10 Hour Flight, Dr. Recommended Baby Asprin

I would recommend walking, ankle circles, LOTS of water, and bringing a comfortable neck or back pillow (those seats are hard on the low back!) I would also stay away from salty things as that tends to make people retain water. She should be fine if she follows these recommendations, unless she has a history of vein problems (the doc probably wouldn't have cleared her however!)

If she is nervous about the advice I would ask to talk to another doc and also a pedi.
I would also do some reasearch online.
Sorry I cannot be more help.

It's new advice due to risk of blood clots. Also don't forget that a baby aspirin is a lower dose than aspirin you would take for, say a head-ache. You can also get support stockings at a store like Rite-Aid or Walgreens. I think the pair I wore to Australia were around $30 for knee-hi's. They help massage the legs and keep blood flowing, and help with swelling. I have personally found that you can't always get up every 2 hours during flights (turbulence, other people, service, etc.). I'm 6 months preg. right now and have a only a 5 hour drive ahead of me, and my doc recommended walking for 5 mins every 1.5 hours during the drive, for the blood clot reason.

I have not heard that one should not take aspirin while pregnant. I think it's acetominophen that might be a problem. I don't know, actually. I'd google aspirin pregnancy.

I do know that getting blood clots during long flights is a risk for everyone and more so for pregnant women and older people. If taking aspirin is a risk ,and I don't know that it it, one must weigh that risk with getting blood clots in the legs. The latter can be fatal and if not, very worrisome, painful, and require extra care.

M.,

I am a parent coach and very knowledgeable about pregancy and baby questions. I agree with your friend's doctor. Baby aspirin will help prevent blood clots, which can be deadly. Blood clots are more likely when flying as well as during pregancy, so your friend flying while pregant is a dangerous combination.

Also, aspirin will not harm the baby. Giving asprin to children is dangerous due to Reye's Syndrome, but not a concern while pregnant.

Good luck to your friend.

R. Magby

I don't know how far along your co-worker is. I was 6 months pregnant when I went to Japan. It was an 11 hour flight there and about 10 hours back, plus the flights to / from LAX - PDX. I did not take any meds on the flights. However, on the way back my feet got really swollen on the flight from Tokyo to LAX. It hurt horribly so! Basically I'd recommend lots of water / juice and as much movement as possible.

When pregnant, I took baby aspirin at the Dr.'s urging for light flights, even a 3 hour car ride. It is very dangerous to sit when pregnant (or anytime) for very long.
Aspirin will not hurt her or the baby. There is concern if she were about to give birth, as there could be too much bleeding since it thins it out.
She is getting good advice. Anyone who can safely do so should take a baby aspirin before travel.

The baby aspirin is a prudent thing to take due to the long flight, even is your friend is pregnant. Deep vein thrombosis is a huge issue on long flights, even those of 3 hrs or more of duration. It's a small amount that will do a great of good, protect her and her baby.

It would be a good preventive measure for many travelers to undertake, even those traveling by car, bus or train... as we don't get up and move around enough. Check with your doctor first to make sure you don't have any underlining conditions that aspirin would compromise. Baby aspirin or the low-dosage brand that is recommended for heart health.

I was pregnant with twins this summer and had to fly just to the east coast and was told to do this. I was not told two years ago when I was pregnant with my son. This was a different doctor, a neonatologist, so I figured it was twin related or new information. I only had to take six I think... one the day before flight, one day of flight, one day after for both legs of the trip. Hope this helps. :)

Ive been a flight attendant for 19 years and have a busy 2 year old and Im 6 months pregnant with number two. I fly 3 days a week and have never took asprin. Make sure you drink enough water (10oz for every hour you are in flight), stretch and you should be just fine. 10 hours is a long flight but as long as you stay hydrated and stretch often hopefully you will have no side effects at all. :)

Hi! Baby aspirin should be fine for your friend to take. I had several unexplained miscarriages & when I got pregnant again, my doctor had me take baby aspirin from about 4 weeks of pregnancy til about 28-32 weeks. I had no side effects or anything & delivered a healthy baby boy. I second the recommendation of walking a lot & drinking lots of water...good luck to your friend on her long flight!

