Roller coasters ok at 8 weeks?

TazzGirl

I had planned a vacation with DH to go to Six Flags wayy before I found out I was pregnant. I'll be 8 weeks when we go. Should I sit this one out or enjoy my last fun vacation until April lol

pinottoparenthood

Most places say not to ride if you're pregnant.

Latina211508

It's not safe to ride roller coasters. You'll be ok on those kiddie rides/trains etc but you shouldn't be riding full on high coasters

lalala2004

No. I wouldn't even bother going to Six Flags. There would be so few things you could ride, it wouldn't be worth the price of admission. They have signs on most of the big rides saying they are not for pregnant women. 

However, there are plenty of other fun things you can do while pregnant, so I'd just think of an alternative vacation plan.

Taraphanie

You can probably check on their website and you would see what you can do. But I think that all the fun rides are not okay for pregnant women.

rosalie12

I would not take that risk. Agree with PP, try a different vacation spot.

emslade982

It's unsafe to ride rollercoasters while pregnant.

jonesl12

No way

amaniupendo

I read about this the other day. Roller coasters haven't been proven safe or unsafe. I don't think it's worth the risk though.

Julesby

I looked this up a few weeks ago, as we had a trip to Hersheypark scheduled the week after we learned we were expecting.

It's the jarring stops/starts that present a miscarriage risk. That rules out even the "safest" roller coasters. 

TazzGirl

I've been looking it up and I'm going to have to cancel. I have ovarian cyst so IDK if I'm high risk cuz my 1st appointment is 9/9 so no Six Flags for me

AliSummer

TazzGirl said:

I've been looking it up and I'm going to have to cancel. I have ovarian cyst so IDK if I'm high risk cuz my 1st appointment is 9/9 so no Six Flags for me

Probably a wise choice. Is there anything else that's fun that you could do?

ivyvines6

I would have done it anyway, but that's because I discredit most American standards for pregnancy care. The rest of the 1st world has a much lower mortality rate, yet America turns pregnancy into a 9 month saintly/lenton period. Do what you feel comfortable with for your child and your body. By asking questions and not just assuming, you're already on track to being a good mommy

spatter1

I'm glad you decided not to go/ride the rollercoasters. I went on a couple very early in my last pregnancy (I didn't know I was pregnant) and it ended in a miscarriage. Now WHO KNOWS if the roller coasters had anything to do with it but why chance it? In situations like this I would say talk to your doctor and see what they recommend. Hope you have a fun trip anyway!!

pinottoparenthood

Knottie9983816 said:

I would have done it anyway, but that's because I discredit most American standards for pregnancy care. The rest of the 1st world has a much lower mortality rate, yet America turns pregnancy into a 9 month saintly/lenton period. Do what you feel comfortable with for your child and your body. By asking questions and not just assuming, you're already on track to being a good mommy

Do you have some basis in research that it's okay to ride roller coasters? And do pregnant women really ride roller coasters in foreign countries? I really don't understand this response. I understand researching each individual risk factor and making a decision, but not just being like oh Americans say this so I'm purposefully going against it.

tresams10

I went to an amusement park but I walked around, ate and rode the kiddy rides with my nephew. Bring a water bottle and lemonade drink packets. I refilled it 20 times to prevent dehydration.

mrstrax

There is no research on roller coaster safety. From what I could find (both research articles and webmd-type sites) the recommendations against are based on a combination of studies done on placental abruption in car accidents and avoiding litigation. There is potential risk in sudden jerking motions and direct abdominal trauma, but there is also the fact that we live in a super litigious society. Like PPs have said, it's all about what risks you are willing to take while pregnant. I went to worlds of fun last weekend (8 weeks) and rode rides but was selective about the "jerkiness" factor - but I also eat lunch meat and will sip DH's drinks.

runlong3

I highly doubt there will EVER be a study on this. Could you imagine the backlash from participants in the test group (roller coaster riders) if it DOES cause m/c or at least shows an increased risk?? Say you put 20 people in that group - you could potentially be killing 20 babies.

NachosAndPeaches

I spoke to my doctor about this last pregnancy. He said that this is basically a legal thing for two reasons. One is that if your belly is big, the seatbelt a won't protect you like they should. The second is that there is the most minor risk ever that when the rides start/stop, that if they jerk, your placenta could detach. He said that its like 1000 times safer to do the roller coaster jarring than when you screech on your breaks, or landing on an airplane. It's just theme parks protecting their butts from potential law suits. If you want to ride, you are honestly fine, unless you're carrying 8 babies and have a belly at 8 weeks.