Hi,

My wife is 24 weeks pregnant. She wants us to travel to Vietnam for Songkran, when she will be 29 weeks.

I know the airline will allow her to fly with a doctors certificate. However my concern is Vietnam, specifically Ho Chi Minh. I am a little concerned if anything happens. What are the hospitals like? Are we likely to get insurance to cover while there? Is this a not ideal stage to be travelling?

Can anyone with any experience advise.

Many thanks

There are many airlines that won't even accept a doctors note at that very late stage.

If you have the time and money ( and are in Thailand), hire a car to Mukdahan (avoid the shorter route via Cambodia for obvious reasons).

From there, get in your prearranged Laotian driven car.

Travel through Laos.

At the Vietnam border get in your Viet driven car and drive to the coast.

Make a right.

Drive down to Saigon.

Tell the wife tha tthis is the only option.

I'm sure she will just wait till next year.

Good luck

The OP also will have to check if Vietnam will grant entry, a some countries will not allow entry in case of someone pregnant for more than X weeks. (Some countries give nationality to persons born in their country).

Insurance will be hard to get, because it is a pre-existing condition and most will cover accidents only anyway.

29 weeks is not late for traveling by any means... for most airlines the absolute cutoff is 36 weeks. The likliness of any complications is low if she has been fine up until now. Pregnancy is not an illness!

Your regular health insurance may cover emergencies in other countries; something you can easily find out. As for hospitals there, you really don't want to give birth there if you can help it.

Be careful, get not just a letter but lots of phone numbers and names of the people you speak to - both hospitals/doctors and airlines.

I am only 5 months but now get asked for the papers at the airport for a domestic flight.

The other week I met a lady who lives in Vietnam but flew to Bangkok to stay for the last month or more and have her baby (she was 7 months I think). Although both the airline and the doctors said she was ok to fly the actual airport staff wouldn't let her. She spent a long time at the airport calling doctors and high ups in Thai Airways before they let her on the flight.

She said there wasn't really anywhere in Vietnam she wanted to deliver, which was why she was coming here.

For tips on doctors and hospitals in Vietnam, just email the Aus embassy in Vietnam (don't say you aren't aussie if you aren't), and they will let you know contacts in case of emergency. Best to keep these details handy just in case.