A recent study found that women have a 42 percent higher risk of being involved in a serious car accident during the second trimester of pregnancy.
The University of Toronto study, conducted over a five-year period, surveyed data on all the adult women who gave birth in Ontario during that time. The data showed that during the second trimester of pregnancy, the normal rate of car accidents –– about 4.6 for every 1,000 women –– increased to 7.7. The rate did not correlate at all to the demographics and backgrounds of the women or how many times they had been pregnant.
The study’s leader, Dr. Donald Redelmeier, is an internist at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. He noted that pregnant women never discussed the dangers of driving during pregnancy when they asked for safety tips.
Although the study could not prove the cause of the increased risk, Dr. Redelmeier suspects that the hormonal changes abundant during the second trimester result in circumstances that lead to distracted driving, such as nausea, fatigue, anxiety and irritability. Pregnant women also tend to feel normal during this period and do not alter behaviors like driving to accommodate these hormonal shifts.
This does not mean that pregnant women should avoid driving altogether during the second trimester. It is important, however, to follow regular safety precautions more deliberately to balance the distractions to which your second trimester’s hormonal fluctuations contribute. These include paying close attention to all signs, always wearing a seatbelt and moving your seat back as far as possible.
If you or a loved one has been involved in an auto accident, speak with an experienced Chicago injury lawyer right away.