Passenger delivers preemie on a cruise

[WDWJDS]

Apparently a woman delivered a baby on a cruise last week, and it’s being said that she was only 22 weeks pregnant.

Cruise rules say that you can’t be more than 23 weeks pregnant to sail. This baby was supposed to be only 22 weeks, but weighed 2lb, 2oz and after being intubated for a few days, is now breathing on its own

Something isn’t adding up.

https://amp.miamiherald.com/living/health-fitness/article269463927.html

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Apparently a woman delivered a baby on a cruise last week, and it’s being said that she was only 22 weeks pregnant.

Cruise rules say that you can’t be more than 23 weeks pregnant to sail. This baby was supposed to be only 22 weeks, but weighed 2lb, 2oz and after being intubated for a few days, is now breathing on its own

Something isn’t adding up.

https://amp.miamiherald.com/living/health-fitness/article269463927.html

Hmmmm.....


At 22 weeks, a baby is typically over 7 1/2 inches (19.2 centimeters) from the top of the head to the bottom of the buttocks (known as the crown-rump length). The baby's height is approximately 10 3/4 inches (27.4 centimeters) from the top of the head to the heel (crown-heel length). This week, the baby weighs around 16 3/4 ounces or just over a pound (476 grams)
https://www.verywellfamily.com/22-weeks-pregnant-4159032

22 weeks

11.42 inches

1.05 pounds

https://www.babycenter.com/pregnanc...-fetal-length-and-weight-week-by-week_1290794

 

[tvguy]

My wife was 25 weeks along when we cruised way back in 1986. It was on RCCL and there was no specific restrictions how many weeks you could be to cruise at that time, they just required a note from your OB Gyn clearing you to cruise.
My wife sure got a wide berth on the dance floor on that cruise! And our son was born with an obsession with water!

 

[sam_gordon]

My wife was 25 weeks along when we cruised way back in 1986. It was on RCCL and there was no specific restrictions how many weeks you could be to cruise at that time, they just required a note from your OB Gyn clearing you to cruise.
My wife sure got a wide berth on the dance floor on that cruise! And our son was born with an obsession with water!

Guess they've changed things in 36 years...

Royal Caribbean International cannot accept guests who will be more than 23 weeks pregnant at any time during the cruise or CruiseTour.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/pregnant-health-safety-onboard-policy

 

[tvguy]

Guess they've changed things in 38 years...

Royal Caribbean International cannot accept guests who will be more than 23 weeks pregnant at any time during the cruise or CruiseTour.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/pregnant-health-safety-onboard-policy

We didn't even think about it being an issue when we booked it. Fortunately our Travel Agent was on the ball.......and this is back when you used to actually GO to the Travel Agent to book the cruise.......no e-mails.....and gave us a heads up about needing a letter from the Doctor. But it was 36 years ago.

 

[trip]

Wow! Wonder what their medical bill will be.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I'm glad the baby is doing okay, but I think the mom is a lying liar who lies. The cruise ships aren't equipped to deal with childbirth, that's why there are restrictions. 20 years ago, we had to move the date of a Disney cruise, so I could travel pregnant. I don't remember the specific requirements, but I had the baby that May (maybe we moved from Feb. to Jan.?)

I'm mystified as to why someone would deliberately put their baby at risk by cruising beyond the allowed gestation time.

 

[NotUrsula]

The verbiage of the article is a bit cagey regarding the mom and her pregnancy, no quote about how she thought she had plenty of time, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those situations where someone was pregnant but unaware of it; a so-called cryptic pregnancy. If she didn't know she was pregnant, she wouldn't have been concerned with how many weeks she was.

(And yes, it seems bizarre that anyone could be halfway through a pregnancy and not be aware of it, but it happens more often than we might think; particularly when obesity is involved. A study on cryptic pregnancy incidence found that an avg. of 1 in 475 pregnancies were not discovered until after the 20-week mark.)

The size of the baby relative to its gestational age would seem to point to possible gestational diabetes; which again, is most common in the presence of maternal obesity.

 

[Skippy918]

There’s no flipping way this baby was 22 weeks. Seems like closer to 28 weeks. My friend’s baby was born at 24 weeks at about a pound and was intubated for months. Unfortunately his lungs failed and he passed away at 6 months old. He never left the nicu.

 

[Jml813]

I'm also part of the Royal Caribbean blog/bulletin boards. The newspaper article gave the mom's name and several people were able to find her baby registry. She's due February 15th so she was well over 23 weeks and clearly appeared to know!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm also part of the Royal Caribbean blog/bulletin boards. The newspaper article gave the mom's name and several people were able to find her baby registry. She's due February 15th so she was well over 23 weeks and clearly appeared to know!

Was just posting that I had looked up with her name and Melbourne, FL although the one I found was Feb 19th. I figured if it was a situation of not knowing that would have likely leaked out.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm mystified as to why someone would deliberately put their baby at risk by cruising beyond the allowed gestation time.

