[Submitted Question]

We are planning a trip to visit my family when I will be about 24 weeks pregnant. We will be travelling from Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California. I am not sure whether it would be better to make the trip by car or by plane. What is the better choice during pregnancy?

[WombToBloom]

Both should be safe for your pregnancy, assuming that you haven’t had any complications up until now. I would vote for plane. The car ride will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 or 17 hours (so says Google Maps). That is a LOT of time to be cramped up and uncomfortable. Second trimester travel tends to be pretty easy – so you won’t have to worry too terribly much about discomfort or swelling or nausea (unless you normally have motion sickness). In both situations, you’ll want to make sure that your legs don’t cramp up and that they get adequate circulation. Get plenty of water and keep your energy up with regular meals and snacks. If you’ve had any back pain or sciatica, you’ll want to move around a bit – which could make your 16 hour car ride a lot longer.

And with the price of gas anymore, the flight may not end up being much more expensive!