Q: At what age is it safe to take our baby on an airplane?
A: The best thing you can do is discuss this with your baby’s doctor. In general, healthy newborns may be able to handle airplane travel without any issues.
However, there are certain health conditions or other factors you may want to consider. These might include if your baby was born early, or born with certain health conditions (specifically conditions involving the heart or lungs).
Also remember that newborns and young infants have immature immune systems, so they can get very sick even from seemingly mild illnesses. Traveling in an airplane, in close proximity to many other passengers may increase their risk of catching an infectious illness.
Along those lines, it may be a good idea to try to identify a doctor or medical center you could access at your destination.
There’s likely nothing more stressful than trying to take care of a sick infant in a different location than your hometown, so you can feel a little more comfortable if you have the contact information for one or two medical centers on hand — and not have to search for them in the middle of the night.