I also took a 10 hour flight to France during my last pregnancy and didn't get the baby asprin advice - just the get up and walk around, move your legs advice. And I did just fine. I doubt a little bit of baby asprin will hurt but my thought would be if she can be fine without it by moving around etc then why chance it? A little bit of extra advice: the time change over there can be super hard on getting the sleep you need while pregnant. My doctor perscribed me some ambien (which is safe while pregnant) and it was a LIFESAVER! Just took it two nights as I got used to the time change and was so glad I had it!

Hi. I don't agree. Any anti-inflammatory is not advised in pregnancy since it causes constriciton of the umbilical cord and therefore decreases bloodflow to the fetus. Also I just went to France in October at 6 months pregnancy and was fine, just make sure she gets up and walks around every few hours and decrease her salt intake a few days before to decreae bloating and decrease the chance of blood clots. If she has to pee as often as I did getting up every few hours isn't a problem. I also did the trip with my 2 year old, that was the hardest part. Good Luck.
K.

Hi thank you M. for asking the question as i too am 6 months and about to board a 11hr then 4hr flight so am quite nervous. Taking aspirin makes sense to me however i am allergic to aspirin so can anyone suggest or know of an alternative??? I was in middle of travel when i fell pregnant so i do not have my own family doctor from Australia to depend on for answers. I will be leaving from Mexico to head home and am feeling a little uneasy trusting some foreign doctors especially as one prescribed me a highly harmful drug when i was sick which would have been very harmful to my unborn. Please assist.

Aspirin that early in pregnancy should be ok - you don't want to take it late because it can cause more bleeding at birth. But, its probably not necessary to take it either (i flew to Norway and back at about 11/12 weeks with no problems). She could ask her doc if there was some reason that it was necessary for her. The stretching, moving, etc, is important - for all of us.

My last pregnancy was extremely high risk and my perinatologist had me take baby asprin once a day until I was 36 weeks. The asprin helps thin the blood so that blood flow to the placenta and the legs is good. I took it for 16 weeks and gave birth to a very healthy baby girl on Septemeber 29, 2009.

God gives us a maternal gut instinct and intuition... so we can use it. If she has a bad feeling about it, don't do it or ask around like she's doing until she feels right about it.

This is a completely different story, but similar in that the doctor was giving advice my mom felt uncomfortable with while she was pregnant with me. The doctor recommened that my mom take an anti-nauseau (however you spell it) drug when she was pregnant. She had a bad feeling about it, so she didn't. Many children of mom's taking this drug ended up having missing limbs. I'm so glad my mom listened to her gut instinct even though my dad was yelling at her for not taking it every morning as she threw up.

It's important to listen to advice and also important that we listen to our gut feelings.

How far along in her pregnancy is she? I was in my first trimester when we had a 6 hour then a 14 hour flight to Dubai. I didn't take any medicine, just drank a lot of water and walked around and went to the bathroom every two hours.

I think I would go ahead probably. If she has one of the seats that reclines into a flat bed, I'd talk to the doctor again with that information. She could also ask about taking ibuprofen instead.

A friend of mine flew to Ireland from the midwest while pregnant and ended up in the hospital there with a blood clot over 12 inches long. Her life was in jeaopardy. Her son is now nearly 2.5 and she still has to take medication for the blod clot. It still isn't completely dissolved. My friend is a physical therapist and knew to walk, massage, do seated exercises, drink water, etc.

M.,

I am pregnant with my third baby, and traveled alot while pregnant with my other two. I have kidney issues and my doctor has prescribed me to take one 81mg aspirin daily for kidney issues to help keep my blood thin. He is a high risk OBGYN and told me that there isnt any risk to the baby and they have done many studies on this. You may want to get a second opinion from another doctor just in case to make you feel more secure. From what I have been told there shouldnt be any negative effects on the baby. The dosage is so minimal it does get to the baby. I have flown alot while pregnant, so good luck, its very uncomfortable- take pillows and lots of snacks.

-NR

I had to take a baby aspirin the whole time.I was pregnant with my twins. They were born perfect and healthy and were full term. I am 16 weeks now and doing the same thing. I was dx with lupus at 16 and have had two miscarriages without the baby aspirin.When the doctor told me the same thing I questioned it got a second opinion and it worked out for me.Your doctor will not tell you to do something to harm you or the baby.

I am actually an Obstetrician myself and I took very long flights during both of my pregnancies. Both times I took a daily baby aspirin. The first time I was 12 weeks and the second time I was 26 weeks. Also, while flying I wore knee-high compression stockings, which are very good for preventing blood clots. Hope this helps!