Friendly Skies?
April 17, 2008 by Carol Adams Rivera | one question or comment
Shortly after our son—now 2 years old—was born, our pediatrician recommended that we wait until he was 6 weeks old to fly from Washington, DC, to California with him. Waiting 6 weeks, we were told, would allow our son’s immune system to mature. So we waited, although I had been informed even while I was pregnant that my sister, gravely ill, had only 2 weeks to live. (Fortunately, the 2-week prognosis turned out to be incorrect.)
When Can Babies Begin to Fly?
Medical experts generally believe that it is safe for healthy babies to travel on planes. Standards for when healthy, full-term babies can begin flying range from the newborn period up to 2 or 3 months of age.
The BabyCenter article At What Age Is It Safe for My Baby to Fly? states that “Ideally, your baby should be at least 2 or 3 months old before he flies….If you can’t wait that long, your baby should be okay to fly after his 2-week checkup—provided he has a clean bill of health and you had a full-term pregnancy without complications. Premature babies are especially susceptible to germs, so it may take longer before they’re ready to go on an airplane trip….Note that airlines do not allow any baby younger than 1 week to fly without a doctor’s note.”
WebMD (Airplanes, Oxygen, and Children) recommends, “When possible, healthy term babies should not fly in the first week of life. Premature babies who have had complications probably should not fly until 6 months after their due dates.”
The MayoClinic.com article Air Travel with Infant: Is It Safe? says, “Air travel with an infant typically is safe. However, there are medical and safety issues to consider. A doctor may advise against unnecessary air travel during the first two weeks of life, when a newborn’s body is still adjusting to life outside the uterus—and is especially vulnerable to the germs that circulate in the aircraft’s recycled air.”
Going back to Mary Jessica’s rotavirus article, the 19-month-old mentioned—a toddler well past the infancy stage—far exceeded the minimum age standards recommended by medical experts.
Now, as it turned out, this little fellow unfortunately was not healthy when he boarded the return flight home from the funeral. It is easy to see this with the benefit of hindsight, knowing how the story eventually unfolded. But perhaps the toddler had thrown up only once before boarding the plane, and the mother thought that whatever the problem was had passed. Since the toddler apparently had no fever until later, it seems understandable that a grieving mother, who had already paid for not just cross-country airfare but also a hotel stay, concluded that the best thing to do was to return home. Perhaps there was a job or another pressing commitment to return to.
Should Babies Fly?
When our son was only 2 weeks old, my husband had to let his company know if he would accept a long-term work assignment in Atlanta. To keep our family together, my husband’s company would cover expenses for an apartment in Atlanta, and we would fly back to our home in the Washington, DC, area every other weekend, beginning when our son was 2 1/2 months old.
Debating this decision, I spoke with my aunt, the veteran of many a national and international flight as a military wife and mother of five. My aunt could not understand why I might find it difficult to fly back and forth between DC and Atlanta every other week, especially with only one baby. She told me, “I flew to Europe with three children by myself. I had two not walking at the same time!” She said, “You do whatever you have to do.”
As it turned out, the flights were relatively easy once we learned the routine of checking the car seat with our bags; getting the stroller through security while unloading our laptops, cell phones, and shoes into plastic bins; and checking the stroller at the gate.
We were fortunate that our son never became ill during or after any flight, including not just those between DC and Atlanta but also those between DC and California. Perhaps thanks to the boost in immunity from breastfeeding, our son remained healthy even throughout cold and flu season.
Our son loved to smile and gurgle at the flight attendants and other passengers. “You flirt!” a flight attendant once exclaimed. “Is this his first flight?” people often would ask. “No,” we said in the beginning, “He’s already been to California.” As the weeks rolled by we answered, “No, this is his seventh or eighth flight!” We never encountered an unfriendly reaction, and many of those seated nearby delighted in waving and playing peek-a-boo. It was surprising how sometimes the most dignified-looking businessmen seemed to most enjoy making funny faces. Through our son, we discovered another side to people.
No one ever made an issue of my breastfeeding on the plane or at the airport. On the plane I tried to be discreet in terms of covering up and sitting in the window seat with my husband in the middle seat. I breastfed during takeoffs and landings since I had heard that breastfeeding helps babies’ ears adjust to changes in air pressure. At the airport my husband helped me to find chairs away from crowds, or blocked me a little with the stroller. We learned that San Francisco International Airport has a nice family lounge with a chair well-suited to breastfeeding. More airports should have family lounges!
In our case, we flew with our son first so that I could see my sister before she passed away, and then to allow our family to stay together while my husband worked in another state. Others may fly with an infant or toddler to visit grandparents or other relatives who cannot travel, to attend a wedding, to go to (as in Mary Jessica’s article) a funeral, or even to take older siblings to Disneyland before they enter their teenage years! Far better for a baby to fly for 5 hours than to travel in a car for 5 days, in my opinion.
Should the infant or toddler be left at home? In support of breastfeeding specifically, I would mention that a mother of a young baby may not have enough stored breastmilk for someone else to take care of her baby for more than a few hours. And transporting breastmilk pumped during a separation brings further challenges (e.g., keeping breastmilk frozen in checked bags). Aside from the emotional distress that a sudden separation might cause, and the great financial costs that might be incurred in hiring a babysitter for several days, the breastfeeding relationship may be jeopardized if a young baby is left behind.
How to Prepare for the Flight
For some suggestions on flying with children, see BabyCenter’s articles How to Enjoy a Plane Trip with Young Children and Flying with Small Children: Checklist of Questions to Ask Your Airline. In Flying with Children Doesn’t Have to Get Ugly, USATODAY offers tips for both parents and those without children, in hopes that “we can all get along in the skies….” If all else fails, keep in mind that this is just one part of the journey, not the destination.
I took my son, now a 10 month old, on round trip flights at 2 months old (after a clean bill of health) and again at 6 months old. While at six months he was getting a little wiggly, every flight was a breeze. The only challenging part to me was checking the stroller and car seat and worry about those making it to our destination. I found planes to be a great place to travel with a baby: many baby lovers nearby and the humming engine kept him sleeping much of the 5 hour flight. To minimize germ exposure we washed our hands frequently. That said I am sure I would think harder about flying if he did not have the immunological benefits of breastmilk or was a colicky baby.
And come August when we make another trip for me to graduate from school, I fear it will not be simple as traveling with an infant….the little monkey is walking and always on the go. Now THESE will be much more challenging trips….