Most Pregnant Women Can Fly Safely

Dec. 12 -- Most pregnant women who want to travel this holiday season should not fear that flying will cause complications or bring on motherhood a little sooner than expected.

According to new recommendations from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, healthy women with low-risk pregnancies can safely fly up until their 36th week, or one month prior to their due date.

Women who should not fly at any time during their pregnancy are those at risk for complications or pre-term delivery, including women with poorly controlled diabetes, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, or sickle cell disease — which can be worsened by high altitude.

Can Flying Induce Early Labor?

Despite the experts' assurances, some women remain wary of flying during pregnancy.

Bonita Heilman went into labor in her 34th week, four hours after a flight from Minneapolis to Chicago to attend the wedding of a college roommate.

This was her first pregnancy, and according to Heilman, she had been considered low risk. "My doctor recommended that I not go," she says. "But she wrote me a note to tell the airline what week I was in."

Northwest Airlines, for example, currently requires a note from a physician if a woman seeks to fly within one month of the due date. At the time Heilman flew, 34 weeks was the cutoff.

Her daughter Katie, now 4, was delivered 400 miles from home by Caesarean section.

"They don't really know if flying was the cause of the early delivery," says Heilman. "They said that it was one of the bigger indicators because it was so early and it was very coincidental. They don't ever really know."

Heilman, now the mother of two and currently expecting a third child, says she won't board a plane until after the birth. "I will never fly again when I am pregnant. I won't take that chance."

Expecting Safe Flights

Most experts say it is unlikely that flying will cause pre-term delivery.

"I don't think that there is any evidence to suggest that flying can cause women to go into labor," says Dr. John Repke, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. "There is a lot of myth and mystery that surrounds pregnancy still, and it is very difficult to sort out what the details in any individual case may be."