Driving in Late Pregnancy

There are bound to be concerns if you cannot avoid driving in late pregnancy. All the same, it may not be necessary to stay indoors at all cost or depend on someone to drive for you if it is important for you to go out alone. Some precautions need to be taken for your comfort and more importantly, to ensure that there are no adverse effects on you and your baby.

There are some complications which would prevent you to drive such as dizziness. Your OB/GYN would have already advised you against driving in case you are experiencing such conditions that disrupt your ability to drive. If such is not the case, driving or not driving is completely up to how you feel. You should nonetheless take into account the following factors:

• Tiredness - Do you feel the baby bump overtiring? Apart from that, the rise in body temperature due to increase in the body’s volume of blood during pregnancy can cause sleepiness. Moreover, you can often be suffering from lack of sleep because of the discomfort caused by the baby bump. Think of how your condition may impair your senses while driving and it is best to avoid long journeys. Keep a bottle of water handy when driving to refresh yourself and keep the senses alert.
• Cramps – They can be very disconcerting while driving, particularly in traffic when you need to keep the legs in one position for long. Driving in traffic can bring about cramps even if you usually do not get them. It may be fine with those women who get cramps only at night but even they need to bear in mind the possibility. To ward off this complication, flex your legs and circulate the ankles whenever possible.
• Wearing seat belt – It would not be right to compromise safety on the excuse of having a belly bump. You must learn to wear seat belt in a manner that does not pose any risk of harm to your baby.
• Driving in labour – While it is all right to drive during late pregnancy if you feel ok, driving yourself to the hospital when in labour is a strict no. Make sure you have someone to take care of driving when the moment comes. Your partner, midwife or nearby taxi should be ready for this inevitable situation. You might even consider calling up an emergency ambulance if need be.

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