The staffs at U.S. embassies and consulates usually can recommend good doctors and hospitals. Another resource is the International Assn. Malaria, spread by mosquitoes and endemic in many parts of the Third World, can be a danger to women who are pregnant or become pregnant on the road, resulting in particularly virulent bouts of the disease and possible damage to the fetus. Local women in infected areas are most at risk, but travelers need to pay attention too. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta does not recommend travel in at-risk areas during pregnancy, even though antimalarial drugs such as mefloquine and chloroquine are generally considered safe for pregnant women.
Premenstrual syndrome can be excruciating, especially when compounded by fatigue and jet lag.
Women who rely on prescription drugs to lessen the pain of cramps should take along enough medication to see them through, and keep the pills in the bottles they came in, bearing labels that identify the drug's brand and pharmacological name. Natural remedies for PMS abound, such as yoga, meditation and massaging the lower abdomen with lavender or sage oil. Irregular periods commonly result from travel. Unless they persist, they are nothing to worry about. But women must travel well equipped, restocking along the way when they find familiar menstrual supplies and carrying something at all times just in case their period arrives inopportunely.