How late would you fly?

spartyparty · July 2012

Our families want to throw us showers in another state ( 13 hour drive or 2 hour flight) over Thanksgiving weekend b/c all our other family members will be in town. I will be 34 1/2 weeks- 35 weeks by the time we would leave. Is that too late to fly? When is the latest you would book a flight for?

chelseakopperud · July 2012

I would be fine with flying then. Talk with your doc/midwife, they will be able to give you good advice on that. I will be 36 weeks when I fly somewhere without H.

wootownlady · July 2012

My flight flight will be Thanksgiving too - I'll be 33 weeks. My OB says domestic flights should end at 34 weeks.

My fam, even DH, doesn't want me to fly then so I bought flexible tickets just in case.

this decaf life · July 2012

I would do it, I will probably fly home in November [somewhere between 32-34 weeks]

SPK926 · July 2012

Personally I wouldn't fly that late. I wouldn't feel comfortable being only a month away from my due date and 30,000 feet in the air for 2 hours (which isn't a short flight in my mind) and then so far from my doctor.

Also, if you're flying for a baby shower how will you get all the gifts back home?

spartyparty · July 2012

Hmmm based on these answers, I'm still not sure- might just call my doctor to ask them.

SPK926:
Personally I wouldn't fly that late. I wouldn't feel comfortable being only a month away from my due date and 30,000 feet in the air for 2 hours (which isn't a short flight in my mind) and then so far from my doctor.

Also, if you're flying for a baby shower how will you get all the gifts back home?

We did this for our wedding shower too. All of our family and many of our friends live in MI, so this is how it goes for us. Most people will ship gifts to our house or give us gift cards. We'll bring an empty suitcase too. We also might have some family driving down to visit us in Dec so they can bring anything we can't. It's not ideal, but we do want to celebrate with our family and friends in person if possible- but I really don't think we'll have the time or desire to drive at that point.

MrsRiceARoni · July 2012

I would talk to your doctor about it, as well as checking with the airline. I'm only a few days ahead of you and my doctor has already told me I cannot fly for my brother's wedding on November 4th. He also told me that at this point many airlines wouldn't feel comfortable letting me fly even if I tried.

EAMommy · July 2012

MrsRiceARoni:
I would talk to your doctor about it, as well as checking with the airline. I'm only a few days ahead of you and my doctor has already told me I cannot fly for my brother's wedding on November 4th. He also told me that at this point many airlines wouldn't feel comfortable letting me fly even if I tried.

I agree. My doctor has a policy that any air travel after 30 weeks must be pre-approved.

Allison546 · July 2012

I'm planning on flying over Thanksgiving as well, as long as it's ok with my doctor. I plan on having him write me a note in case the airline gives me any problems.

bearkatjen · July 2012

I would not plan on it. You're pregnancy could be going great and suddenly at 32 weeks you might start to have complications and your doctor could say no to flying or have you on bedrest by 35 weeks, there are all sorts of very plausible scenarios that late in pregnancy.

SPK926 · July 2012

Allison546:
I'm planning on flying over Thanksgiving as well, as long as it's ok with my doctor. I plan on having him write me a note in case the airline gives me any problems.

Just to let you know even with a doctor's note an airline can deny you boarding if it doesn't fit in their guidelines or they don't feel comfortable letting you fly. You're really at their mercy no matter what a doctors note says. I would get refundable tickets just in case if I were you. It would stink to be out that money!

sesigs · July 2012

I would go up to 36 weeks but it depends on what my doctor thought too. Don't forget to check with airlines - some require a letter from your doctor allowing you to fly past a certain week.

BigFoot80 · July 2012

My doc says 34 weeks. Most airlines won't let you fly past 36 weeks, and even if you have a doctor's note, they reserve the right to deny you boarding.

clariknittist · July 2012

I'm personally not going to be travelling very far after our big trip in August - that's far enough along for me to be so far from home. I always had the impression travelling in the third trimester wasn't recommended, but maybe that's old-fashioned, since it sounds like people have done it pretty late. I would think it will also depend on how you're feeling and how everything is going at that point...can they think about pushing it up earlier? Good luck whatever you end up doing, I'm sure it will be fun!

brittandjp · July 2012

I'd ask your doctor and go from there. Mine says not to fly after 34 weeks I believe. By choice, I probably won't fly after 32 weeks or so.

st.augbride · July 2012

Considering I delivered ds at 34w 5d, I'm cutting myself off at 3rd tri!

bstengler · July 2012

I def would talk go your doc or midwife... I think they normally say don't fly in your third tri. But everyone is different!!

chelseakopperud · July 2012

SPK926:
Allison546:
I'm planning on flying over Thanksgiving as well, as long as it's ok with my doctor. I plan on having him write me a note in case the airline gives me any problems.

Just to let you know even with a doctor's note an airline can deny you boarding if it doesn't fit in their guidelines or they don't feel comfortable letting you fly. You're really at their mercy no matter what a doctors note says. I would get refundable tickets just in case if I were you. It would stink to be out that money!

Can they actually deny you boarding and NOT give you a refund?! That seems really shady and unethical.

jdm7 · July 2012

I would ask your doctor. They will tell you if that is too late to fly or not. If I were flying, Thanksgiving would be the latest I would fly, but I'm not flying anywhere. It can also depend on how your pregnancy is progressing.

pghctwife · July 2012

For a first pg I wasnt comfortable traveling much past 30 weeks. In my case that meant that xmas we went to visit the ILs in PA - a 6+ hr drive but that was it when I was 26 weeks. That drive was SO miserably uncomfortable OMG. Beyond safety, comfort is a major factor. I was basically in tears bc my back hurt so bad!

This time knowing I had an uneventful easy pg wtih my son and went past due I am tentatively planning to (FLY not drive) visit them at TG when Ill be 31 weeks. That plan will be highly dependent on how my pg is going and how I feel though. We use SWA where you can use purchased tickets for a year if you cancel so that part wont be a big deal.

betheppert · July 2012

I have a high risk pregnancy so for me flying probably would be out of the question after 30 weeks.

Ktande22 · July 2012

We're planning a disney trip at right about that mark 33-35 weeks... I think most drs say the cutoff is 36 weeks and i think i read some airlines will let you fly up to 38 weeks which i thought was crazy!

Want a personalized experience?

How late would you fly?

Re: How late would you fly?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards