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Semi-Irrational Pregnancy Fears

igrokthatigrokthat member
in Babies on the Brain
As the time hubs and I agreed to start TTC (spring 2016 ish) gets closer, I'm starting to come up with some concerns about things that might create a 'non-ideal' pregnancy environment. A couple that I've been toying with lately are:

- I have to travel twice a year for work, both times in the summer. I started researching airport scanners and pregnancy when I realized how much higher the radiation at 30,000 feet is than at ground level, and started to worry about extra radiation in the potential first trimester when the cells are multiplying so quickly.

- We are planning on buying a house in the next few months, and I was looking downtown until I thought about how bad the air quality is in the city and started reading about reports of potential pollutants being linked to autism. Cut to me starting to consider the suburbs instead.

I am a big type-A planner in general, so this is not me stressing out so much as trying to create the ideal situation. Am I nuts for seriously considering waiting until after summer to lower first trimester radiation and buying a house in the suburbs for better air quality? On a scale of radiation dosages, flying across the country in a commercial plane is higher than getting a dental x-ray, and you wouldn't do that unless you absolutely had to, right?

Is anyone else on the same crazy train as me?
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Re: Semi-Irrational Pregnancy Fears

  • Sirius37Sirius37 member
    I don't think you're being irrational, you're just starting to think of things from a different point of view. :)
    FWIW, I have a pregnant friend who is a flight attendant and flies allllll the time for her job. She is in her second trimester and the baby is doing great!
    As for housing, it may be worthwhile looking into a suburb house regardless of air quality if you want to have a little extra room, especially if you like the idea of future baby having siblings(unless the houses downtown have space/yards/etc). Just keep in mind, all sorts of things in the world can pose threats to pregnancy and kids, but the majority of women and their offspring have turned out pretty well. You'll know best what you are and are not comfortable with which would determine game changers. I do understand what you're feeling though; DH and I are going to TTC upon his return this summer and I'm starting to grow more anxious and think about things a little differently now!
    Just remember everything will work out. :smile:
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  • Xstatic3333Xstatic3333 member
    I don't think you're crazy to think about stuff like this, but neither issue is a thing I'd personally worry about.  I think it was you I chatted with about perhaps going on our big trip after starting TTC (i.e. potentially in my first tri).  My much bigger concern with flying while pregnant is morning sickness and discomfort, not radiation.  For the air quality issue, I just wouldn't worry about that.  There are many, many unknowns about what causes autism and why rates are on the rise.  No study has been able, yet, to prove anything but correlation.  I've seen reports linking autism to older fathers and the rise in the use of certain classes of pesticides, but if we avoided all possible triggers it would be impossible to live.  We live in a city, and I'm a big believer that cities are awesome places to raise kids.  Cultural opportunities and the ability to grow up around all different types of people are things that I found really benefited me into my adult life.  

    I'm focusing on what I can control for my future baby: establishing an exercise routine in advance of TTC and eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits and veggies.  We are starting to eliminate harsh chemicals from our cleaning and beauty routines, but I think I'd be doing that TTC or not.  We both work in the environmental field so environmental impact governs a lot of our buying choices (not that we're perfect or saying our way is the only way!)
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  • Lysta85Lysta85 member
    It's good that you already put them under semi-irrational fears. When you read and think a lot you can get the strangest ideas that you can't ignore with the knowledge you gathered. I can see disasters waiting to happen everywhere if I want to. That's probably why I only read info about getting pregnant and not about pregnancy itself until I get there. I don't want to know too much about the things that can go wrong, because if it does there is nothing I can do about it.
    Try to think logical. If flying would be dangerous for pregnant women, it would be as common as not using alcohol during your pregnancy. 
    If air pollution would trigger autism, wouldn't the majority of people living there have autism? At least that's the way it helps me.

    To be honest, since the attacks in Paris and the search for suspects in France, Belgium and Germany (the last two are our neighbor countries and France is also a couple of hours drive) I noticed that my mind was getting occupied with that. It happened just a couple of weeks before we would start TTC and I was wondering since nobody knows how big the problems are atm if it would be responsible for a future kid to want it. Might sound dramatic, but that was what I was feeling. I talked about it with my SO and he set me at ease.
    Lilypie Trying to Conceive 21 to 37 day cycle tickers
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  • ArtlessIbexArtlessIbex member
    I was a pregnant, long-haul flight attendant. I spent 40-60 hours a week on airplanes from conception to 8 months pregnant. It was fine.
    Babysizer Geeky Pregnancy Tracker
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