Planning your Itinerary

Whether your trip is for business or pleasure, you may need to make some adjustments in your itinerary due to your pregnancy.

Remember that one of the common side effects of pregnancy is fatigue.  You don’t want to pack your itinerary so full, therefore, that you are too tired to enjoy the trip or accomplish your purposes.  Our number one advice to pregnant travelers is to lighten up!

Business travelers especially tend to schedule their itineraries too tightly.  An overnight plane flight leading directly into a series of business meetings and followed by a night of dinner engagements is not good for your or your baby and is not a good way to get a lot accomplished.

Do your best to arrive fresh.  If at all possible, upgrade your airline reservation so that you can stretch out and get some rest on the way.  And when you arrive, check into your hotel and unwind for at least four hours.  Studies by the World Bank show that this strategy greatly increases the productivity of a business trip.

Consider upgrading your hotel reservations as well.  Having to run down the hall to the bathroom is no fun when you are pregnant and suffering from jet lag.  Neither is sweltering through the heat when air conditioning is available.  Also, try to arrange for your room to be ready when you arrive.  Otherwise you may find yourself sitting for hours in a hotel lobby—which defeats the whole purpose.

When it comes to business meetings or sightseeing, set a more leisurely pace.  Don’t try to close a million dollar deal and see all the sights.  A quiet dinner with some friends will be a lot more memorable than an exhausting round of the clubs.  Two business meetings a day with your mind sharp will accomplish more than dragging through a half dozen.  And be careful of what you eat and drink.  Remember that your body is more sensitive to changes in food and water (see those chapters for details.)

If you are traveling for pleasure rather than business, many of the same rules apply.  Your fellow travelers will appreciate your being upbeat and energetic for half a day more than dragging through a full one.  And you will remember the trip with greater pleasure.  Who knows?  You may get more out of an afternoon spent in a street café than your companions do in a day at the Louvre.

Be extra careful of the types of activities you schedule, as well.  Remember that falls and accidents are more likely when you are pregnant.  Also, you are more susceptible to infectious diseases.  Try to reduce your exposure to dangerous steps, steep hillsides, precarious perches, crowds and public transportation.

The short version—minimize the itinerary and maximize the enjoyment.