Can I fly while pregnant?

introduction

The topic of pregnancy and flying has not yet been adequately researched scientifically and there are hardly any studies that deal with the long-term effects of flies in general and also not with the consequences in pregnancy. Many pregnant women use the plane for short and long haul flights up to a certain point in time without any difficulties.

Is flying allowed during pregnancy?

Flying during pregnancy is generally allowed up to a certain point in time.
In early pregnancy, most pregnant women tend not to worry about flying.

As pregnancy progresses, both gynecologists and airlines discourage air travel.
The health impact of flying on the child plays a subordinate role. Rather, warnings are given with regard to a possible premature birth, which, if it took place in the air, would represent a high burden for all involved.

Airlines are entitled to refuse boarding after a certain month of pregnancy. A pregnant woman, on the other hand, is not obliged to disclose the exact month of pregnancy.

How long can you fly when pregnant?

Large airlines carry pregnant women up to 36 weeks of pregnancy and point out that it is safe to fly in this state.
Most airlines recommend prior gynecological advice about the flying project.

The major airlines usually do not require a gynecological certificate up to the 36th week of pregnancy, but recommend that you carry one with you.
This should include the fact that the pregnancy has so far been uncomplicated, when the calculated due date is and that the pregnant woman can take the planned flight without hesitation. After the 36th week, a pregnant woman is only promoted with such a certificate. In general, however, it is not recommended to fly after the 36th week of pregnancy if it is not absolutely necessary.

The situation is somewhat different with multiple pregnancies. Pregnant women who are expecting several children should only fly until the 28th week.
After that, a flight is generally not recommended.

Flying increases the risk of thrombosis for expectant mothers. For this reason, it is advisable to wear support stockings throughout the flight to minimize the risk of thrombosis or even pulmonary embolism. The administration of antithrombotic injections (Clexane®) before a flight is a controversial issue and should be discussed in detail with the treating gynecologist.

Are there any differences between the airlines?

The individual airlines sometimes have different conditions of carriage for pregnant women.
While Lufthansa, Condor, Tui-Fly, Germanwings and Air Berlin transport pregnant women up to the 36th week of pregnancy, foreign airlines often have stricter rules.

Although they usually transport up to the 36th week of pregnancy, they require a certificate from the gynecologist or midwife who consider the risk of transport to be harmless.
Here too, the certificates must state that the pregnancy has so far been uncomplicated and that transport is safe. If the pregnant woman is unable to provide such a certificate, the airline can refuse the transport for security reasons.

Radiation while flying

The radiation from flights is a dreaded and meanwhile well investigated danger of flying. It has long been known from measurements that the electromagnetic radiation at an altitude of 10,000 meters is many times higher than on the ground.

While an average amount of radiation of 0.24 mSv (millisievert) is measured on the ground, the radiation at an altitude of only 3000 meters is already 1.1 mSv.
Correspondingly even higher values ​​are then measured in the actual flight altitude of an average passenger jet.

Nevertheless, very few people can be dissuaded from a plane trip for this reason. Why is that so? The still very vague study of the long-term effects of radiation on the body contributes to this.
There is practically no cancer investigation of flight personnel or frequent fliers.

The reason why the radiation is much stronger at high altitudes than on the ground is due to the fact that the electromagnetic radiation has to penetrate through a large number of layers of air in order to reach the earth.
By then, it is mostly filtered and harmless, if not completely harmless. At high altitudes, the radiation hits the outside of the aircraft practically unhindered and can penetrate unhindered.

The level and intensity of the radiation depends not only on the altitude flown, but also on the routes flown and the flight time.
The most radiation-intensive flight routes lead across the North Atlantic and are close to the pole. At these points, the earth's magnetic field brings the dangerous electromagnetic radiation closer to the earth than in Europe.
A plane from Europe to the USA crosses the radiation-intensive, near-polar region more than half the time in a 10-hour flight and is exposed to radiation.

These flights are therefore considered to be more radiation-intensive and also more harmful to health than the routes from Europe to the south or the east.
There are calculations that a passenger on a transatlantic flight from Europe to the USA receives as much radiation as an X-ray examination of the lungs.

How does the increased radiation affect pregnant women, especially since you want to avoid any X-ray examination of pregnant women as much as possible? Unfortunately, there are only very few studies on this to date.