Flying when pregnant

[sukigirl]

I was just wandering what the general consensus is on flying as crew whilst in the early stages of pregnancy. I am considering trying from a family and wanted to know if is ok to continue flying for a while, or if its best for baby to ground myself straight away. Are there any real risk involved?
Does anyone have some info or advice on this?

[flybywire]

Hi Sukigirl...

just my personal experience, I do not know if it can help you.

I do not know who you fly for, in my airline we have to "sign in" every day and by doing that we declare ourselves fit for flying and in doing that we are "legal" as per our Flying Crew Orders. Our FCO say that as soon as you believe (I think the word is in fact suspect) that you're pregnant you should ground yourself immediately. So, in theory, if you know you're pregnant but sign in to go flying you're going against the crew orders.

I know some people keep flying until they are obliged to tell the company (usually until the 16th week), however having tried it myself last year I would not suggest it as the best option.

I fell pregnant in 2005 and kept flying, I didn't really want to stop as I was feeling great, however at 8 weeks I started bleeding and the pregnancy was no longer viable. Since I hadn't told the company either I got into trouble for being "off sick". I didn't really want to tell them about the whole thing really for fear of getting into trouble.

I do not know if the two things (flying, being really tired because of strenuous rosters, eating badly, lack of sleep etc) were related, or if maybe things would have gone this way anyway, however lastjuly when I found out (very, very early on I might add!) I told the company straight away. Rostering, my manager and the duty managers knew it before my mum!!!!! :E

I am glad I grounded myself straight away as past 5 weeks I started feeling so rough this time I do not know how I would have coped with 5am reports and night flights!! Pkus, just the idea of the smell of those toilets again.....bbbrrrrrrr :uhoh: or even the smell of dirty ovens. Gosh I cannot think about it!!

So to finish it here, I believe it is up to you (provided you are not going against company procedures, if so then there are other things to think of!). It is true that flight attendants tend to suffer a bit more from miscarriages than ordinary wmen, however whether this is related to the flying itself (radiations etc) or to the lifestyle we do not really know! I certainly won't risk it anymore!!

Take care and have fun....trying is the best part! When you start feeling like a hippo (:{ ) like I feel now, it's another story!!

Ciao

FBW

[sukigirl]

Thank you for your honest reply fbw.
I will certainly take heed of your advice and thinking about it, I know you are right.
Im sorry to hear about your first pregnancy. I can understand why you grounded youself straight away this time.
I wish you well for the remainder of your pregnancy and keep us posted when baby arrives. Take care xx

[Samya]

Hi!

I am not a CC yet, but my sister used to be one, and she continued flying until the end of the first trimester and her baby was born with a very minor deformity (nothing serious thank God). Since we never had anything similar in the family before, and another girl also experienced the same with her baby, the doctors concluded, that it 'might have something to do with her flying during pregnancy'. But this is not 100% proven, however, being a CC is a very trying job, and I think if I would be in the same position I would stop flying. Better to be safe...
I wish you both all the best!!
Kisses! :)

[vodkaholic]

also consider, that this job can involve heavy lifting (atlas boxes, pax bags etc) and in severe turbulance, you risk falling about or falling into carts etc. would you really want to put your unborn baby at a risk like this? i can understand why people would want to continue flying while pregnant, as office duties would not appeal to me in any way! but you have another person to consider in the equation and you should ultimately do what is right for you both.

[johnezy]

with easyjet you have to stop flying straight away and then they try to get you an office job

[theophile]

Hey Sukigirl,

I am an amateur pilot and in the medical profession,and I can assure you
that in the first 3 months of your pregnancy,you SHOULD NOT FLY.In the
air,at the flight levels you work,there is a high level of cosmic radiation,which really endangers your child to be.This can be particularly
damaging in the first few months of pregnancy.If I remember correctly,a
flight,say from Delhi to New York,is equivalent to about 50 chest X-Rays,
as far as radiation is concerned.So,please,for your babies' sake,DO NOT FLY!

