Airport security with a baby bump

Loofy30 · July 2016

I recall from my last pregnancy being able to go through priority security. But now I'm not remembering if that's all airlines, all airports or just certain places. Anyone know? TIA

keifekm · July 2016

I travel quite a bit for work but I don't remember anyone ever giving me priority anything. Perhaps you have to ask to get it though? I'm interested to see if anyone else has gotten this. It sure would be nice to have!

Knottie1443924966 · July 2016

Hey there I travel every other week and though I haven't skipped any lines I always opt out whether pregnant or before. I never go through the radar detectors. Just remember as soon as your 5-7 away raise your hand and say loudly female opt out. That way you won't wait too long for a female assist.

colleenkevin · July 2016

Knottie1443924966 said:

Hey there I travel every other week and though I haven't skipped any lines I always opt out whether pregnant or before. I never go through the radar detectors. Just remember as soon as your 5-7 away raise your hand and say loudly female opt out. That way you won't wait too long for a female assist.

I opt out when pregnant too. I've had a bit of a wait a couple of times when it's been busy, but for the most part they're quick about it.

Emma61210 · July 2016

We flew a few weeks ago and I opted out on the first leg of our trip. The pat down was so uncomfortable and took forever. Needless to say I researched using the airport scanners while pregnant and apparently the energy waves are very low and even less than a refrigerator magnet. I went through the scanner on our way home and fully plan to on our flight next week.

KRB22 · July 2016

I had an awful pat down experience a few weeks ago, after opting out of the body scanner at JFK. I opted out again on my flight home and while I had to wait a while for a female TSA officer, the pat down itself was mostly quick and painless. So it seems like it might vary from airport to airport and employee to employee.

I am flying twice more during this pregnancy and have debated just going through the scanners next time to save the hassle, but my doctor recommended avoiding them while pregnant (and even in general). I also read a lot of comments on other forums from female TSA and airline employees who said they absolutely skip the scanners when pregnant.

I know if you're only flying a few times it's a low risk overall, but I figure I can also just suck it up and deal with the extra wait and the discomfort that come along with a pat down.

@Knottie1442268460 I'm taking your advice next time and will ask for a female assist well before I get to the front of the line.

LoneStar21416 · July 2016

I wish there was priority, but I haven't encountered that!

I honestly have not researched this in a while because I have already committed to doing the pat downs. I did it with my first to pregnancy and already 4 times with this one. There are no long term studies on the effects of the scanners (obviously), which is reason enough to opt out if there is an alternative for me. The other issue, and again I haven't looked at this in a few years, was I remember reading about how poorly TSA mismanaged their carry on bag x-ray machines. It doesn't inspire much confidence in their general practices, procedures, etc. and I wouldn't be quick to assume their management of the body scanners is any better. It is literally impossible for any of us to know if the machine is working properly prior to walking through it.

edited grammar

LoneStar21416 · July 2016

@krb22 I posted before I saw your post. Without fail, a TSA agent, usually a male, tries to talk me out of a pat down each time. I simply assert my rights, ask for the female agent, and move on. I have no problem reporting inappropriate conduct or comments either. They don't like doing it because it's extra work and they have to call over the appropriate agent and take that person from whatever else he or she was doing. Too bad for them, it's our right. Also, just for fun, I ask the agent that has given me a hard time if they are aware of any long term studies on the issue, what data they are relying on, etc. I'm always met with blank stares; they have no idea what they are talking about. My OB opts out. She's told me to opt out. I know many oncologists that opt out that aren't pregnant.

canavara · July 2016

I had to go through a series of manual patdowns while traveling during first trimester (and will have to do it again in about 4 weeks at 20 weeks) and like others posted, it really varies from airport to airport.

International airports simply don't use backscatter, so it was never an issue there. But within the states, yeah.

I dealt with the rudest TSA agents in New York who wanted to know why I was opting out and then when I explained "I'm pregnant" got a lot of snark over it. Smaller, local airports, everyone was super pleasant and kind. I also tried letting them know ahead of time at JFK that I wanted to opt out to avoid waiting and was told, "Just wait until you're up here to remind us again" which was incredibly stupid, as if I were going to change my mind or something.

Basically, go prepared with patience.

ElleMF728 · July 2016

I opt out while pregnant as well. I've always had good experiences with kind, understanding people.

KRB22 · July 2016

Yep, my experience at JFK was awful. I ended up filing a complaint with the TSA, and actually got multiple responses. Didn't amount to anything of course, but they recommended I ask for a supervisor next time. I feel like that's just asking for a whole lot of trouble.

Unfortunately JFK is my only option for cross country trips. We're planning a trip to Florida in the fall and I'm hoping to find flights out of 1 of the smaller airports nearby.

canavara · July 2016

Yeah there are some real awful people working TSA at JFK. I don't know what their deal is. I'm kind of glad to not be alone in that experience but at the same time, I'm not happy about that at all!

Emma61210 · July 2016

@canavara yes! I had a terrible experience with the female TSA agent being snarky with me. She asked if there was any area she needed to be careful with and I said well I'm pregnant she looked at me and said "look i'm not going to hurt your baby" and rolled her eyes. Then she was talking to another agent while she was testing her gloves and said "omg you get more radiation from the sun than you do from our scanners" I was so done... And not looking forward to flying into and out of JFK over the next couple of weeks. ugh!

