Fliegen während der Schwangerschaft

The effects of flying on pregnancy – whether as an airline passenger, cabin or flight deck crew, air force pilot, or astronaut – are reviewed in terms of their impact on fetal and maternal health. Based on theories of altitude physiology and experiments with pregnant women under actual flying conditions in modern jets, it has been shown that flying does not impair the fetal oxygen supply. The cosmic radiation burden is too low in occasional fliers to warrant anything other than the unreserved recommendation of flying as an appropriate method of travel during pregnancy. The few relative contraindications comprise flying near term, a history of miscarriage and premature labor, marked anemia, cardiopulmonary disease, and extreme fear of flying. Major obstetric risk factors, e.g., placenta previa, are absolute contraindications. As for airline crew, the risk from added occupational exposure to cosmic radiation must be weighed against the practical disadvantages of systematically grounding pregnant personnel. Many airlines have no such policy in force, and protection against such radiation is not covered in national legislations (in Germany, either measure would be redundant in that the Protection of Mothers Law already bans shift work during pregnancy). As for the multiply greater and more varied stresses confronted by air force pilots and astronauts, a preoperational negative pregnancy test remains standard on common sense safety grounds despite the isolated report of a normal pregnancy outcome in a NASA pilot flying until the 36th week.