Help! Pregnant woman needs advice

[renda460]

I am heading to WDW in 2 weeks and I just found out I am pregnant. I was really hoping that this wouldnt have happened until after our trip. When we planned this trip months ago, we asked our in laws to come with us so that they could watch our 2 kids (1 and 3) while we did all the thrill rides. I am excited to be pregnant, but a little disappointed that I will have restrictions for our trip. Also, my daughter is just over 40 inches and can finally ride some of the thrill rides. She is so excited for me to ride these with her.

I will talk to my doctor about the situation, but I was wondering if others have info from their own experiences. I will only be 7 weeks pregnant while at disney. Should I still have the same worries about riding the thrill rides as someone who is further along in the pregnancy? After reading most of the posts out there, it seems that most people say they didnt enjoy the rides because they were so worried about something happening.

Also, my husband and I currently have a Segway Tour booked. This is our only opportunity to do this since we have our in laws to watch the kids. I know they advise not to do this while pregnant, but does anyone know why? Is it because you could lose your balance and fall?

Any advice/info would be great.

 

[kdibattista]

No personal experience but this may help:

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/pregnant.htm

Congrats!!!!!

 

[chicknoodle99]

I am 6mos pregnant and am going to WDW on Sept 14th. I also asked alot of questions about being pregnant and going to WDW. Seems as though we can ride most things...stay away from the thrill rides though--Splash MTN, Space MTN, Tower of Terror, Rock N RollerCoaster, and Dinosaur. I dont ride the coasters anyway so for me, I dont think it will matter much for me. I do like Splash but from what I have read, its not the drop but its the way that we are seated in the log could possibly injure the baby. Although at 7weeks you dont have a belly yet--whereas I do--so I would check with your OB on that one.

I checked with my OB last week and she said to enjoy myself but to take it easy. Drink lots of water and rest when I need to. It could be warm so she said staying hydrated was really important. I would suggest you talk to your OB and get his/her opinions and stick to what he/she says...the safety of your baby is #1. Being in your first trimester you might find yourself alot more tired than you thought you would be.

Have a wonderful time...hopefully there is no storm problems by then. Congratulations on your pregnancy and have fun!

 

[Nanu57v]

I think the segway tour thing is definately because of the losing your balance thing and falling. But at 7 weeks you don't have to worry about that yet. I'm 13.5 weeks and still not showing.

I'd definately try and sit down with your doctor before you go. Have a list of rides that you should ask her about. I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was 6.5 weeks (my home pregnancy test was neg, but the doctor did a blood test when I was there for another ailment) and I'm sure there are others out there the same way that were riding coasters.

Remember that Disney has to post restrictions on rides for liability reasons, but you definately want to play it safe with the baby too. I just got back from a county fair, and I laughed to see that the race cars for preschoolers that go around in a circle have a pregnancy restriction on them.

Congrats!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You can still ride thrill rides.

The reason you cannot ride thrill rides is because of your tummy (will the safety features fit?) and possible damage to baby from hitting the bar at the late stages of pregnancy or possible labor induction. They even have the warning for Kilamanjaro safari--and I asked if it was safe (I think I was 7 or 8 months). The CM said that they post that b/c of the jarring movements of the ride but they would not prevent me from riding. They sometimes get women who ride it close to/on/after their due date hoping that it would cause labor. At 7 weeks, nothing will happen to baby and you should be fine. The amniotic sac and fluid act as shock absorbers--so even falls in lator stages--unless you fall belly first and hard, will not hurt baby.

Best to consult with your OB for his or her take for safety b/c you will get lots of different opinions from us. But I see no reason why you shouldn't enjoy your trip to the max. Make sure you keep your fluids up!!

 

[michygoomy]

I think every OB will tell you differently. I'm 5 mo and went to the local amusement park last week---and my doc basically told me to write the day off and watch the kids enjoy themselves. I did nothing but the train and the lazy river and sat on a LOT of benches.

No one does studies of the effects of this kind of stuff on pregnant women, because of the ethic issues. So really, we don't know the effects of such rides.

Look at it this way---there is a ton of stuff at WDW to do that is totally mild. You'll get back to do the good stuff next time--and if you don't have any babysitters with you, the baby swap works like a charm!

Congrats and have a great/safe time.

 

[michygoomy]

Oh---and at my amusement park, NONE of the rides had pregnancy warnings on them that I saw, even those that I knew were big no-nos (i.e. the bumper cars).

BUT, when I went to another park a couple of years ago, even the stupid little kiddie rides had BIG warnings on them! Go figure...

 

[PoohBearLovinMama]

First of all, Congrats!!

Second, thank you so much for posting about this. I too just found out that I was pregnant and was wondering the same thing. I asked my dr when she confirmed that I indeed was pregnant and she said to avoid rides that really shake you around, rough roller coasters and anything that goes in a loop. She said anything I would be comfortable putting my Dd (19 mos) on, I could ride too. I'm a little disappointed too, but as long as I have a healthy baby, that's all that matters. There is still a TON of things to do and ride. (Or so I imagine, this will be my first trip to WDW).

Good luck with your pregnancy and make sure you tell us about you trip. I would be really interested to know how it went.

 

[renda460]

Thank you for all the responses. I am almost afraid to ask my OB because she seems to be very cautious with things. My last trip to WDW I was 4 months pregnant and basically stayed off of anything that was not recommended for pregnant people. Maybe this time I will be a little more relaxed but still avoid the big thrill ones. Hopefully I can still go on the segway tour as that is something my husband and I will not be able to do without a babysitter. I cant see what would be wrong with it, other than maybe falling.

I have another issue if I am not going to be riding the rides. I was hoping not to tell my in laws that I am pregnant. If I am not riding the rides, they will wonder why. We didnt want to tell anyone about the pregnancy until after the first trimester. In a previous pregnancy, we told my mother in law early on and she ended up telling everyone. It actually got back to my friends through my mother in laws hair dresser. She truly cannot keep something like this private.

Thanks again

p.s. since I am not telling anyone about the pregnancy, it feels good to talk about it on this board. I just hope my husband is not reading since I only found out this morning and have not even told him yet!!

 

[michygoomy]

have another issue if I am not going to be riding the rides. I was hoping not to tell my in laws that I am pregnant. If I am not riding the rides, they will wonder why.

OK, this is pretty easy to handle:

-If they haven't been with you to WDW before, do they know what rides you even like? You could bow out saying it's too scary/high/bumpy or whatever.

-Feign a tummy ache or headache when confronted with a thrill ride.

-Take the little one(s) and encourage your in-laws to ride.

-Say you want to run to a shop/get a drink/get a snack/catch another ride while DH wants to go on a thrill ride.

You can use a combo of these excuses to get through the trip. Will they be suspicious? Sure. But suspicion is not confirmation.

We kept our little secret for about three weeks. It was hard! One day at a party the relatives kept telling us we needed to have another (like they always do). My DH would just answer, "OK, we'll get right on that." Nobody figured it out.