Eric

[Juud]

Sukigirl, for what it´s worth, obeying company rules and procedures in connection with pregnancy is one of the few things in my life I truly regret.

I don´t know if our children´s health problems are due to the fact that I blindly did as I was told by our company doctor, namely fly until 5 months pregnant. But I strongly suspect they do. :sad:

I do know for a fact that their problems were exacerbated by me going back to work in accordance with the rules, and thus stopping breastfeeding them, after 8 weeks. :sad:

Medical research at the time said it was fine to fly, these days it says the opposite. If your company offers you the option of grounding yourself, I´d say you would do yourself a favour and go for that.

If it costs you money, consider this... your baby does not need a brand new version of everything, second hand crib, car seat, whatever will do fine.
Your baby does need the best possibly conditions to grow into a healthy little human being while under your heart.

I so wish I had been less obedient 20 years ago, and had not suffered from execessive work-ethics.

Go for it Sukigirl, good for you that you are looking for information.

[Hawk]

Sukigirl
It might be worthwhile researching flying and pregnancy posts from Medical Forum:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/search.php?searchid=1044301

[flybywire]

May I add: when you are grounded for pregnancy reasons you still get your 100% basic salary and a daily allowance.
I found my job on the ground quite boring, but I loved the fact that I could interact with other pregnant girls at the same time (we're all due within 3 weeks of each other!) and I discovered an aspect of my airline that I ignored before.
Besides I had some health "hiccups" as well so I was signed off by my doctor and in the end ended up doing only 2 days a week (although the airline is still obliged to pay you full time). That meant I had to stop working 4 weeks before my due date, however I would have stopped anyway - no way I could get behind the steering wheel of my car every day now for 30 miles morning and evening!!!

My airline calculates the risk of exposure to radiations for each of us, (pilots and cabin crew) month after month, and I am pretty sure that especially a short haul crew wouldn't suffer too much from cosmic radiation (there's no proven medical evidence just yet) however flying while pregnant can be difficult and possibly dangerous also for other things as well. Vodkaholic named a few of them. After 3 years of maniac work for this airline I have actually enjoyed some time off flying (although I can't wait to start again now!)...pregnancy is a time where you should put yourself and your baby first and only you can decide what you want to do. Trust your instinct and your gut feeling if still indecided!! :ok:

[boredcounter]

Check your Part A if you are EU or JAA.

Control of Occupational Exposures of Pregnant Women (1.390(a)(3))

Female aircrew should notify their employer if they become pregnant so that any necessary dose control measures can be introduced. The protection of the foetus should be comparable with that provided for members of the public. This means that, once the pregnancy is declared, the employer must plan future occupational exposures such that the equivalent dose to the foetus is unlikely to be greater than 1 mSv during the remainder of the pregnancy. The cosmic radiation exposure of the body is essentially uniform and the maternal abdomen provides no effective shielding to the foetus. As a result, the magnitude of equivalent dose to the foetus can be put equal to that of the effective dose received by the mother.

In plain language, the above is not reasonably possible. You will be grounded by most Airlines and found work on land.

Hope it helps, good luck to you and bambino

[justinzider]

My wife works as cabin crew for a foreign carrier based at LHR and flies to LAX and HKG only. She is 12 weeks pregnant and due to complications has taken sick leave, annual leave and unpaid leave for the last 8 weeks.
She is now ready to return to work and was expecting to be placed on ground duties as has applied to all pregnant staff over the last 5 years.
However, the company now say she must fly until 30 weeks or take unpaid leave!!
Can they do this under UK law? I've been fishing for references all day but can't get anything verified - Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004 regarding health and night work and an unfindable link to JAA(?) Control of Occupational Exposures (Radiation) of Pregnant Women - but nothing really concrete.
Does anyone out there have anything definitive?
Regards,
J.

