Women have a 42 per cent greater risk of having a life-threatening road accident in the second trimester of pregnancy, according to a Canadian study.
Photo Credit: CBC

Pregnancy can increase road accident risk

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Women in the second trimester of pregnancy have a much higher risk of being in a vehicle crash than they were before their pregnancy, according to Canadian scientists. They do not recommend women stop driving, but they do advise them to be careful.

Pregnant women in Canada are generally active, unless they are having a difficult pregnancy. They may be less active in the first trimester perhaps having felt nauseous. But in the second, they may feel better and become much busier preparing for the arrival of a new baby, perhaps buying furniture and clothing, and making up for lost time. At the same time, scientists say they may begin feeling fatigue, anxiety, stress and insomnia.

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Extra caution is needed for pregnant women to avoid serious road accidents in their second trimester, advise scientists. © CBC

Accident risk 42 per cent higher

In the second trimester, a pregnant woman is 42 per cent more likely to be involved in a life-threatening motor vehicle crash, says Dr. Donald Redelmeier, the lead investigator and senior scientist at Toronto’s Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. The study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal used data from emergency departments visits of 507,000 women who gave birth in the province of Ontario over five years.

Surprisingly, pregnant women don’t often ask about the risks of driving, says Redelmeier wryly. “Sometimes they ask about the strangest things such as rollercoasters, scuba diving, airline flights, eating sushi or grizzly bear attacks which are all much, much smaller risks to mother and child, whereas road safety often gets neglected.”

Doctors advise caution

Instead, he says pregnant women should be aware of the extra risk they face and take precautions like being careful to pay close attention while driving, minimize distractions like cellphones, follow the speed limit, wear seatbelts and carefully obey traffic signs.

And Redelmeier says it’s not a good strategy to let their husbands do the driving. “Young men at the same age have even higher driving risks and are even more of a danger behind the wheel.”
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