Q&A: Can I ride on a roller coaster if I'm pregnant?

I would say no, but I have nothing scientific to back that up with before the second trimester. In the second and third trimester, the baby is a big enough size that G-forces would slam a developing baby around pretty much and involve physical contact with the placenta. This could pose the danger of placental tearing or abruption. So stay with the Merry-Go-Round at this point.

In the first trimester, my nervousness of a developing baby being bounced around is more of a parental squeamishness than an obstetrician's squeamishness—that is, I wouldn't want my baby slammed around like that. If my child were to make his R's backwards in the 4th grade, I'd always wonder if it was that Flying MegaWhizaTron that hurt that part of his little brain.

But babies are tough. When doing an ultrasound, it's amazing how much the fetus will bounce around if the prospective mother just laughs. Imagine what jogging does! And I've had patients confess to me that they've been horseback riding throughout their pregnancy.

The bottom line is that we just don't hear about roller-coaster related problems in the first trimester, but I can't recommend riding them with any guaranteed safety. So why take a chance? Skipping roller coasters for nine months isn't that big a sacrifice. Believe me, if you're having children, you'll ride more roller coasters than you will ever want to.

But in the second and third trimester I would definitely tell you no.