Terrified of traveling to China in 2nd Trimester!

[yummama]

My parents moved to China for two years (Shanghai), and we planned a visit in May before I became pregnant. I've been to China (Beijing) two other times, and the first time I was SO SICK. The first day I was there, I must have eaten something (thought I don't know what--I was certainly avoiding the water) and basically had to live in the bathroom for a week. After that was resolved, I got "pollution sickness", which was horrible--like a bad cold and black soot on tissues when I blew my nose, sore throat, etc. This was Beijing, not Shanghai, and in 2002, not 2010, but I am terrified of getting food poisoning that hurts the baby (I'll be 14-16 weeks when we are there).
I'm already planning to bring basically a whole bag of food for DD, but I was hoping to actually eat Chinese food!
My parents haven't been sick yet--they live in a really nice part of Shanghai, but they eat out all over and buy local produce. The water in their building is filtered.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has positive pregnancy traveling stories. Should I be stressing about this? I'd like to just focus on getting through the plane trips with DD, but I can't shake the panic.

[craft_media_hero]

Well, I haven't been to China, but just wanted to say, stay positive!

Maybe it will be a breeze! I would pack back-up food but just rely on your parents to tell you which are the nicer restaurants or cook at their place.

Sounds awesome! Enjoy!

[MaerynPearl]

Mine was still within the U.S. but was at 15 weeks...

Will you be eating at your parents house often or only out and about? I think if you eat at your parents house and are sure the food is cooked properly you should not risk food poisoning as you would if you went to any questionable establishments.

[somegirl99]

Shanghai is quite different from Beijing, it is very modernized and unless you're eating street food I think you'll probably be ok. I would still be very careful with uncooked produce and of course only drink bottled, filtered, or boiled water and no ice.

I have to go to Brazil in May for work, will be my 29th week. Not expecting to find any vegan food on my travels so I think I will have to bring an extra suitcase with just food in it.

[Jules09]

I traveled from San Francisco to Sydney (via Auckland... very long flight) when I was 16 weeks pregnant and then back when I was 19 weeks. I didn't have to worry about the food in Australia, but one thing I noticed was that my ankles were very swollen at the end of the flight. If I do the flight again this pregnancy, I'll be getting the support stockings. I hope you have a great trip!

[somegirl99]

^^ That is about as long a flight as you can get!

We are at higher risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) so do make sure you insist on getting an aisle seat and get up and move around as much as you can.

[MaerynPearl]

And take a bottle that you can fill up with water after you go through security... you need to stay hydrated (a pregnant woman can get dehydrated very quickly, especially traveling!) and duty-free prices are insane... but they have water fountains you can fill it up from.

[prone_to_wander]

I live in Hong Kong. I think traveling to Shanghai would be very safe. They have decent medical services there. (get decent travel insurance of course). But you could get food poisioning in the states. And someone could correct me if I'm wrong, but as long as you stay hydrated, most food poisioning isn't going to harm the baby.

Of all the places in the world to travel, I really wouldn't consider Shanghai to be all that dangerous.

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

And take a bottle that you can fill up with water after you go through security... you need to stay hydrated (a pregnant woman can get dehydrated very quickly, especially traveling!) and duty-free prices are insane... but they have water fountains you can fill it up from.

Good reminder...I find I sometimes go through a liter every 2 hours on flights. That's a lot!

[RedOakMomma]

GO!

We traveled overseas when I was in the second trimster with ds, and it was fantastic! One last fun fling while we could, you know? And you'll be feeling great by then--

And, with this pregnancy? Where did I get food poisoning at 15 weeks? At home! Food poisoning is not a big deal to the baby--as long as you can keep some water down, it passes and no harm done.

(For what it's worth, I would rather have had it in Shanghai. )

[aikigypsy]

The main thing I would worry about is air pollution, but I've never been to Shanghai, so it might not be as bad as other cities in China (I was in Chengdu and Beijing).

You can get food poisoning anywhere. I had a bout when traveling in Ireland in my first trimester when pregnant with DD (didn't help that I was also on the edge of morning sickness then). I would not worry too much about the food, as long as it's fresh and freshly cooked, and any meat is cooked through. There is some great food out there! I did get food poisoning in China but that was in a school cafeteria in the middle of nowhere, probably from under-cooked pork. I was in China for almost 6 months, and that was the only time I had trouble.

As pps have mentioned, I would also recommend carrying about a gallon of water onto the flight, drinking lots, and moving around often.

[yummama]

thanks for all the uplifting advice! I feel much better now.

[laohaire]

Heh, I got sick on my last day in Beijing, and spent the 2 days we were in Shanghai stayaing in the hotel room recovering. So I kind of have never "been" to Shanghai either

I know about the soot stuff, I blow my nose and it comes out black when I'm in Asia or Eastern Europe or Africa.

When I got sick in Beijing, though, it was my fault. We ate at this Mongolian restaurant where you stick all your ingredients in a pot that's on the table, and let it cook for 20 minutes or so. But we were starving, and we are vegetarian, so we didn't cook it as long figuring it was ok. But obviously something in there needed more cooking! Maybe the mushrooms. Sigh. Anyway, I'm just saying that even that was preventable by common sense that I didn't employ.

[donutmolly]

I lived in China until about 20 weeks for my first 2 pregnancies... and yeah, the food poisoning there can be nasty, but would you believe it... I only ever got horribly sick during my 3rd pregnancy right here in rural USA!

Shanghai is pretty smoggy, but plenty of women live there and have healthy prengancies. It's an amazing city, and the food is delicious! (Oh, sweet potato cakes! Glutinous rice balls!) I wouldn't miss it! If your parents take you to their favorite restaurants, where they haven't gotten sick before, you should not have any problems.

I had no problems flying while pregnant. I just made sure to stay hydrated and walk around more often, which you'll do anyway flying with a toddler!

Have a great trip!