[tiggerific_69]

she needs to see her GP and get grounded by them. Can i ask which airline this is???Passengers need a doctors note after 28 weeks to fly,so thats obsurd that they wouldnt even expect your wife to operate!!!! She wont be able to lift anything heavy,she wouldnt be able to evacuate easily in an emergency because she'll be fairly big by then!!!!im absolutely astounded by this!! She needs to see her doctor ASAP or even her midwife or someone at the hospital.Good luck getting this sorted. Personally, id rather resign for the sake of my baby's health than fly until 30 weeks.

[justinzider]

Don't wish to name the company on a public forum... a little detective work should get you through the clues though!

Apart from individual medical grounding is there any evidence to present to get this new policy reversed for everyone?

[DX Wombat]

I can't remember the exact wording, but I'm pretty sure they can't do that. I have recently retired from Nursing and I know that pregnant staff were not allowed to work nights on health grounds - and that was without any complicating factors as employers have a duty of care. Maternity Benefit (or whatever they are calling it these days) is payable from the 28th week of pregnancy and it is the individual mother's choice as to whether or not she wishes to continue to work after that point. Twenty eight weeks used to be the earliest age of viability for the baby, (it is now 22 weeks) and it is also one of the more important landmarks of the pregnancy as it is around this time that PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension) can raise its ugly head. She should talk to Occupational Health and also, equally importantly, to her Union Representative.

[flybywire]

I do not know about that airline, however UK airlines' policy is to ground any pregnant crew as soon as she declares it. I got grounded at 4weeks pregnant!! :uhoh:

I think you should look into it, it sounds really strange to me...

Besides once she's grounded she can always get a doctor's certificate to have her weekly hours/days reduced even to zero if needed, and the company cannot say anything! I had some problems too in the first half of my pregnancy and had my days reduced to 3 and then 2 per week. I was not supposed to do shifts either. It's also my company's policy that if you live more than 90minutes (I think) from your base they have to find an appropriate place near your home for you to work at and failing that they are obliged to keep paying you but you're not expected to go to work for grounded duties!!

I really think there's something wrong with what that company has told your wife, although I do not know if CAA rules apply to a foreign company, even when based in the UK. But you can always give them a ring and find out!

If nothing else works I would get a doctor's certificate for a pregnancy "at risk" and just be on sick leave till she starts maternity leave.

Good luck with everything, I hope your wife will have a smooth pregnancy from now on! xx

FBW
(yes, I'm still bloody waiting....:hmm: )

[tiggerific_69]

STILL!!! wasnt it due about a month ago?! lol

Good luck Justinzider,i know which airline you are on about now,and it was who i originally suspected....

[flybywire]

Nope :} its rent is paid until next sunday. After that it will be a squatter!! :E

I think another thing he could do is to see what the procedure is in the country teh airline is based. I am suspicious that CAA rules won't really matter to a carrier from anoher country. It wuld be good to get some advice also from people employed in the country of origin of the airline and see how they get treated!

[tiggerific_69]

April 1st, i'll put money on it!
Surely if the crew are UK based then they are under CAA regulations?

[justinzider]

Crew at the Airline's home base have to fly to 30 weeks. However, they are put onto shorthaul. Out of the LHR base there isn't that option!
The union are now aware and are on the case.
I will look into the occupational health side as I think this is covered in the European Working Time Directive stuff.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Any other pointers gratefully received.
J.

[Butterfield8]

1st trimester...dont fly
2nd trimester....fly
3rd trimester...definitely do not fly.
Also investigate the use of Cartia...low dose aspirin...while flying.
Google "cardio lipin"..not sure of the spelling.

