Flying While Pregnant

Well I'm off to Alabama today for my annual SPDTC (Southern Public Defender Training Center) conference.  I go to Alabama twice a year to meet with this amazing group of talented lawyers.  I became part of the SPDTC community, now renamed Gideon's Promise, back in 2009 when I was with the same 20 lawyers for 2 weeks in class from 9 to 9 everyday to learn how to become a better public defender and to learn about what needs to be done to reform indigent defense in the South.


SPCTC Conference in July 2009

 Right now, 3 of these attorneys are at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City with Dawn Porter who filmed a documentary on the SPDTC.  Go to www.gideonsarmythefilm.com to see more about this.  The documentary will be showed on HBO this Spring and hey you may even see me in the background :) 

  

Flying While Pregnant:

So since I will be flying to Alabama it got me to thinking is Flying Safe While Pregnant and specifically what about the new Full Body Scans?

Flying is completely safe during the second trimester.  Many practitioners don't advise to fly after 36 weeks but that is a ways away so I don't need to worry about that now.

Full Body Scans are still questionable in my mind.  Here is what I found out: Walking through a metal detector at the airport, or the court house, is considered safe for everyone, since it only uses a low-fequence electromagnetic field to look for weapons.  However, the new body scanners at the TSA uses low-level X-rays.  The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) claims the potential for dangerous radiation exposure from the backscatter machine is low and that it doesn't pose a significant risk to pregnant passengers. The agency says each scan emits less than 1/1,000 of the radiation given off in a standard chest X-ray, or the equivalent of two minutes of high-altitude flight.  But some medical experts have questioned whether the machines have been tested thoroughly enough and they're worried about what would happen if a machine malfunctioned.  On the safe side you can opt out of the full body scanner and get a patdown by one of the TSA agents.

The Mayo Clinic also offers tips for Pregnant woman when they fly:

• Check the airline's policy about air travel during pregnancy. Guidelines for pregnant women may vary by carrier and destination.
• Choose your seat carefully. For the most space and comfort, request an aisle seat.
• Buckle up. During the trip, fasten the lap belt under your abdomen and across the tops of your thighs.
• Promote circulation. If possible, take occasional walks up and down the aisle. If you must remain seated, flex and extend your ankles often.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Low humidity in the cabin can lead to dehydration.

I'm still early enough in my pregnancy where I am really not concerned about flying but I am going to opt out of the full body scan.  I also found it interesting that the TSA is removing all of their Rapiscan machines from airports by June 2013 due to privacy concerns- not radiation.  If the TSA is not sure about their machines yet I am not going to trust their opinion that the machines are safe during pregnancy.  Since their is a simple solution to just avoid the machine I am going to avoid the machine and have one less thing to worry about to make sure Baby Woos is alright.

Read:  http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20130121/TRAVEL02/301210002/TSA-dumps-near-naked-Rapiscan-body-scanners?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE 

Sources:

www.babycenter.com

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/air-travel-during-pregnancy/AN00398