driving whilst pregnant

seafarers_wife

lkmc01 wrote: »

Hi

If no pregnancy problem how long are you capable in driving a car for? I have a 6 year old but I hadnt passed by test in 2005. I was thinking 5 or 6 months. What do you think?

I drove the day I went into hospital to be induced! As long as you are happy and feel SAFE driving then go for it. There are some days I just didn't want to drive so DH did, but they were rare as I couldn't be bothered with his moaning lol.

Icey77

I'm 40+5 today and dropped my DH off at the station this morning.

Assumming nothing kicks off in the meantime (and I wish it would!) I will pick him up again this evening.

I don't feel that I am having any problems driving, getting in and out of the car is another matter is usually involves some huffing and puffing and levering myself somewhat ungainly from the seat.

duchy

What utter nonsense.

Yes you get women who think the moment they are pregnant the whole world needs to stop and make allowances for them.....read every health risk to do with food as personal even if they have never eaten that food before -and on and on........and those are the ones you notice . The majority of pregnant women though you don't even notice are pregnant until the last few weeks because they are treating pregnancy as the natural and normal physical function it is and are far too busy getting on with their lives to do the drama queen thing !

I did everything I did pre-pregnancy -including ten pin bowling right up to delivery date (I did check with the doctor about the bowling and she said as it was something I was already acustomed to doing it was fine -but it wasn't recomended to start different physical activities when pregnant-which made perfect sense to me). Driving was very normal -and the baby is very well protected as the amiotic fluid cushions the baby against bumps in or out of a car. Medical advice is if it is something you are comfortable doing-do it-your body will soon tell you if you're doing too much/the wrong thing for your individual pregnancy and tell you to stop !

LandyAndy

Don't try driving whilst getting pregnant.

LandyAndy

duchy wrote: »

What utter nonsense.

Yes you get women who think the moment they are pregnant the whole world needs to stop and make allowances for them.....read every health risk to do with food as personal even if they have never eaten that food before -and on and on........and those are the ones you notice . The majority of pregnant women though you don't even notice are pregnant until the last few weeks because they are treating pregnancy as the natural and normal physical function it is and are far too busy getting on with their lives to do the drama queen thing !

I did everything I did pre-pregnancy -including ten pin bowling right up to delivery date (I did check with the doctor about the bowling and she said as it was something I was already acustomed to doing it was fine -but it wasn't recomended to start different physical activities when pregnant-which made perfect sense to me). Driving was very normal -and the baby is very well protected as the amiotic fluid cushions the baby against bumps in or out of a car. Medical advice is if it is something you are comfortable doing-do it-your body will soon tell you if you're doing too much/the wrong thing for your individual pregnancy and tell you to stop !

:T We camped in a small dome tent for the weekend two weeks before DS1 was born. MrsLA drove right up to 'the end'.

magriff

you may drive through out the pregnancy and in the postnatal time as long as everything is normal (i.e no fainting, no symtoms of pre-eclampsia, or if the birth was not straight forward - large blood loss or you experience anything that may cause problems whilst driving. the DVLA provide a list on medical conditions).

If you are going to have a c-section or have one as an emergency the surgeon or midwife will advise you when you may drive again. the operation through your tummy muscles will have an affect on you using the car pedals - so you may greatly under perform doing an emergency stop.

placenta situation. If you are under consultant care because of your placenta position you should ask him/her for advise on car travel and seatbelt positioning.


travel time and risk of blood clots. if you are going to travel for a long time and expect to sit still for a long time you should make time for breaks and get out of the car and strech and move. you can also wear flight socks. (really the information is the same as if you were to go on a long flight). if you are at risk of bloodclots and use medication for this in your pregnancy you should ask your midwife for more information or your consultant if you are seeing one.


this is standard information that you should have received from your midwife when going to your booking in appointment/home visit. I know they are all pressed for time and understaffed. but before you grill your midwife try and see if you can find any answeres to questions in your purple pregnancy book, which you also would have received. if you don't have one google "NHS pregancy book".

pinkclouds

The only natal type driving restriction I can think of is postnatal. If you have a c-section, I believe you are supposed to get the okay from your car insurance company before you resume driving. However, I believe this a cursory matter and most people will resume driving within a few weeks, or as soon as they start to feel better.

Lola888

I'm 40+1 and I'm still driving, but to be honest I'm still doing everything as the pregnancy has gone v.well (touch wood). I don't feel super big or clumsy and the MW hasn't said anything.

I think the MW did say something about c-sections that u'd have to get an ok from doctor to start driving again as the insurance company could be awkward otherwise.

Keasbey

I'm 39 weeks pregnant with my second and I've just made the decision not to drive anymore until the bub gets here. I've made this decision solely because my bump is HUGE this time, and I can't quickly and comfortably turn to check my blind spot, nor can I quickly and easily lift my leg to brake/clutch (the bump is really that big, I'm all out in front!).

There are risks in everything you do in life, and practically speaking, a lot of people need to drive. OP as long as you still feel comfortable and capable you can keep driving.

Person_one

Peater wrote: »

Ok, let's take 'Listeria monocytogenes' for example. A friend of mine's wife would act like you had tried to stab her if you brought an unpasturised cheese within 10 feet of her. This all because her natal-class teacher had told all the women NEVER to eat raw dairy because it was so dangerous.

If you look some facts, there were between 114 & 136 confirmed cases of this in the UK between 1990 and 2000. That's 14 people a year at worst. (only 16% of them were actually pregnant women, so thats 2 people in the whole of the UK.)
(source: http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/acm667.pdf)

If you look at the road casualty stats for last year, there were 204,350 total casualties (slight injuries, serious injuries and fatalities).
(source: http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/road-accidents-and-safety-quarterly-estimates-q3-2011/)

Have you considered that the reasons for listeria related miscarriages being so low are because the majority of women take the midwife's advice and therefore massively reduce their risk?

It also comes down to necessity. Its not all that hard for most women to go 9 months without a rare steak, blue cheese or sushi whereas avoiding travelling in any vehicle at all as either passenger or driver is a lot less practical! :rotfl:

I've cared for several women who've lost babies due to listeria from risky food (which throws your stats into disrepute), the worst part of it is that they blame themselves and know it was avoidable and it tears them apart. Many pregnant women very sensibly choose to avoid or minimise the risks they can and be practical about the ones they can't. They aren't stupid or wet for doing this and I think its pretty rich for you to come on here criticising them!