[justinzider]

Have been looking into UK CAA regs and IF they apply to a foreign carrier with a UK base then the Airline in question falls foul of:-
1. The Air Navigation (Cosmic Radiation) Order 2000. No.1104 - "..Operators shall ensure exposure to the foetus will be as low as reasonably achievable and unlikely to exceed 1 milliSievert during the remainder of the pregnancy"
Estimates of polar LHR - LAX - LHR or LHR - HKG - LHR flight patterns are that this will be reached or exceeded in 4 complete trips.
2. The Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004. No.756 - this basically states that upon recomendation from a medical practitioner that working nights (2am - 4.59am locally adjusted) could pose health risks then the operator should move the crew member to appropriate ground duties. (Interestingly and unrelated it restricts crew members to 900 flight hours in every rolling 12 months)
I guess this is why every UK operator grounds their pregnant Cabin Crew.
Ammunition being forward to my wife's Union Rep for a shot across the bows!

[flybywire]

Butterfield8.......
I do not know what the reccomendation is where you live but in europe aspirin during pregnancy is a huge NO!!
It has been directly linked with miscarriages, dangerous foetal defects, and they're still debating whether it increases the chances of serious pregnancy complications such as placental abruption, so I would be extra careful!!!

If aspirin is taken to help blood circulation, unless it's a serious condition that must be treated and a doctor has prescribed it specifically fully aware of the risks/benefits, there's no point in taking it as pregnancy can really mess up your circulation sometimes anyway (hands/legs/feet and I will spare you the rest!) and the only solution is to drink loads of water and put your feet up. If it is to be taken as a painkiller then the only medicine which is safe to be taken is paracetamol, at the normal doses (max 8x500mg in 24hrs). Ibuprofen has also been linked to foetal problems, especially if taken during the first trimester.

Justinzinder I hope the union will help you and that your wife will get a decent 9-5 job on the ground!!

FBW

[Butterfield8]

Cartia is specifically designed to combat micro thrombosis during pregancy.
Studies have found that cabin crew can be predisposed to miscarriages caused by micro thrombosis which form in the umbilical cord and deprive the unborn child of both nutrient and oxygen.
"Cardio lipin" is a protein which is a precursor to the formation of thrombosis and can be effectively prevented by LOW DOSE aspirin...generic name Cartia.
After 3 miscarriages Cartia was introduced into my wifes oral regimen by our physician....voila...
Success..... a healthy bouncing baby boy.
3 miscarriages for us was very emotional..Cartia appeared to save the day.

[flybywire]

Apologies I had never heard of that kind of aspirin over here. I do know that in some circumstances aspirin is prescribed to women who seem to have recurrent miscarriages, but even then it's a specific problem and not the rule over here, and clearly the benefits are worth the possible risks.

I think the best thing for a pregnant crew is to be grounded as soon as she finds out she's pregnant. As I said here on a previous discussion (about 2 weeks ago I think?) I too had a miscarriage in 2005 while I kept flying, in my opinion I wasn't doing anything harmful as I was feeling great, but now I cannot be certain that flying (and the hard schedule, although flying shorthaul at that time) did not have anything to do with it.
So this time I grounded myself immediately, as I said BA knew it before my mother and the rest of my family!!!

[DX Wombat]

Amongst other things I am a qualified Midwife. I am absolutely horrified at the advice given to "look into" the possibility of taking drugs (of any sort) during pregnancy. That sort of advice is unspeakably irresponsible! :mad: :mad: :mad: Under NO circumstances should anyone who is pregnant take anything, and that includes folk remedies and tonics, without first seeking the advice of their GP, Obstetrician or Midwife. Please ensure that the person from whom you seek advice on these matters is properly qualified to give such advice and not some amateur passing on a pet theory or something they have read in a magazine. You have two people to consider when ingesting different substances when pregnant and the baby doesn't get much say in the matter once you have consumed the substance. even apparently innocuous things can be dangerous to the health of the baby. Don't let your baby suffer for the rest of his or her lifetime because proper advice wasn't obtained.

[TightSlot]

Good advice folks, from an authoritative source - take it! :ok:

[TSR2]

Good luck girl ........ let us know the result.

