A beach vacation can be very relaxing for expectant mothers. Photo: IC

There's no way that Chen Dan will ever forget the last big vacation she took.

"As I stepped onto the soft beach with my toes in the sand, the beautiful scenery stunned me. My unborn baby could hear the waves lapping on the shoreline. It was a special experience, quite different from staying at home listening to prenatal music," said Chen, 27, recalling the week spent in the Maldives with her husband while she was four months pregnant. "It was both a honeymoon and a babymoon for us," she said.

Like Chen, an increasing number of Chinese mothers-to-be are treating themselves to a "babymoon" - a final chance to enjoy a romantic getaway with their husbands before embarking on parenthood.

"Since my daughter was born in April 2012, I haven't traveled anywhere. I have to worry about her safety," said Chen. "But when she was still inside me, I felt free to go wherever I wanted to."

Though Chen did not engage in activities like speed boating or scuba diving on her trip, she did try snorkeling in the shallows near the beach - moderate exercise that she thought would help her delivery.

"Being outdoors and traveling is definitely beneficial for an unborn baby. The sound of birdsong, waves or leaves crunching can stimulate the baby's auditory nerve directly. The good mood of the mother can be passed on to the baby, which will help the growth of the brain," said Cai Wei, a senior childcare teacher at a Beijing-based hospital. "The second trimester of pregnancy is a good time for a babymoon vacation, because the morning sickness is mostly over and expectant mothers have a lot of energy."

However, some expectant mothers are apprehensive about the risks involved in traveling to a distant destination.

"I want very much to go on a babymoon, but my family is against it. They think it is unsafe for me to take a flight," said a 22-year-old pregnant woman surnamed Dong, who lives in Qingdao, Shandong Province. "They are concerned that the radiation of airport screening machines will affect the baby. They also fear that the local food will not suit me and that I won't eat a nutritious diet so far away from home," she said.

 According to Cai, it is relatively safe to fly, but there are some real risks. On long flights, she said, it's possible that oxygen deprivation and exposure to radiation can affect the fetus.  

Though babymoon vacation packages are common in countries like South Korea, the risks prevent most Chinese travel agencies from offering similar packages. 

"Mothers-to-be can book a ticket or a hotel, but they are not advised to sign up for group tours because of security concerns," said Jiang Peng, general manager of the domestic product center of China Youth Travel Services.

In March, a pregnant woman from Taiyuan, Shanxi Province miscarried during a group tour to Yunnan Province, but the insurance company refused to compensate her, saying that the miscarriage was not caused by the travel agency, the Taiyuan Evening News reported. 

Expectant women are advised to take shorter journeys and to educate themselves about the healthcare options at their destination before they travel. They should also rest regularly, said Cai.

In the end, Dong decided against the risks of vacationing abroad, but she and her husband did treat themselves to a trip to the local seaside. "We couldn't go to Gulangyu Island," Dong said, referring to the scenic tourist spot in Xiamen in Fujian Province, "but it was nice to smell the ocean in Qingdao."