnancy, will you blame yourselves?

Point taken, I guess that you can't know this until it happens.

It's a very personal decision that you need to discuss with her doctor and also between the two of you to determine what is an acceptable level of risk and how you will handle things if they go wrong. To me there really is not a good one-size-fits-all solution to this question.

Since we don't have any kids, yet, it's hard to make decision regarding pregnancy. I do understand that it's a decision that's very personal and we won't make a decision based only on the answers we get here on CC. We are only asking to add more opinions into our decision.

Surely you are not limiting illness/disease exposure to just Hepatitis, measles and such? A long flight in a metal tube for many hours can expose you to all sorts of illnesses but you likely know that.

Be certain your excellent Swedish medical insurance pays internationally. Many of us senior in U.S. have excellent Medicare coverage, however it does not pay outside the U.S. expect for a few specified exceptions. Does Swedish insurance pay U.S. doctors/hospitals and or those all over the Caribbean?

You say you have householder's insurance. Are there limits to medical coverage. You might be shocked how much a hospital could charge you for neo-natal care should that be necessary.

Is the cruise that important? Why not wait until your lady has safely delivered the baby and both are well?

I just want to point out that we are NOT expecting a baby. We do want to have kids and even if we try to get kids you never know how long it takes until it happens.

This thread are just to get opinions from others on how long into the pregnancy they are willing to cruise.

I would have been pretty miserable cruising during the first 3 months due to the morning sickness that was really 24 hrs for me but the next couple of months were great.....just schedule in a nap each day...you will just have to take it how it comes....that 24 week limit might work or you may find your situation needs something different......good luck trying!

We have a lot better insurance / medical safety as Swedes then you guys in the US have, just because we are Swedes. Our high taxes give us some benefits, after all :rolleyes:. On top of that we have a extra insurance added to our householder's comprehensive insurance.

But I do understand your point, since you are an american citizen.

We Canadians also have Universal medical insurance and I will not travel without taking out additional travel medical insurance. You might be surprised how little your Swedish medical insurance covers you when out of Swedin; a medivac off the ship or back to Swedin could bankrupt you.

Kim,

As to Ebola, I live in Dallas where we did actually have an Ebola outbreak and several nurses who cared for the patient who came in with Ebola got it. One of them flew on a plane after she was exposed and had begun running a fever:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nurse-contracted-ebola-called-cdc-flight-official/story?id=26232809

Another person who was in the lab at the Dallas hospital with the Ebola patient went on vacation on the Carnival Magic:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ebola/11171669/Were-a-floating-petri-dish-Panic-onboard-the-Ebola-cruise.html

So, this did actually happen, and I wouldn't describe the risk as next to none. In fact, just the opposite - I would expect that there is ALWAYS a risk that something like this could happen again, if not with Ebola, then with some other disease because people are so highly mobile nowadays and traveling from all parts of the world. There really is no way of knowing who is onboard a cruise ship with you, where they have been, what they have been doing or what their medical situation might be.

I must admit, I'm curious, does Swedish health insurance cover overseas travel? I know for my Australian relatives, who have socialized medicine, they have to buy international travel medical insurance as they are not covered outside of Australia at all.

Well we have a few that got Ebola in Sweden, mainly healtcare personel that had been in Africa. But the risk of getting Ebola is the same when you are expecting a child as it is when you isn't. I find that the risk of getting Ebola is a lot smaller then getting hit by a car. There's a risk with everything, but you could get a deadly disease anywhere in the world, even in Sweden ;)

This is from our insurance company, on top of that we have a extra travel insurance that covers more and for a longer period then 45 days:

"To whom it may concern!

Other persons registered at the same address and being members of the same household as the said policyholder, are also insured under the policy. If any doubt should arise as to whether a person is insured under the policy, please contact SOS-International. This travel insurance is valid for the first 45 days of the journey.

The policy covers following expenses arising from acute illness or accident while travelling:

• Medical expenses, defined as necessary, reasonable and customary costs of an authorised physician, hospital treatment and medicines as well as travel expenses incurred in visiting the physician or hospital.
  
• Additional expenses pertaining to the insured’s return to Sweden, if prescribed by the physician in writing.
  
• Costs of necessary, reasonable and customary dental treatment in the event of acute toothache - maximally 4 450 SEK.
  

If the insured traveller is unable to pay the costs of treatment himself, or in case of severe accident, acute illness or death, you are requested to contact SOS-International."

I recently read an article about a couple from the UK who went on a Med cruise while the woman was 23 weeks pregnant. She went into pre term labor on the ship, and since a ship's medical facility doesn't have the ability to handle such cases, she had to be taken off the ship via a small, local boat. The town that was nearest to where the ship was located did not have the facilities to handle a premature birth, so while still in labor, they had to take a 2 hour car ride to the bigger city. The baby could not leave the hospital, so the parents had to stay in the town for a few months. This article was written as a follow up, as the baby just celebrated its first birthday, and is doing well, despite all the issues with its birth

With first babies, you never know. I was three weeks early with my first son, and about two weeks late with my other three. For me, if it were a first pregnancy, I would not travel far beyond 20 weeks.

I recently read an article about a couple from the UK who went on a Med cruise while the woman was 23 weeks pregnant. She went into pre term labor on the ship, and since a ship's medical facility doesn't have the ability to handle such cases, she had to be taken off the ship via a small, local boat. The town that was nearest to where the ship was located did not have the facilities to handle a premature birth, so while still in labor, they had to take a 2 hour car ride to the bigger city. The baby could not leave the hospital, so the parents had to stay in the town for a few months. This article was written as a follow up, as the baby just celebrated its first birthday, and is doing well, despite all the issues with its birth

 

With first babies, you never know. I was three weeks early with my first son, and about two weeks late with my other three. For me, if it were a first pregnancy, I would not travel far beyond 20 weeks.