[Butterfield8]

Since when is aspirin a drug?.It is a willow bark extract.
My wife and I are both anti drugs..even antibiotics.
We adopt a preventative rather than curative approach.
Cartia is available OTC and was suggested by the Professor of Obstetrics at UNSW Sydney.
This person has a great number of crew under his care.
Particularly those who have had multiple miscarriages.
I am not an irresponsible person who dishes out mindless uninformed medical advice.
I am merely passing on information from an extremely well qualified source.
Accept it in the spirit it was intended.I can do without the expletives.
Always ALWAYS consult your physician before ingesting anything.

[whatzmyname]

Do you guys get paid when you go on maternity leave? :confused:

We were only allowed from last year June to go on maternity leave. We do not get paid at all until we come back to work 3 months after birth of baby. It is basically unpaid leave here at EK.

[Virginia]

I believe all civilised airlines provide maternity leave...

So what happened at EK before last June then? Did they sack you if you got pregnant?

[flybywire]

Do you guys get paid when you go on maternity leave?

We were only allowed from last year June to go on maternity leave. We do not get paid at all until we come back to work 3 months after birth of baby. It is basically unpaid leave here at EK.

Wow... I am speechless!

Well it's not BA's policy, it's a UK policy. Every woman is entitled to maternity leave paid by the government. Some companies have better conditions and some, like BA, only give you what they are obliged to give.Nothing more, nothing less.

We get 6 weeks paid at 90% salary, then 20 weeks at about £108 per week. Then we are entitled to 26 weeks of Unpaid maternity Leave, that is we are not paid but we still keep our job. It's not compulsory though.

If the baby is due after the beginning of the new tax year (5th of april 2007 I think) then after the 6 weeks at 90% of your basic salary you get 33 weeks at £108 per week, then you have the remaining 13 weeks of Unpaid maternity leave if you want them.

The fact that we do not fly during the pregnancy is a bit of a problem for airlines, as they have to give us an alternative job whilst grounded and keep paying us basic+allowances till we go on maternity leave. Despite I would never do the grounded job for a living (I am not an office person) I really had a good time and it gave me an insight of another department that I didn't know very well before. I'd definitely ask to go back there next time round!!

I know for a fact that maternity leave in the UK is not the best available in europe but I feel lucky I have been given the opportunity to take up to a year mat. leave. I know some countries are still far behind and I think all women should get together and fight for what they need/want regarding this!!!!

[DX Wombat]

Butterfield, Since when is aspirin a drug?.It is a willow bark extract Aspirin is just as much a drug as Morphine, Atropine, Heroin, Codeine, Digoxin, Cocaine and many, many more - all of which can be obtained from plant extracts. Just because the source of a drug is herbal does NOT mean it isn't a drug. All of those I have listed so far, and that includes Aspirin, can be lethal without necessarily having been taken as an overdose. Toxicity is an individual matter and there are always those for whom the normal does will cause problems - I am one of those. In my case a far less than normal dose of Aspirin will produce clotting problems - sufficient on one occasion to make my GP think I may have had leukaemia, fortunately I didn't but I had previously been able to take aspirin with impunity.
Whilst I do not deny that the Professor is a knowledgable person I am sure that he would never prescribe anything for anyone without having knowledge of that persons medical and obstetric history and neither would I. To do otherwise would be extremely irresponsible.I am not an irresponsible person who dishes out mindless uninformed medical advice.
I am merely passing on information from an extremely well qualified source Whilst I am sure that it was done with the best of intentions, the fact remains that your advice IS uninformed. You do NOT know the medical and obstetric history of the pregnant mums reading this forum and neither do I (and I AM qualified to give appropriate advice) - hence my advice to see their GP, Obstetrician or Midwife before taking anything. Do you know all the possible side effects of aspirin? As I said above, your informed source is prescribing on an individual basis with the benefit of knowledge not only of that person's history but also of the drug in question and what is suitable for one person may be contra-indicated in another. Please don't put peoples health and lives at risk by suggesting they take certain substances - some human beings have a nasty habit of seeing things and going ahead without bothering to make themselves fully informed first - and it isn't always the less intelligent ones who do so. Pregnancy can do odd things to people and their way of thinking and what looks like a good idea to a mum wanting to do the best for her baby may turn out to have dreadful consequences.
I am delighted that you and your wife have such a positive attitude to drug taking but don't let it become a fixation so that something is refused because you don't like taking medicines. Over-use of antibiotics is a menace and has caused serious problems with resistance but they DO have their place. I probably woudn't be here today if it were not for them.

