I plan on asking my OB about this, but I was just curious about what others did. I'll be flying at 15/16 weeks, and wanted to know, if you flew during pregnancy, did you choose a pat-down or just go through the back scatter machines? I really cringe at the idea of a pat-down, but I'd rather that than do anything dangerous.
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I went through the scanner at the same time - 16 weeks.
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At 8 weeks pregnant I declined the backscatter, went through the metal detector and got a pat down. I told the TSA agent I was pregnant and she was really nice.
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I wouldn't go through the scanner. (I never have).
I've never really been patted down either.. Been luckily going through security -
@chopsuey119: We don't have an option of whether or not to go through the scanner at our airport, unless you opt out and ask for a pat down. They used to just pick randomly, but now everybody goes through.
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I went through the all body new scanner at 15/16 weeks~
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I'll be flying at 24 weeks and won't be going through the scanner. Half the time I go through the scanner they end up giving me a pat down anyway.
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@mrsjyw: Yeah that's what I went through too.
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I wouldn't go through the scanner. When I flew, they purposely turned it off once we got to the front. They didn't know I was pregnant but they saw that I had a small child so they didn't put us through. We went through the metal detector.
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I flew a couple times during pregnancy, it wasn't really a concern to me, so I went through the scanners.
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@ladyfingers: I would tell them you're pregnant ask for a pat down. My dad (doctor) tells me over and over again never to go through it (especially when I'm pregnant).
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I went through the scanner too. At 8 weeks and 12 weeks.
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I recently started doing pat-downs exclusively (initially during a TWW, but then just decided why not always). The TSA agents who do the pat downs are like RIDICULOUSLY nice and friendly, I think because the whole thing has such a bad reputation. And frankly it took like 15 seconds and wasn't that invasive (I thought). I don't mind them at all and I have grown to kind of like chatting with the agents
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I asked for a pat down rather than the backscatter thing. It didn't take any more time and it was not an inconvenience at all.
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When we flew in my first trimester, they gave me the option of going through a regular metal detector, carrying DD. They still made DH go through the scanner, though.
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I fly VERY often, and I've gone through it in the past, but I'm going to request a pat down instead when I fly next week (5 weeks).
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I flew at 19 weeks, 27 weeks and 30 weeks and went through the body scanner all times.
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It's good to hear good "opt-out" experiences. I've been reading some really bad ones elsewhere and I'd like to think they're not the norm.
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I opted out, and had the pat down instead. It's a *very* thorough pat down, but it should be done by another woman, and you can request it to be done in a private room if you want. I figured better safe than sorry, so I preferred to stay away from any x-ray machines, even though they're supposed to be very low dose. Once I was in my 3rd trimester, and I was very obviously pregnant, the TSA people generally just let me walk through the metal detector and didn't even ask me to go through the scanner. I thought that was really nice!
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I refused it during an international trip from Amsterdam to the States. The people working didn't even know what type of scanner it was and didn't have literature. A guy kept insisting it was fine but all the women working seemed to understand my hesitation. When it was finally time to check-in, I ended up being randomly picked for extra security checks so the guy really insisted I needed to go through it. By then, I was certain I wanted a pat down. He threatened he'd have to "call someone" and I said "go ahead". They let me through with a pat down after =)
I've read that they're safe but some experts disagree with the way they test them - as in they can give off more radiation than stated. A few sites say they're just too new to know for sure -- I wanted to be safe.
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Certainly opt out of the scanner if it makes you feel better but the scanner has extremely low levels of radiation so it won't hurt you or your baby. I'm an xray tech and deal with scatter every day. Granted i wear a fetal monitor along with my own but there is so much protection to the baby inside of you it wouldn't receive any dose from that exposure. You probably get more radiation when actually flying than you get walking through the scanner due to the altitude. Unfortunately radiation is everywhere. Dont worry yourself too much and have a good trip!
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I went through the regular backscatter, but opted out of any millimeter wave scanners. (Full Body Scanners).
There is still lots of different opions on the Millimeter Wave Scanners, and they are still fairly new with little conclusive evidence on their safety.
