[Young children, pregnant women and travelling abroad]

Pregnant women and parents of young children travelling to non-western countries should consider the risks to which they expose themselves and their children. Travelling during these periods of life needs to be particularly well planned. Travel insurance should cover the whole family, and for pregnant women also the risk of premature birth. Travelling long distances during pregnancy involves a certain amount of risk in itself. This risk could be increased if complications were to occur in areas with a lower standard of health service. As a rule, infants and young children easily adapt to new environments but children abroad should be expected to need a doctor at least as often as at home. Some vaccines and antimalarials must not be used for children below a certain age. Only a few vaccines and antimalarials have been systematically studied in pregnant women in order to exclude teratogenicity. We present some aspects of vaccination and malaria prevention, transport, climate and environment, nutrition, food and drinking water hygiene.