Travelling close to birth for your H

[atouchofklasse]

My water broke at 37w2d. So, no.

[Deleted]

I'm due November 4. My DH is best man in his brothers wedding on October 21. He's flying over for the wedding, and will be gone less that 48 hours. My theory was that the odds are so slim, why not. My mom will come to stay with me for the weekend.

Do you have any other friends and family around in London?

[bunch]

I would not have been ok with that.

[karinothing]

Nope, I would not be okay. Maybe if it was like something 2 hours away or something but international travel? No way.

[SusanBAnthony]

With #1, my water broke at 37w0d, and I had a 3 hour labor.

BUT with #2, DH had a job interview when I was 38 weeks, and he went. The plan was that if there was ANY hooha action going on, he would stay home, and that if anything started, I would call him immediately.

We knew there was a small chance he would miss the birth but we were ok with it. He didnt get the job, but in hindsight I would do the same thing again.

There are usually some signs ahead of time. I was having on/off cramping and starting to dilate at least a week before each birth.

[megs193]

My husband travels every week for work and we decided to have him stop traveling at 38 weeks. I have been a little nervous this week but as of 10 minutes ago he is home until the baby is born. Do you have close family near by? I would probably be ok with it if my mom was near by, otherwise London to NYC would be too far for me to be comfortable.

[tardyfortheparty]

My husband didn't do any travel after 35w.

[Deleted]

My DH went to London for his father's birthday party when I was 36 weeks.

He was actually on a business trip when my water broke, but he made it home before I was induced.

[zeewifeandmama]

International travel would bother me more than travel in general.

[ijack]

H was OOT when I went into labor - he was only a 2hr flight away and got on one immediately, but still missed DD's birth. Are you okay with him missing it?

[nabum]

I would not be ok with international travel late in pregnancy.

[belovedbride07]

I would ask him to stay. DH being OOT for the birth is one of my big pre-pregnancy fears; unless he's saving lives or not going would be definitively career-ending, I would absolutely not be okay with him being far away, especially an ocean away, at that stage.

[h]

I think I would be okay with it as long as you have family or a close friend nearby who can be your back up person just in case something happens. It is fairly unlikely that you will go into labor before 38 weeks. My DH went to the Caribbean for a bachelor party when I was 36w with DS2.

[curbsideprophet]

I would not count on a first labor being slow to allow time for DH to arrive. I was only in labor for 12 hours and DD was born at 38w4d. I have friends who were only in labor for about 4 hours for their first.

It would be cutting it a little close for me. If it was not an international trip I might be okay with.

[vanillacourage]

Jun 21, 2012 18:50:26 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Nope, I would not be okay. Maybe if it was like something 2 hours away or something but international travel? No way.

Agree. Getting a flight home in a hurry could be difficult (and cost a fortune - would his company pay for it if he had to buy a new ticket for an earlier flight home?)

[Jem]

I went early at 37 weeks and it went fairly quickly, so in that sense I think no to the travel.

But I don't think I was the norm and I don't think it would be that tough to get a flight from NYC to London - as long as his work is ok with paying for a last minute change - so if it really is important for his career then I would encourage him to go.

[mishap]

That's a bit too close for comfort for me. My first was 10 days early, and I was put on mandatory bed rest about a week before that. My second was born 3 weeks early.

[ECB]

While I went to 41 weeks, from the moment my water broke to when DS was born was almost exactly 12 hours.

Because of this, I'm in the "no international travel" camp too. It would be one thing if he were a quick flight away. But he's not.

This is your first child and I think the focus needs to be on that. He'll have other opportunities to make this trip, and honestly, if not going this one time and if his company didn't understand the reason why and it hurt his career - I don't know that I'd want to work for a company like that anyhow.

[crazygame]

I went into labor at 37 weeks, after no issues or other signs that I would go early. I got to the hospital at 6 am and she was born at 3 pm. Your husband would not have made it home in my situation. As many have said, your decision depends on whether you are comfortable having him miss this experience.

[dragonfly08]

DH turned down any trips that came up starting about 2-3 weeks before my EDD. And even then he kept things "local"...definitely no international travel in the last month.

[fortmyersbride]

DH traveled for 2 days to a conference when I was 37.5 wks. He was much more nervous about it than I was and he had a hard time concentrating while there, he kept calling and texting to make sure I wasn't in labor. So your DH might not even be able to participate well if he gets there and is distracted by worrying about missing the birth.

[Deleted]

No, I would not be okay. I went into out-of-the-blue pre-term labor at 36 weeks, and again at 38. I gave birth the day before my due date. Your DH's employer will understand that his wife is due in a matter of weeks. How horrible would YH feel if he missed the birth of his child? It's just not worth the risk.