When planning your travel, I like to recommend that you plan for the worst and hope for the best. More often than not, things go exactly as planned and all is well. But in the unfortunate case that you do have travel delays, it is better to be prepared.
A few easy ways to “plan for the worst” are:
1) Always take more medications than you think you will need. That includes not just the medications for your cycle, but any other medications you routinely take. Of course, you can usually get refills at the clinic if needed, but if you’re already traveling, you don’t want to run out of your medications. You’ve spent so much on getting through the cycle, it would be devastating to know that it could all be lost because you ran out of medications.
Usually your clinic can help you get access to medications while you are traveling – but if you get stuck in another country mid-way, it may not be so easy. So, best to take precautions in advance.
Also, never pack all of your meds in your checked luggage. I suggest having at least several days of medications in your carry-on, that way if your checked bag is lost, you still have a few days to arrange to get replacements. If this happens, call your clinic or agency right away – they should be able to help you find a way to get enough medication to carry you through.
Do NOT underestimate the importance of taking your medications on schedule (especially progesterone). You can’t just “skip” doses and hope to get away with it (like you might with some other drugs). Your body needs most of these medications taken on schedule to get and keep you pregnant. You’ve gone through so much to get that way, it just would be crazy to lose it over missed medications. If you ever have any question, be sure to ask your doctor right away.
2) Never book the last flight of the day. That almost insures that if your connection is missed, or the flight is cancelled you will be stuck overnight at the airport or a nearby hotel, and airlines are more reluctant than ever to give out hotel vouchers.
3) Always have a way to access extra money if you need it. Don’t just carry one credit card – take one Visa, and one Mastercard or AMEX, along with some cash. Maybe take an ATM card too. But don’t carry them all in the same wallet. Just have some backup plans in place if your wallet is lost or some unexpected event means you need to have access to cash or credit.
4) Keep a copy of your clinic’s 24 hour hotline, or your agency’s contacts with you at all times while traveling (not in your checked luggage). That way if anything goes wrong, you can reach them quickly and easily – without waiting to get to your checked bags.
Hopefully by being the good, prepared Girl or Boy Scout, you won’t ever need to use your backup plans. But you’ll feel better knowing that you have a contingency plan in place if anything doesn’t go the way you anticipated.