Whether you're having a romantic getaway before your baby arrives, or spending some quality holiday time with your family before your latest addition adds to the mayhem, there is no reason why you can't find an escape to suit your needs when you're pregnant. However, there are a few things to consider.

The best time to travel
If you booked a trip before you knew you were expecting, don't reach for the phone to cancel just yet. Talk to your GP about the date you are booked to go, how long you will be away, what modes of transport you plan to use, and whether or not you need any vaccinations. (If you are planning to get pregnant and might be taking a trip to see family in the next year or so, you'd be advised to get your jabs in before you conceive.)
Once you are pregnant, tiredness, morning sickness and the increased chance of miscarriage during the early weeks, can make long journeys by car, train or bus, at the very least: uncomfortable. If possible, avoid air travel during this time. But if you must travel, consult your doctor.
Between 14 and 28 weeks, you will feel better and be more confident about the pregnancy and now you can enjoy a trip. Your doctor, midwife or consultant can advise you if you have any conditions which make long journeys or any kind of air travel inadvisable. For most women, flights won't be a problem.
If you have a condition affecting your heart, blood or a risk of pre-term labour, speak to your GP or consultant before booking a trip away, at any time during the pregnancy.

Seat belts
Whether you're on a plane or in a car, it is important to wear your seat belt, as stopping suddenly without it causes a greater risk to you and your baby than not wearing it. However, try to wear your seatbelt below your bump, across your hips, if possible.
Don't worry about airbags, these should not affect your bump and are safer to use than not use, unless you are of particularly small build.

Road and rail travel
Make sure you have good leg room and that you can get up and walk around.
Bear in mind, if travelling by rail or coach/bus, that you may need to take more loo breaks once you are pregnant, and think about facilities on your route.
Even if you usually like to get in the car and keep driving, pregnancy does bring on circulation changes. Even on a journey from, say, London to Manchester, it is possible to get a DVT, so make sure you take breaks and get out of the car.
Make sure you take small snacks and water with you on journeys as your body now demands better sustainance throughout the day.

Air travel
If you turn up at check-in with a valid passport, a plane ticket and big bump, you may find yourself turned away. It is worth calling and asking about terms under which a specific airline will take a pregnant woman, before booking a trip.
Most airlines will carry pregnant women up to the 28th week of pregnancy. After this, they will probably carry you later (for example, Virgin will go up to 34 weeks, British Airways up to 36 weeks) if you can produce a letter from your doctor, consultant or midwife confirming that you are fit to travel and that there are no health concerns regarding you or your baby.
If you are pregnant with more than one baby, airlines may well prefer to have a lower cut-off point.

For example, British Airways won't take a woman after 32 weeks if she is expecting more than one baby.
Although the radiation exposure of air travel has been shown to mark a slight increase in problems during pregnancy in women who work on airlines, the regular traveller has no worries in this area.
The risk of DVT may increase and it's a good idea to drink lots of water, wear support socks designed for air travel, sit in an aisle seat where you can stretch your legs, and get up and walk around regularly.
For more, check out the website www.flighthealth.org.

Travel by water
Different travel providers may have different policies. Make sure you check these out before booking. For example, Brittany Ferries do not carry women who are pregnant after 32 weeks, or after 28 weeks on their high speed services.
Sea sickness can be an issue when you are pregnant, probably more so than normally. Try to avoid using drugs to combat this if you can (or ask your GP or local chemist to recommend something, making sure they know you are pregnant). Instead, you could try wrist bands which help deal with motion sickness. Indeed, they can be used for regular morning sickness, too. For more information, visit www.sea-band.com.

Travel insurance
If you find out you are pregnant after you have booked a trip and already have your insurance in place, call your insurers and make sure they know you are expecting. It might affect the terms of the cover you have or slightly increase the premium, but it might well NOT affect the price. It's important to tell your insurer otherwise, even if you have to make a claim unrelated to your condition, they may say you did not disclose all details and refuse to compensate accordingly. Make sure you get any amendments to your schedule confirmed by them, in writing.
Even if an airline will take you after 28 weeks, you might find an insurer won't, so don't presume you are covered just because you could buy a ticket.

Take your notes with you
Even if you are not due for some time, it's worth taking your pregnancy notes with you on a trip away from home, in case you need to seek local medical help of any kind.
If you are going to another European country, you should be able to access medical treatment as easily as you can at home. In the past, you needed to carry an E111 form with you, but this has been replaced by the EHIC - the European Health Insurance Card. For more information on it, you can visit the government's Health advice for travellers web pages.

Enjoy the trip!