Hello everyone, this is my first post, and probably a good place to start.
I fly for a living, have a 3 yr old daughter and am TTC another. I know many women like myself who are concerned about flying whilst pregnant. There are so many female pilots and cabin crew in australia and around the world, you would think there would have been some serious studies done to determine the facts about all this. I have had 2 mc's this year, but had no problems with my 1st pregnancy (apart from hyperemesis which stopped me flying between 6-21wks)
Most of my other colleges who have had children flew throughout their pregnancy with no problems, and didn't have any trouble falling pregnant. So.... I would also like to know whether I was destined to have 2 mc's anyway (I am now 37) or was it the flying? My OB has not suggested that I stop flying whilst pregnant, but I do not want to take the risk next time and will stop.
I do know that the dehydration, the high cabin altitude, and the radiation exposure are real.
Many airlines around the world will not let their staff (pilots & cabin crew again) fly at all, once they advise them they are pregnant mainly because they don't want the potential litigation if things go wrong and it is certainly not ideal to have a mc airborne, whilst working.
If I wasn't flying for a living, I personally wouldn't be concerned about the odd flight here and there during pregnancy.