After consultation with a professional birth doula (I asked my wife a few
minutes ago) she offered this advice:

My wife is pregnant with our first child.

Congratulations!!

She is currently 12 weeks into an apparently uncomplicated pregnancy.
She's in good
health, and has no specific problems that we know of. I have heard
conflicting advice about flying in small, unpressurized planes while
pregnant. She's very
comfortable flying, and we like to travel, and would like to travel
via general aviation both before and (after a suitable age) after
delivery. The aircraft we fly in is not pressurized (It's either a 206
or a Beech Musketeer). I had a few questions:

Birth is not an illness. The reason she says this is because of your
statement that your wife "has no specific problems that we know of." Many
people in our culture treat pregnant women as if they had some kind of
illness and require constant medical attention. If mom is OK with flying,
then chances are the baby will be OK, too. She (my wife) said she doesn't
like flying but sees no reason why a pregnany woman shouldn't be able to.
(My wife was an air traffic controller for six years so she knows just
enough to be afraid of GA aircraft - but that's a different thread.) Baby
is pretty well protected and as long as she isn't ingesting something
harmful she should be fine.



1. What is the maximum altitude that would be 'safe' for for an
expectant mother to fly at?

As far as I know there hasn't been any research on safe altitudes for
pregnant women to fly at. But then again, there's no research that says
ultrasounds are safe. Years ago they used to give women routine x-rays
("It's only light, it's not going to hurt you or your baby.")

2. Does this vary with the stage of pregnancy?

Again, nothing to say it's not safe at any stage of pregnancy. Of course
women go through physiological changes during pregnancy that may require
some logistical changes in routine (bathroom breaks, bigger seat belts, etc
....)

3. Is there a time when we should simply stop flying?

When your wife doesn't want to fly anymore? :-)

4. Are there any resources that anyone know of concernign flying with
small children (i.e. headsets, inner-ear issues, etc.?

This has prompted some research on our part since my wife is a birth doula
and she's married to an air traffic controller. Obviously, hearing
protection is a must.

Congratulations again!


--
73,
Bud
--------------------------------------------------------------
Heather's Doula Page
www.navydoula.com

And God Said, "Let there be electromagnetic radiation with a
wavelength range of 400nm to 700nm that travels with a speed
of about 186,281 miles per second in a vacuum."