Hey guys! I’m Tomoka. At 30 weeks pregnant, I recently flew from JFK, New York to Haneda, Tokyo. Here are a few tips from my experience flying long-haul International flights during the third trimester.
Before I jump into the list of tips, I want to explain my situation. I live in New York and I’m giving birth for the first time, so we decided to give birth in Japan so that I can get some help from my mom. I needed to fly alone because I didn’t want to wait too late to fly Internationally and Tenzin needed to stay in NY for work. But he’ll join me in Japan later.
1: Do Not Fly If You Don't Have To
I don’t recommend flying if you don’t have to. A short flight is gonna be ok, but a 14-hour flight can become very uncomfortable, regardless if you’re pregnant or not. I was fine for the first half of the flight, but the second half wasn’t great. My tummy was very bloated and every time the baby moved it was painful. I didn’t eat during the second half of the flight but I tried to drink water. However, when I drank water my tummy felt tight and got uncomfortable.
2: Do Not Fly Economy!
Well, I flew economy hoping the seat right next to me would be empty. Unfortunately, My flight ended up being full. If you can get a premium economy seat or save up some miles and get a business class, this is the time to splurge. When it comes to long flights, upgrading seats will be so worth it.
3: Get an Aisle Seat!
If you can’t get business class seats like me, get an aisle seat. I flew ANA this time and I needed to pay $25 to reserve an aisle seat, but it was worth it. I stood up so many times to use the bathroom. I can’t imagine sitting by the window or middle seat.
4: Fly with Your Partner
Another tip for flying economy is to fly with your partner if that’s possible. I wish Tenzin was right next to me. It just feels so much better if you are sitting right next to someone you can trust. Even the tight economy seat feels a little bigger.
5: Trying to Get a Free Upgrade
Chenk in person and mention you are pregnant. I wasn’t expecting anything and I didn’t get an upgrade, but I hear sometimes it happens to some lucky person so it would not hurt to try.
6: Take Advantage of Priority Boarding
You can get on board early if you are pregnant. All you need to do is to tell the staff that “you are pregnant and want to get on board early.” So that you will have enough time to settle down and store bags before other passengers come in.
7: Bring Your Own Water Bottle
Bring your water bottle with you so that you can fill it with water after the security. It is very important to drink plenty of water, especially on a long flight. I wish I had brought a bigger water bottle so that I didn’t need to ask the flight crew for water so many times.
8: Wear Compression Socks
Luckily, my feet didn’t get swollen during the flight. I didn’t have any swollen feet during this pregnancy yet, but I heard swollen feet are very common symptoms for pregnant women. Pregnant Women are more prone to getting blood clots during a flight as well. So even if you don’t have any swollen feet like me, please wear compression socks to just be safe. I put the link for the compression socks I bought from Amazon.
9: Stand Up and Move Your Body Often!
Stand up and move your body as much as you can to prevent blood clots. As I mentioned, pregnant women are more likely to develop blood clots, so please drink plenty of water, wear compression socks, and stand up and move your body as much as possible. I stood up and used the bathroom at least once every 1.5 hours and tried to move my body and stretch before I went back to my seat.
10: Bring Your Healthy Snacks and Food
Airplane food is not so great in general and it is very helpful if you can bring your own favorite snack and food, especially when you are pregnant. I brought some onigiri and fruits with me.
11: Wear Comfortable Clothes
Wear comfortable clothes during a flight. Ideally, something that is loose on your tummy. I wore a black maternity jumpsuit from Target.
12: Bring Your Medication and Supplememt
Bring Tylenol with you. I didn’t need to take it, but just in case. Do not forget any medication you usually take as well as prenatal vitamins.
13: Wear Masks if You'd Like
This is my personal choice, but I wore masks on an airplane. I got flu and COVID vaccines done weeks before that flight as well. The airplane air is very dry so I just wanted to be extra careful.
I am so glad that I was able to fly from New York to Japan safely even though it was very tough. The hour of the last half of the flight went so slow. I was thinking “This too shall pass” when I breathed through tummy pains.
If you are reading this post and going to fly soon, I wish you the best and have a safe flight! I hope some of these tips will be helpful. If you have some tips that I didn’t mention, please let me know in the comment section below. Most likely, I need to fly with a newborn baby alone to go back to the States next year, so any tips and tricks for that will be appreciated! Thank you!