Photo: @Angieshifey via Instagram
From the moment they learn they?re pregnant, many women obsess over things like whether it?s safe to eat sushi or soak in a hot tub or continue with daily spin classes. I can remember quizzing my own doctor a lot when pregnant with my first: Can I fly overseas" Am I allowed to eat cheese" Is wine strictly off limits" My list of questions was endless.
One thing that never occurred to me, however, was whether it was safe to drive. It seemed like the obvious answer was yes.
Surprisingly, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says otherwise. Researchers looked at the medical records of more than 500,000 mothers in Ontario and found that expectant women are 42 percent more likely to have a serious traffic accident during the second trimester than in the three years prior to becoming pregnant. During this time, the rate of emergency room visits because of traffic accidents rose from about 4.3 visits per year per 1,000 women to 7.7 visits per year per 1,000 women. ?Fatigue, nausea, distraction?these can all contribute to driver error,? says lead researcher Donald Redelmeier, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a staff physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (he was one of the first to study the link between cellphones and car accidents, way back in 1997).
Redelmeier isn?t suggesting pregnant women refrain from driving. Rather, he?s reminding them to drive a little more carefully (f...