Here's the story:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47470920

I have a suggestion...... :)

Don't put the cart before the horse.

Wait until your lady is pregnant, see how she feels, see what her doctor says and then make your decision.

To deal with the hypothetical that she may get pregnant, she may wish to sail, she may or may not fit into the cruise line permitted time frame seems a fruitless exercise. What you think you will decide as you discuss it now could be so far from reality if she gets pregnant.

I have a suggestion...... :)

 

Don't put the cart before the horse.

Wait until your lady is pregnant, see how she feels, see what her doctor says and then make your decision.

 

To deal with the hypothetical that she may get pregnant, she may wish to sail, she may or may not fit into the cruise line permitted time frame seems a fruitless exercise. What you think you will decide as you discuss it now could be so far from reality if she gets pregnant.

 

This is the best answer. Depends on how the pregnant person is feeling and how well the pregnancy is doing. If the lady is extremely tired all the time, then sightseeing in ports is not a good idea so neither is cruising probably.

So, wait and see health and energy level.

Keep in mind that cruise ships do not carry an Obstetrician in their medical department. Most cruise line physicians are either traumatologists or whatever. So a pregnant woman has to ask herself is she comfortable being away from a specialist (or her own Obstetrician) for a period of time. While cruise lines have established their own guidelines for maximum weeks, this does not resolve the issue of being away from your own physician or comfort level. If something does go wrong while on a cruise, the medical staff do not have the extensive facilities/equipment and available specialists like on land. Each couple has to carefully weigh their own comfort level and discuss the risks with their own doctor.

Hank

It is definitely a valid question...we took awhile to get pregnant and decided to go ahead and plan a cruise. We ended up getting pregnant, but the timing worked out well. I was 15 weeks when we cruised, morning sickness had just wrapped up, and I wasn't too big to enjoy everything. Our friends that joined us unexpectedly ended up pregnant and were about 8 weeks on the cruise. They made it work, but she was pretty miserable and in turn, it wasn't much of a vacation for either of them. A lot of time was spent in the room trying not to throw up.

Speaking in the most strictly medical sense, at least in the US, doctors will not try to save a pregnancy before 24 weeks. Generally as well, the second trimester poses the least risk for complications, preterm labor, miscarriages, etc. It does of course still happen, but not nearly as much as the other two trimesters. So honestly, I'd consider 14-22 weeks or so to be the "sweet spot" to cruising pregnant.

Obviously, planning that cruise to time up with getting pregnant could be quite a feat, so it would really end up being the luck of the draw. I just would avoid the first trimester completely and obviously follow the ship's guidelines for not going too late.

Very cool that you get medical insurance while traveling outside of Sweden! That is not the norm in other countries with socialized medicine.

To answer your original question I would say 20-22 weeks (at the end of the cruise) would be my limit. We were also in a similar position for several years trying to book holidays/cruises while trying for a baby. We had to cancel one because I miscarried just before. Happily on our last cruise I found out I was expecting my daughter. I then had to restrict a number of activities I was planning to do but I obviously didn't mind and we had a great time.

Pregnancy is a normal and healthy state of the female human body. Some of these responses make it sound like a dastardly and dangerous place to be!

I never felt better than while pregnant. I never had a moment of nausea, had loads of energy right up until the last few weeks, and birthed three healthy babies outside of the hospital (planned that way). This is the norm! Our culture and medical community have greatly messed up what can be such a wonderful time in a family's life.

I think the Swedish couple will be just fine following good health care, good nutrition, and common sense!

Yes, pregnancy is a normal state, not an illness. However, illness and complications can happen and if specialty medical intervention is unavailable, health and life of both mom and baby can be in jeopardy. Our antepartum unit is a busy place with conditions most don't even think of, some related to the pregnancy and others not. Most certainly, many illnesses and injuries are complicated if the woman is pregnant. This couple is wise to ask questions (of their medical professionals) and make an informed choice about when to cruise during a pregnancy. I wish them good luck, good health and bon voyage!

Pregnancy is a normal and healthy state of the female human body. Some of these responses make it sound like a dastardly and dangerous place to be!

 

 

 

I never felt better than while pregnant. I never had a moment of nausea, had loads of energy right up until the last few weeks, and birthed three healthy babies outside of the hospital (planned that way). This is the norm! Our culture and medical community have greatly messed up what can be such a wonderful time in a family's life.

 

 

 

I think the Swedish couple will be just fine following good health care, good nutrition, and common sense!

I'm really pleased that you had three straight forward pregnancies and had healthy babies. This isn't the same for everyone. Lots of people miscarry and babies born unexpectedly at 23/24 are not impossible events. A baby born at 23/24 weeks might have a chance of survival with immediate and expert medical intervention but being born in the middle of the ocean would most likely not result in a positive outcome. I think it's perfectly reasonable to consider the possible issues that might happen while being far away from a hospital.

I think it's a little naive of you to suggest they will be "just fine" with good health care, nutrition and common sense. Unfortunately I've had a far different experience than you of pregnancy and birth and know the pit falls and problems that can occur. Issues with pregnancy and birth are not rare events either so, while I hope that all will be well for them, no one can assume that will be the case.

Very cool that you get medical insurance while traveling outside of Sweden! That is not the norm in other countries with socialized medicine.

And I bet that they get great, generous infant and childcare benefits too. Real family values . . . not lip service to the way things were decades ago in the middle of the last century.