[DX Wombat]

On a lighter note girls, have you noticed that prior to becoming pregnant all your friends and relatives stress the wonders and joys of babies (all true - they are truly wonderful creatures who DO bring a lot of joy) and tell you how well you will look and feel during pregnancy? Once you announce that you are pregnant they all go into "Doom and Gloom" mode and happily recount tales of such lurid detail and fantastic imagination that you wonder how you are going to survive? :hmm: :uhoh: :\ Take no notice! Great Aunt Ethel who was told she should NEVER have another baby because she was so ill during pregnancy that she nearly died, will turn out to have produced several babies and Aunt Flo's friend's friend's daughter's friend who "was in labour for over three weeks" and was never EVER going to have any more than that first baby will have gone on to produce a healthy brood of half a dozen assorted infants. Take the tales with a HUGE pinch of (the proverbial, not actual) salt. They mean well, it's just that they have an odd way of demonstrating this. Good luck to all of you who are pregnant (or thinking about it). I hope you all have a smooth pregnancy and delivery and are able to enjoy to the full your new, healthy baby for many years to come. :ok:

[flybywire]

DX Wombat you had me in stitches :E :ok:
It is so true!!

I have to say these have been a challenging 9 months which I am hoping will finish soon, but at the same time have been by far the most beautiful months of my life! Despite the worries that baby was healthy like any woman would probably have it's been the funniest time of my 27 years, pregnancy can do crazy things to you mentally and physically, and if any of my friends asked my opinion I would definitely tell them that I had never thought you could reach such a high level of intimacy with your man, when intimacy itself takes several new aspects (I will spare you the details which I am sure you know well :E )

It's true girls should take Aunt Ethel's advice and Aunt Flo's stories with a pinch of salt, I had never experienced anything as natural as pregnancy and I am amazed every day at what my body can do! I have also managed to ignore all the "terrifying" birth stories, I just cannot wait to try it myself so, whatever happens, provided I am still alive afterwards :} I can then spread some good vibes around :)

I totally agree with you about aspirin and about medicines in general:hmm:
Changing the subject a little, there was rarely a day while I was flying that I did not see one of the crew take some sort of painkiller, from paracetamol to other stronger NSAIDs for headaches etc and I have seen many crew diagnose things to themselves when they should have seen a doctor instead!! I also have friends who would take painkillers for any discomfort, I do not know if my pain threshold is much higher than other people's but normally I would take some paracetamol only if in a lot of pain, and maybe that's why it always seems to work at the lowest doses!

Justinzider did you solve the situation of your wife with the company?
FBW xx

[DX Wombat]

FBW - thank you :) To all of you, remember it isn't called "labour" for nothing. Ignore the well-intentioned but definitely misguided who will try to describe it as "like the petals of a waterlily unfolding one by one by one...."* :confused: :hmm: The analogy is well intentioned but, from my experience as a midwife, somewhat distanced from the truth. :\ Labour is hard, physical work but the end result makes it probably the most rewarding thing you have done and judging by the number of people who go on to have more than one baby the pain and hard work are more than compensated for by the end result. Enjoy your pregnancy and babies, make the most of your time with them, they are only babies for a very short time. DO breastfeed - you will want to buy the best you can for your baby and your breastmilk is free and the best possible start you can provide but do NOT feel guilty if you are one of the few who, for whatever reason, are unable to do so - formula milks are improving all the time. A little something to make you smile. Some children were discussing the relative merits of bottle versus breast feeding and one youngster came up with a reason which can't be beaten even though it is a little unorthodox and is unlikely ever to appear in a textbook: The cat can't get at it! :uhoh: :) :D :D :D
* I actually saw that written somewhere!

