Is it safe for a 3 month old baby to travel by air

Dear ILites,

One of my friends in the US just had a baby, and she wants to go to India to attend her brother's wedding. She is in a great dilemma, she wants to go with her baby ( the baby is going to be 3 months old), however her husband is too scared to let the baby travel by air. He suggests that she go alone for a week, (while her in-laws can help the husband with the baby), attend the wedding and come back, while she wants to go with her baby.

Is airtravel safe for a 3 month old infant?

Are there any special immunizations that the baby should take before leaving for India?

is it okay for the breast fed baby to start on formula at 3 months itself if she were to go alone?

Have any of you been in a similar situation, could you please share the lessons learnt and give your advice/comments?


Thanks
Vidya

Dear Vidya,

Yes, I have travelled to India with both my girls when they were just few weeks old. Air travel is not the problem. But the worst part is the drastic change of atmosphere, especially that in India. Both my daughters were extremely sick and we went through some highly worried times and lots of difficulty. But I stayed for a long time in India, like 4-5months. If your friend is going only for a short one week or ten days and she is breast feeding, I think it should be ok. Besides, my experiences are of loooong back, like three decades ago. Today, you can get good clean water due to efficient systems available like aquagaurd. She should be careful about what and where she eats and drinks and should be careful with what she exposes her baby to. There is no need to immunise the baby against anything as it is so small.
Best of luck to her and the baby. Let her think positive and keep her visit short.

L, Kamla

Dear Kamla,
Thanks so much for your prompt reply.
-Vidya

Dear Vidya,
It is perfectly safe to travel with the 3 month old baby. I think your friend should take the baby with her. other wise she will go crazy worrying about the baby here and not enjoy the wedding. I myself have traveled when my son was 3 months. So this is not a problem. Most of the time, the baby will sleep and get up only for feeds. The airhostesses are very helpful if you are travelling alone with a baby. they also let you breast feed in the privacy of the galley if needed.

Regarding immunization, during the two month check up, the baby will get all the shots that are needed. then once she come back , during the 4 months check up, the second set of vaccines will be given. so no need to worry. At 3 months if she is solely breast feeding the child, then there are no worries about any other diseases. only she should be careful about her diet.

So ask her to take her kid too . am sure her parents must be eagerly waiting to see the baby too.

vandhana

Dear Vandhana,

Thanks so much for your advice and sharing your experiences.

Warm Regards
-Vidya