Camping While Pregnant

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So I have to admit I don’t have as much experience camping while pregnant as I would like.  With the timing of my pregnancy, we had to cancel several trips for a few reasons.  We are living in Australia and we had really bad bush fires, one of the worse years on record.  Several trips got canceled because the area was not safe, or we did not feel comfortable with the smoke in the area we planned to go.  The bushfires resolved because the rainy season started much earlier than expected.  We had more rain in the first quarter of 2020 than our area had in all of 2019.  While we believe there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad preparation, we decided to pick a drier weekend to go camping.  When the weather got nice again, COVID-19 hit.  We decided to start isolating a little before the official guidelines and then our area banned camping.  When I was 32 weeks pregnant our area allowed camping again, but at that point, we decided it was best not to.  We had also planned to spend Easter weekend camping in Tasmania and hiking there, but obviously, that was canceled as well.  We did go camping when I was 10 weeks along, so I have some experience, and based on how I feel I do know the modifications I would make in my third trimester.  (Spoiler Alert- not sleeping on a yoga mat). This is written for those who have experience camping.  If I should write a guide for beginners, let me know. 


Let’s start with the food! My favorite topic!  You will need to pack pregnancy-safe camping food.  It isn’t as difficult to find pregnancy-safe camping food as you might think it will be. How much food will depend on the length of your trip, so I’ll give you about a week’s worth of food.  We are not picky about eating the same meals so its not quite 7 different days of food.  Also, the food you take is dependent on your cooking method.  We use a jetboil- a hiking stove so if you have a camping grill you will have a bit more flexibility.  We took a cooler with us and refilled it with ice about halfway through our week-long trip.  Definitely eat the more perishable items first.  When picking canned meat, I would limit canned tuna to two servings per week, because of mercury, but you may want to talk to your provider about their opinion on tuna in pregnancy. 


Breakfast

Instant Coffee or Teabags

Instant Oatmeal - 2 packets per person

Scrambled eggs on bread - 2 eggs per person

Breakfast cookies or biscuits with fruit


Lunch

Peanut butter and banana or apple sandwich

Snack plate- Cheese, crackers, fruit, trail mix

Canned tuna or Chicken on Crackers

Peanut butter and fruit wrap


Dinner

Hot chocolate mix

Leftover Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, curry, or other leftovers - freeze before trip and store in cooler.  Should be consumed within 48 hours

Mac and Cheese and Canned Tuna with Canned Veggies (Dump all into one pot)

Instant rice mix with canned chicken and canned veggies


Snacks

Protein bars

Trail mix

Fruit

Crackers and Peanutbutter

Cheese sticks (first 3 days or so)


After food, sleep is probably the next most important thing.  Our normal camping setup is sleeping on yoga mats in the tent.  Even at 10 weeks pregnant, this was not sufficient for me.  I was trying to get in the habit of sleeping on my side, but my hip just dug into the ground the whole time. I was early enough I gave up and rolled on my back to sleep, but in your third trimester, it’s best not too.  I highly suggest a comfortable air mattress no matter what stage of pregnancy you are in. 


Sleeping/Tent

Air mattress - thick enough you can sleep on your side

Battery operated fan

Sheets and sleeping bag- to adjust to the temperature as it drops at night 

Camp sandals - for your middle of the night bathroom trips

Flashlight- see above



When setting up camp, you ideally want to be close to the bathroom, but far enough away that even with a pregnancy-induced super sense of smell, you can not smell it.  Make sure you have nearby shade, since its easier to overheat while pregnant. We froze a bunch of water bottles and had those in the cooler with other cold drinks.  I spent a lot of time in the shade drinking a cold drink! It didn’t help that it was 40°C+ 104°F+ in Canberra where we were camping.  


Camp set up

Near toilets

Not within smelling range of toilets

Nearby shade

Comfortable seating


Hopefully, this guide has given you some useful tips for camping while pregnant.  I enjoyed my time camping while pregnant and really hope I can do more of it in the future.  Just hopefully in a bit cooler weather! Let me know in the comments if you have any tips you have found for camping while pregnant that you love! 

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