[Qstar]

We just had a girl she was 3 months pregnant, and ended up in a BKK hospital after having a faulse pregnancy upline, so sorry but feel its not worth the strain on your body, once you are thats it onto ground duties till time to stop.:=

[blow.n.gasket]

What do you call a pregnant flight attendant?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Pilot error

[Paddington]

I know that this is an old thread but I found it when searching for info about flying when pregnant. So just in case anyone else does the same here's some company information about cosmic radiation, flying and pregnancy.

Q: How much radiation will I be exposed to?
A: The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommends a maximum exposure from occupational sources of 20 mSv per year (averaged over a period of 5 years) with an additional recommendation that the equivalent dose to the foetus in pregnant women should not exceed 1 mSv during the declared term of the pregnancy. Occupational exposure for flight, cabin crew and duty travellers will depend on the route, altitude and aircraft type. On average, dose rates received will be in the order of:
• Long haul aircraft - 5 μSv (microsieverts) per hour;
• Short haul aircraft - 1-3 μSv (microsieverts) per hour dependent on the altitude reached.
In general, for crew members it is expected that:
• long-haul crew will have an annual exposure of approximately one fifth of the recommended dose
limit i.e. 4 mSv per year;
• short-haul crew will have an annual exposure of approximately one tenth of the recommended dose limit i.e. 2 mSv per year.

Q: What is the risk to me?
A: When ionising radiation passes through the body, energy is transmitted to the tissues which
affects the atoms within the individual cells. This may result in:
(i) Development of cancer.
A cell may be altered as a result of being irradiated and subsequently become cancerous.
The likelihood of this happening will depend on the dose received. For an accumulated
dose of 5 mSv per year over a career span of 20 years (more than the anticipated annual
exposure for long haul crew) the likelihood of developing cancer due to the radiation will
be 0.4%. This however needs to be put in perspective as 23% of the population will die
from some type of cancer so the overall risk will therefore increase from 23% to 23.4%.
Compared with all other risks encountered during the working life, this is very low.
(ii) Genetic risk.
A child conceived after exposure of the mother or father to ionising radiation is at risk of
inheriting radiation induced genetic defects. These may take the form of anatomical or
functional abnormalities apparent at birth or later in life. The risk following an
accumulated dose of 5 mSv per year over a career span of 20 years will be 1 in 1,000.
Again this needs to be considered against a background incidence in the general
population of approximately 1 in 50 for genetic abnormalities.
(iii) Risk to the health of the foetus.
With regard to pregnancy, the ANO requires airlines to reduce the dose received by the
foetus to a level ‘as low as reasonably achievable’. As a result, although the risks to the
foetus from cosmic radiation are insignificant when compared with the other risks during
pregnancy, all female flight and cabin crew in this airline will be assigned to ground
duties on declaration of pregnancy. Duty travellers will need to make their own risk
assessment taking into account the likely exposure and resultant risk.
The possible effects of radiation to the foetus are cancer and mental retardation. There is of
course a background rate for both of these conditions and it is estimated that exposure to cosmic
radiation for 80 block hours per month for a period of 4 weeks will increase the risk by between 1
in 6,000 and 1 in 30,000 depending on the routes flown. Many crew members will be aware that
they are pregnant within a very few weeks and the real risks will therefore be proportionately less.

