Tips on Moving while Pregnant

30 June 2010- Sometimes it becomes essential to take tough decisions in life. Moving while pregnant is one among them. Moving, in itself, is a strenuous work and moving when pregnant can be a quite risky affair. However, with proper and careful planning, you can move safely during your pregnancy too. Here are some tips to guide you on the subject.

Plan for Moving Beforehand and Pack Slowly

It is better if you do not take decision of moving abruptly. Plan it properly and in such a manner that you have at least 1-2 months for packing and other preparations.

• Start packing things about a month before your move.
• Pack things that are not used often or which are in multiple sets with you like winter clothes, dishes, towels, sheets, cleaning supplies etc. Leave out only a weeks' worth of these items and pack the rest.
• Don't try to pack it all at once. While you are pregnant, you need to work slowly with rest breaks. So, pack a little bit each day. By the time your moving week comes closer, you won't have a lot to pack.
• Put labels on each of your packed boxes so that you (and anyone else like moving company's people) know what room they have to be placed in the new home.
• On your moving day, allow others to carry everything. Remember, moving furniture while pregnant or moving any other heavy items during pregnancy might put you and your child at risk. If you have put proper labels on packed boxes, others will know where to put things and you can be relaxed.

Take Proper Care of Yourself

While you are pregnant, you need to take extra care of yourself and if you are moving while pregnant, make this amount of care for yourself just double!

• Take enough of help. Even if you are not in habit of taking much help, you have to when moving while pregnant. Let your husband & other family members do the strenuous works and you stick to light works such as giving them water, dusting a little while they pack heavy things or load them, making labels, cutting packing supplies like tapes etc. Don't feel at all guilty about sitting down for a while.
• Drink enough water and other fluids. Sometimes, it would seem to you that you are not doing anything compared to all others around. However, whatever small things you are doing while being pregnant is enough to make you stressed. That you will feel the next day or afterwards. So, replenish body fluids and take enough rest.
• Before moving in to your new home, ensure to find a good doctor there so that you do not miss any of your regular appointments with your gynecologist.

Flying while Pregnant

If you are for international relocation, /international-relocation.html you must also be prepared for flying while pregnant. Generally, women who are having a healthy, normal pregnancy can fly without any restrictions. However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends women should not fly after their 36th week of pregnancy. Before scheduling your move, take this factor in consideration. Here are some other tips for your help & guidance about flying while pregnant.

• Airlines have their own restrictions for pregnant women that often differ according to domestic or international flights. Know the rules of airlines you'll travel with about flying during pregnancy. Ask the ticket agent when you book your ticket as you may probably won’t get it mentioned anywhere else.
• Avoid flying if you have any sort of complications associated with your pregnancy or if you are considered to be ‘high risk’. Some examples may include poorly controlled diabetes, sickle cell disease, placental abnormalities, hypertension or risk for premature labor.
• If flying in early pregnancy, it is safe. However, flying at this time can make your pregnancy symptoms, like morning sickness, worse. So, take extra sick bags with you, just in case you need them.
• Pregnancy also causes circulation problems in many women. Flying while pregnant also increases the chance of developing a blood clot. To help keep your blood flowing, wear comfortable & loose clothing, if possible take compression stockings that keep blood moving from your ankles to your heart and lungs, avoid crossing your legs and drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated.
• Moving around also helps in maintaining blood flow. Walk in the aisle every hour if you are on a long distance international flight. After every 20-30 minutes, flex your feet, rotate your ankles and wiggle your toes. If there is no one next to you, you may put your feet up and use the extra space too!
• Don’t hesitate to ask for a seat with a bit more room considering your grown up belly! Aisle seats usually have more space and the area in the middle of the plane generally provides the smoothest ride. You can also request for emergency row seats that too provide extra leg space. Avoid sitting by the door so that no harm is caused to you while the flight crew work during an emergency.
• Keep your seatbelt on during the entire flight as you never know when an emergency arises.

Above tips, if observed and followed carefully when moving house while pregnant, will certainly make your move a pleasant experience!

Read How to Schedule and Plan for Moving?.