MayaVill · July 2016

I fly to Europe and there's usually just a priority line if u have kids with u. But it's true about the radiation. It's very minimal compared to the radiation u actually get from the plane ride itself. But why not avoid some of u can right?

susykat77 · July 2016

When I opted to have the pat down early on in my pregnancy, the lady asked if there were any areas of concern and I said, "Well, my boobs really hurt." and her response was, "Girl, don't I know about that!" It was pretty funny. I'm glad I didn't get any of the meanies y'all did.

canavara · July 2016

The radiation from those machines *is* minimal, but that assumes they're calibrated perfectly, which isn't something you can safely assume--that's why it's better to take a "better safe than sorry" approach.

nolemama24 · July 2016

I am reading all of this and sorta freaking out! I went to Europe in the beginning of June this year, so I was about 8-9 weeks pregnant, and I walked through ALL the scanners! I didn't even THINK about the risk. I just asked my OB if it was OK to travel at that time, and she said yes. I feel kind of dumb!

canavara · July 2016

@nolemama24 I wouldn't worry about it! Good news is that the ones in Europe are safe because they just use simple metal detectors there, not the ones that emit extra radiation (I went through those too, was traveling around the same time and as far along as you). The backscatter ones (the ones where you have to stand inside with your feet apart and hands over your head for a couple of seconds) are the ones to be cautious about, but as other people have mentioned, they usually don't emit much radiation.

LoneStar21416 · July 2016

No need to worry @nolemama24. Just something to consider going forward. Everyone has something that they kick themselves over doing during pregnancy. And I don't mean you should be beating yourself up over this at all. I just mean we all have our freak outs over one thing or another. I have had plenty! We're all making the best choices we can. You will be just fine!

amaren-2 · July 2016

Question, are you guys talking about avoiding the body scanners or the metal detectors or both? We have pre-check because DH is military and always go through the metal detectors, are those just as bad? I will be traveling twice more in my pregnancy and had not even thought about it.

I have no qualms asking for a pat down if they aren't safe either.

nolemama24 · July 2016

Thank you both @canavara & @LoneStar21416 !! Now that I think about it, it was a direct flight from my city to London, and on my way back into the US I don't think I had to go through a scanner. *phew!*

KRB22 · July 2016

AmRe214 said:

Question, are you guys talking about avoiding the body scanners or the metal detectors or both? We have pre-check because DH is military and always go through the metal detectors, are those just as bad? I will be traveling twice more in my pregnancy and had not even thought about it.

I have no qualms asking for a pat down if they aren't safe either.

I'm under the impression that the metal detectors are totally fine. It's just the full body scanners that are questionable.

I was hoping they'd just send me through the metal detector when I said I was pregnant, but they seem to be really enforcing the optout=patdown rule. On my return flight my dad went through security a few minutes after me and was randomly sent through the metal detector, while a pregnant lady waited nearby for a female assist.

I also did go through the body scanners right before I found out I was pregnant (so less than 4 weeks along), and I'm not worried about that at all. For me it's more about minimizing overall exposure, and knowing there are some things I can control and some I can't.

BriannaE129129 · July 2016

@AmRe214 and @KRB22 thanks for the question/clarification!! I'm TSA for work myself and i've been going through the metal detectors so this post had me freaking out! I was just about to ask and then I saw this. I feel much better now.

mhbieging · July 2016

I was told by a TSA agent the same thing! I always go through like normal!

aishmc · July 2016

I opted out at SFO and DAL and while the person at the scanner acted slightly peeved, the actual TSA agents that did the pat downs were very kind and professional. I'm flying out of SFO next week and will be fine opting out again.

@susykat77 I had a similar experience at Love Field. She asked if there were any sensitive areas she should be aware of and I was like "um...my boobs are sore" and she goes "oh, Sweetie, they're going to get so much worse." We were cracking up.

aishmc · July 2016

@canavara do you know if it's metal detectors in all of Europe? I'll be going through DUB and CDG and was worried about how to say I wanted to opt out in French.

moosette113 · July 2016

@aishmc backscatter scanners are banned in the EU. Millimeter-wave scanners are allowed, but I haven't ever seen one. If for some reason you do come across one in France, the security agents will either know enough English to understand "opt-out" or will be good at deciphering charades if you point at the machine and shake your head no and start patting yourself down.

aishmc · July 2016

@moosette113 thank you!

Now I can worry about the next thing: how many snacks to bring on the plane.

KRB22 · July 2016

@aishmc I brought a small cooler bag and stuffed as much in there as a I could fit: a couple of sandwiches, an apple, berries, nuts, chocolate, plus some blueberry oat muffins I'd made before we left. I had a really early morning flight and was still struggling with MS, so I wanted to make sure I had options and also enough to get me through the whole trip. Most of the food got eaten within the day, so I'm definitely an advocate for being overprepared!

aishmc · July 2016

@KRB22 that's a great idea with the cooler! Our flight will be 10 hours so I know I'll be hungry.

KRB22 · July 2016

@aishmc We had a 6 hour flight and I was really happy we did that. The cooler bag was also handy while we were on vacation. We had a couple of longer car rides and it made it easy to stock up on snacks (because my main concern all week was being urgently hungry and not having access to any food I could stomach

)
I didn't do it, but you can also bring an ice pack on the plane. I think it needs to be the hard kind that is pretty solid when frozen.

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