Traveling When Pregnant

Same thing happened to me, but it would have been a 4 hour plane flight. I decided against going. Even though it turned out that I did not have the baby that weekend, I was SO HUGE by that point that attending would have been totally exhausting. Let's face it, at that point you can't dance, you can't eat much of anything, you can't drink, you have to pee every 2 minutes, your feet are swollen, people take to asking you, "Wow, are you having twins? You're HUGE!" Better to hunker down at home, in my opinion. ;) Your friend will understand.

2 moms found this helpful

Well, my daughter came 10 days early. I wouldn't buy a new dress...

1 mom found this helpful

If your doctor thinks it will be okay, I would go. But I would plan every detail. Take your suitcase for the hospital and make a contengency plan for someone to care for your son. Talk to your friend and ask if there will be medical professional at the wedding and ask to be introduced. If a nurse or doctor, or even a paramedic is a guest at the wedding and you start to feel labor coming on or think you do, you will have someone to talk to. Make sure your car doesn't get parked in. You can call the highway patrol to have a police escort back home if you need to.
Most labors are longer than 2.5 hours and you should have plenty of time to get back home and to your hopsital. Contact your doctor to see if he/she has privilages at any hopsital other than the one you will be delivering at. Just in case you need to pull off the road and go to a different hospital, then call your doctor and have him/her meet you there.
Good luck and congrats (oh have fun if you do go to the wedding)

1 mom found this helpful

Yes, talk with your doctor about it. You can't assume that this pregnancy will behave just as your first, so really consider if you would be willing to have your baby at a strange hospital with an unfamiliar doctor. Also, long car rides while you are that pregnant will be uncomfortable to say the least. If you do go, make sure you have a copy of your chart with you (my doc gave me a copy to carry around at about 36 weeks, just in case) and plan to stop at least once an hour to stretch your legs and use the bathroom. Look into the area hospitals and doctors and see what is covered under your insurance so that you are prepared and know where to go in the event that you go into labor. And with all that in mind, know that if you can't make it to the wedding your friend will forgive you. Send a gift and have the happy couple over for dinner once you have the baby so they can meet her and celebrate with you. Good luck and congratulations!

I say go for it as long as you have no signs stating your gonna go into labor go have fun while you can

My LO came 5 weeks early. I wouldn't go.

Nat, you're just trying to be nice and accommodating. Don't do it. She will understand and if she doesn't...anyways, if you recall I did not attend your sister's wedding for the exact same reason and that you did not think was unreasonable.

I wouldn't do it but maybe I'm just over worried. I'm 3 weeks from my due date and I don't go more than an hour from home now. I want to make sure I can make it to my hospital, I don't want to be someplace new when I deliver my baby.
But ask your doctor what they think. Sometimes there are signs that it will be a while before the baby comes or the baby is getting ready.
Good Luck!

I think it's a bad idea. Riding that long in a car is going to be taxing by itself, never mind the standing around/socializing at the wedding. I was in a friend's wedding when I was 36 weeks pregnant; it was local, and I sat down whenever I had the opportunity, but I was still exhausted and very Braxton-Hicks-y by the end of the day (which, for me, turned out to be 8 pm). I can't imagine traveling so far and going to a wedding that much closer to one's due date. But as other people have suggested, see how you are feeling when the time gets closer, and make sure your friend knows you will most likely be a last-minute decision.

My OB for my second had a fit I was going to my brother in law's wedding out of town 7 weeks before my due date. After the attitude he gave me I didn't care if I delivered with someone else. I think that if you really want to be there go for it, unless you have some underlying health issues, it doesn't really matter if you go. In an emergency you could go to a local hospital. Maybe do some research and see if you can get a reference for a doc and hospital in that area if a situation arises. I say do what you know you can handle and be prepared for all outcomes, heck you may have had the baby by the wedding :)

If you really really want to go ok...but if you can pass I'd stay home and kick up your feet...Now granted I went to my friend's wedding three days before I was due....but that was only 20 minutes away ;)

I've been through the birth experience with my wife 8 times. She and the doctor always split the difference. ( He'd say the baby was due on the 10th. My wife said the baby was due on the 1st. The baby would be delivered around midnight of the 5th.) She was always consistant, except once. Her deliveries were very predictable, except once.

I would do every thing I could to discourage my wife from going. If I was a doctor or a delivery room nurse, and therefore well qualified to do a road side delivery, I'd STILL do everything I could to discourage her from going. The risks aren't worth the reward.

Good luck to you and yours.

I think it all depends on how you feel at the time. Whenever I was that far along the last thing I wanted to do was sit in a car for that long. My daughter was born the day after my due date, even though I went into labor on my due date. If you do decided to go, I would make sure and take your hospital bag with you, cause you just never know..

If you end up going, make sure you have towels in the car in case your water breaks. You don't want a soaked seat!

I'd make sure you know where the nearest hospital is at many points in the trip. I hope that you don't go into labor during the wedding!!

D.