Because their faith that "it can't happen to me" is stronger than their sense of caution. My guess is that literally hundreds of women do this exact thing each and every year, and the vast majority get away with it, so to speak, because they don't experience premature labor or other complications. If it didn't open the whole fat vs. pregnant can of worms, I could see cruise ships disallowing visibly pregnant women altogether to avoid situations like this one.

 

[barkley]

Wow! Wonder what their medical bill will be.

i can't begin to imagine. i remember when i was pregnant with my oldest-our then hmo had a provision that read if you were pregnant and traveled outside a so many mile radius of your primary care 'zone' (regional area where your primary care physician, ob/gyn and hospital group were located) and had to seek pregnancy or delivery related care there was ZERO coverage.

 

[QueenIsabella]

i can't begin to imagine. i remember when i was pregnant with my oldest-our then hmo had a provision that read if you were pregnant and traveled outside a so many mile radius of your primary care 'zone' (regional area where your primary care physician, ob/gyn and hospital group were located) and had to seek pregnancy or delivery related care there was ZERO coverage.

There's that, and also, if she lied about her due date, it's fraud. It's going to be tough for her to claim she didn't know, if there's a baby registry (with a due date). Not to mention medical records.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Because their faith that "it can't happen to me" is stronger than their sense of caution. My guess is that literally hundreds of women do this exact thing each and every year, and the vast majority get away with it, so to speak, because they don't experience premature labor or other complications. If it didn't open the whole fat vs. pregnant can of worms, I could see cruise ships disallowing visibly pregnant women altogether to avoid situations like this one.

Stupid, stupid, stupid (not you--I'm agreeing with you!) Maybe they should lower the gestational age to 14 weeks or so--"visibly pregnant" could be a problem--not just with overweight women, but some women don't show much, some show very early.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Stupid, stupid, stupid (not you--I'm agreeing with you!) Maybe they should lower the gestational age to 14 weeks or so--"visibly pregnant" could be a problem--not just with overweight women, but some women don't show much, some show very early.

Yeah, we can't go by 'visibly pregnant'.
With my first, I didn't show at all, until about two months before I gave birth (and I was skinny size 2 back then)...she was a very tiny baby! I had her 6 weeks early, and the only thing I had to do was unbutton my pants!

With my 2nd, I was in maternity clothes at about 5 months (started at size 8); with my youngest, I was in maternity clothes at 3 months (started at size 10).

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm glad the baby is doing okay, but I think the mom is a lying liar who lies. The cruise ships aren't equipped to deal with childbirth, that's why there are restrictions. 20 years ago, we had to move the date of a Disney cruise, so I could travel pregnant. I don't remember the specific requirements, but I had the baby that May (maybe we moved from Feb. to Jan.?)

I'm mystified as to why someone would deliberately put their baby at risk by cruising beyond the allowed gestation time.

It’s not that cruise ships can’t handle a delivery, it’s that they can’t handle preemies or complications. I believe all lines refuse pregnant women over 22 weeks for this reason. I think it would be easy to require a letter from a doctor stating how many weeks along a pregnant woman is, although I’m sure some wouldn’t let on about the pregnancy to skirt this issue.

 

[Marrila]

It’s not that cruise ships can’t handle a delivery, it’s that they can’t handle preemies or complications. I believe all lines refuse pregnant women over 22 weeks for this reason. I think it would be easy to require a letter from a doctor stating how many weeks along a pregnant woman is, although I’m sure some wouldn’t let on about the pregnancy to skirt this issue.

I'm fairly sure cruise lines don't want to be in the delivery business at all.
Hopefully the mother purchased cruise insurance that includes OB charges.
The letter would only work for those who choose to comply honestly.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My daughter was premature. I had an emergency c-section. Had her at 28 weeks but she stopped growning at 26 weeks. Weighed 1.7 lbs. She was intubated and life flighted to UCSF. I'm happy to report she is a healthy 17 year old. Just got her drivers license, honor roll student and looking at colleges.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It’s not that cruise ships can’t handle a delivery, it’s that they can’t handle preemies or complications. I believe all lines refuse pregnant women over 22 weeks for this reason. I think it would be easy to require a letter from a doctor stating how many weeks along a pregnant woman is, although I’m sure some wouldn’t let on about the pregnancy to skirt this issue.

Major cruise lines are more about entering your 24th week either when the cruise starts or at any point into the cruise (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, etc). The cruise lines are more about "we don't want guests going into labor while on board" than anything. They don't have those kinds of doctors staffed on the ships and stand the possibility of being in remote places with little to no access in medical facilities. I mean internet is hard enough to count on. Airlines also have their own limits because while they have delivered babies in the air they are not equipped for that, but the method of travel can induce labor.