Liz Fraser - The Yummy Mummy’s Survival Guide

If possible, fly away somewhere beautiful, because this will be the most tricky form of transport once the baby arrives, and you can get somewhere much more exotic on a plane. Flying short distances is perfectly safe for your baby and cabin pressure, dry air and ugly seat-covers won’t harm it. Do tell your doctor before you go though, because everyone has different medical circumstances…

TOP SURVIVAL TIPSfor pregnant travellers:

Fly before you are 28 weeks pregnant.After this, some insurance companies get a bit panicky, and either refuse to insure you at all, or require a letter from your doctor confirming your due date.

Carry your travel medical insurance with you at all times.

Take your medical notes with you.

Drink lots more water than usualto combat swollen feet and ankles, and to stave off dehydration.

Go to the loo every time you see one.

Walk about even more than usualon a flight, to prevent varicose veins, backache, thrombosis and so on.

Learn how to say ‘pregnant’in the language of the country you’re going to. ‘Stop staring at my big stomach’ is also handy.

Don’t go scuba diving, or use saunas or hot jacuzzis.

Go to the British Insurance Brokers Associationif you are having trouble getting travel insurance.

Health Matters

Yes it does, and here are some.

As well as what you eat, drink, do and think, there are yet more things which could affect your pregnancy, and which you should be aware of. Because we’d hate any pregnant ladies to be having too much fun, wouldn’t we…

Gardening

Assuming you can still bend down and reach some soil and filth, then wearing gloves and washing your hands thoroughly afterwards is essential. Earth contains parasites which can cause toxoplasmosis, which in turn can cause brain damage to the foetus, or even a miscarriage. If you let these get under your nails and into your mouth, you could be in real trouble.

Pets

If you still have a pet, then try to get rid of it as soon as possible. Ok, obviously don’t really do that, but you might like to spend a few minutes honestly trying to think how manageable this will be soon: a baby is quite enough for most new mums to handle, without also having to feed the goldfish, clean out the hamster or take the Labrador for long walks. In the meantime, being near animals is not a good idea when you are pregnant, because they carry all sorts of bugs and nasties, which are potentially very harmful to a Yummy Foetus, for example toxoplasmosis, chlamydia, listeria, E. coli and salmonella. It’s also not a good idea to visit a zoo, a farm or a vet. The worst domestic offender is the cat litter tray, and if you must clean it out then dress like a bee-keeper and wash your entire body thoroughly with TCP afterwards.

Medication

If you are on any, your doctor should have gone through whether you can carry on taking it while you are expecting. If you have to take some medicine at some point, make sure it’s OK to.

A small problem:Almost everything carries a ‘do not take this if you are, or think you might be pregnant’ warning in case somebody drinks an entire bottle of Night Nurse and sues the pharmaceutical company when her baby has three heads. This makes it impossible to know whether something really is potentially harmful, or if there’s virtually no risk at all unless you are armed with common sense. If you truly believe that taking one Nurofen for the headache you’ve had for two days will do more harm to your baby than the stress your headache is causing you, then you must carry on suffering.

Definite no-nos:aspirin (it thins the blood), ibuprofen, decongestants containing ephedrine.

Safe medicines:paracetamol (hooray!), antacids containing magnesium or aluminium, and most other over-the-counter medicines, but ask first!

External Factors

These include working in a smoky atmosphere, being very trigger-happy with the bleach, living under the M4, painting all your walls in leaded paint, and other such nasty things. Try to avoid inhaling, ingesting or spending a lot of time hanging around any nasty chemical or biological substances, which could pass into your blood, and then into your baby.

The third trimester (aka ‘the last lap’) can feel disproportionately long. It’s a bit like standing in the Co-op behind an old lady who wants to buy a half-bottle of Vodka with an out-of-date cheque book, when all you need is a pint of milk and this month’s InStyle , and you’ve parked outside illegally.

With only a couple of months left, the time for burying your head in the sand is well and truly over, and things are hotting up on all fronts. If you looked at yourself in the mirror at 24 weeks, and swore you wouldn’t/couldn’t get any bigger, this last stage will come as quite a shock. You are about to get very, very big indeed, and it’s time to start getting organised for take-off. It’s an uncomfortable, exciting, frustrating and nervous stage, and the only way to survive it is to keep busy.

More Physical Changes(nearly there though…)

Never wishing you to become bored, or too comfortable, your body saves a few surprises for the last month or two. Cheers, love.

Is There a Loo Around Here?

In the last month your baby presses down on your bladder quite hard, so you will need the loo constantly. Added to this is the fact that you feel you need to drink lots to keep hydrated and avoid getting piles, so it’s not uncommon to have to wee more than once an hour. And when you have to go, you have to go NOW .

Backache

A big stomach means a sore back. Mostly this is your lower back, as the baby weighs down so heavily there, and maintaining a good posture is critical now. Backache can be very bad during the night towards the end, and upping the number of Johnny Depps between your legs to two, or even three, can help.

I Can’t Get Comfortable

Nope. And you won’t until Junior is out. Lying on your back for long periods is, as you now know, not a good idea. Lying on your stomach became impossible months ago, standing hurts your back, and sitting down squashes the baby into your rib cage so you can’t breathe or eat anything. The best positions for me were perching on a high stool, and lying on my side with pillows in position. It is a tough time, but you’re nearly there now…

Twinges and Cramps

These can be really painful and also terribly embarrassing: there is no subtle or ladylike way of relieving cramp in your groin when you are in the middle of Selfridges. Leg cramps and twinges in your back, abdomen and groin ligaments happen a lot now, but unless they are painful and prolonged they are probably just caused by your baby getting big and heavy. Moving around as much as you can helps, as does gentle stretching every few hours.