Q: Has this airline looked at the effects in crew?
A: As well as working with the scientific community on the measurement of cosmic radiation,
this airline has undertaken epidemiological studies examining the causes of death and life
expectancy of flight crew over the last 40 years.
It has been found that pilots and flight engineers have an increased life expectancy of between 3
and 5 years compared to the general population. Mortality from heart disease and all cancers
combined is considerably less in flight crew than for the population of England and Wales as a
whole and, although rare, death from melanoma (which is associated with exposure to sunlight)
was the only cause of cancer in excess. The mortality from cancer such as leukaemia, which may
be linked to radiation exposure, was lower than for the general population.
Further larger studies are continuing to which this airline is contributing and as a result,
more information will be available in due course.
29 - 4

Q: What is this airline doing about cosmic radiation?
A: Under the ANO, the cosmic radiation dose received by flight, cabin crew and duty travellers
will be considered as occupational and therefore the dosage experienced by all crew will be
monitored. As a result, all major European carriers will be estimating doses for each sector using a sophisticated computer model which takes into account
all the factors previously discussed including the aircraft climb and descent profiles, latitude of
the flight, altitude, time of year and point in the solar cycle. The computer estimates will be
periodically validated by measurements performed in flight.

Q: How do I find out what dose I have received?
A: All staff can obtain a record of their radiation exposure through the company Intranet. This record includes rostered duties for flight and cabin crew.

Q: Is there anything more I should be doing?
A: At this stage no.
Conclusion
Cosmic radiation is both a complex and emotive subject. It cannot be seen, touched,
smelt or tasted and yet it is present all around us. Whilst we know that there is no level of
radiation exposure below which effects do not occur, we can estimate the probability of
any harm occurring based on the exposure received. This, coupled with the knowledge of
doses received by crew in this airline and the available epidemiological studies,
reassures us that there is an extremely low probability of staff suffering an abnormality or
disease as a result of occupational exposure to cosmic radiation.

[GlobalGirl]

Can you please tell me, do all airlines based in the EU need to ground their cabin crew and pay them whilst they are pregnant?
If the option of working in the offices isn't available, can crew really be fired?
Do you get any other pay or just maternity pay? But maternity pay does not normal pay out for 9 months prior to the birth, which is what cabin crew need, so how does it work - can someone explain?

[Paddington]

In my large UK-based airline both Cabin Crew and Flight Crew are grounded as soon as they inform the company that they're pregnant.

Some Cabin Crew who live near to our headquarters are given office work but apparently there are too many pregnant crew to give them all work so most stay at home on basic pay during their pregnancies. They're not fired.

Our Flight Crew are given office jobs and basic pay. It seems to be a lottery as to which jobs/projects they're given but the company tries to keep it loosely related to Flight Ops. If they live too far away for a daily commute they're given a laptop and work from home.

Both Cabin Crew and Flight Crew in my company get 90% of their pay for 6 weeks from the day they start their maternity leave. Then it's onto the UK's statutory maternity pay (£117 per week) for up to a year, giving 8 weeks notice to the airline about when they want to return to work.

[cargoattendant]

Guys,

I found this site and couldn't believe it! Home - Aerotoxic Association - Support for Aerotoxic Syndrome Sufferers (http://www.aerotoxic.org/)
Its all about Aerotoxic Syndrome which is a long term result of air coming through the air bleed valves and becoming contaminated which results in both pax and crew breathing in this horrible air.
Check out the ingredients of the Mobil Lubricant!

This may well be the cause of crew struggling to become pregnant. Forget radiation!

[TightSlot]

This may well be the cause of crew struggling to become pregnant. Forget radiation!

The evidence for this statement being?... That there's some nasty stuff around?

[Paddington]

I'm hoping for round 2 before too long :O. So I'm wondering if anything in the airline industry regarding maternity has changed over the past couple of years? Any updates anyone?

[somedaywill12]

This has all been very informative in a slightly scary way....