The backscatters have been in use for years, and the odd one or two times should be fine. If I had to go through them more often I would probably opt out of that too. -
I guess I was confused, I thought the newer full-body machines were called backscatter. Whoops!
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if you're pregnant, you can request the alternative.. which is to have them pull you aside and pat you down. that's what i did even though i heard the risks from those machines are minimal.
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When I was still planning on flying to the beach, I was going to request a pat-down. Baby's a tiny little thing and while the radiation may not hurt ME, I'd still want to avoid any unnecessary exposure for their sake.
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I would refuse. I've refused in the past and had the pat down. It was slightly awkward but it really wasn't that bad. I had to wait about 5 minutes for them to find a woman to do it (they didn't give me the option of having anyone else) but it was all business, lol. It wasn't in a private room but it was in sort of a corner area. The worst part for me was the attention she paid to my hair. I had it pulled back (my hair is really long and thick) and she ruffled up my hair and felt all along my scalp!
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@ladyfingers: we have NEVER gone through the scanners - I refuse too. Our airport is the same where it's randomly selected who goes through which scanner. I have been lucky and never had to go through the bad one lol but even so, I would have opted out.
My husband opted out and they were SO SO SO respectful. They walked him through the process and before they patted something they always told him where they were going to pat, "Alright I will be placing my hand on your inner thigh and move down your leg" It was very tasteful and both DH and I were pleased with our experience.
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I've read that you are exposed to more radiation flying than you are by the machines: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/03/9619/analysis-suggests-cancer-risk-backscatter-airport-scanners-low
But I also don't think there has been enough testing for special populations like pregnant women. I'd probably skip.
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I flew at 32 weeks and skipped the scanner - did the metal detector instead. There was no issue with that request in the airports I went through (PHL and CMH).
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I've been flying a lot the past few weeks for business travel and have only encountered one of these machines. I did opt out and request a manual pat down and am glad I did. My feeling is that there is not enough research yet on these machines and while I am sure they are perfectly fine, I just felt better skipping it. The pat down was quite personal (!) but I was glad to see that TSA was taking it seriously.
I will request the pat down again on my way home if the airport has another backscatter machine.
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PS. My OB never raised any issues about this when I informed her that I would be flying a lot, but through my own research, I felt that this was a better option for me.
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No! I opted for a pat down instead of the (new) full-body scan.
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I would opt for the pat down, you could get called for one even if you walk through the scanner
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I've flown twice so far while pregnant and I have two more trips planned in my third trimester. I've gone through the full body scanner each time.
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i wouldn't go through the scanner - i have flown twice, once in first tri, once in second tri - opted out of the scanner - the first time they didn't even do the pat down.... But then the next times I got the full-on pat down. It was fine. The women that did it were nice, but they really get all up in your biz. I'd much rather do that than the scanner - who knows if they calibrate those things properly!
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I flew at 33 weeks. I asked for pat downs instead of going through the scanner. As soon as I asked for it they were very understanding, especially since I was pretty big by then
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I've been able to skip the scanner all four times I've flown while pregnant. Twice at certain airports the security people "randomly" decide which people to put through metal detector instead of the scanner. The six people in front of me all had to go through the scanner, but the security guys put me (and only me) in the metal detector line. I think they just saw that I was obviously pregnant and wanted to help me out and knew I would probably refuse to go through the scanner
Two other times I had to get patted down and both times the girl was just SO nice and told me exactly what she was going to be doing just before she did it. It was kinda awkward, but less awkward than getting fitted for a bra, I think. They also offered me the option of being patted down in a private room if I felt more comfortable with that.
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Ugh - I'll be flying at 13 weeks and hadn't even thought about this. Maybe I'll have to try and stick out my bump a bit to look more preggers.
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Flew at 32 wks and asked nor to go thru the scanner. They found a female to do a pat down and she was really really nice about it. It happened right there in front of everyone off to the side but I didn't mind since wagon sr. Could watch the whole thing, and it only took a few minutes.
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