Pregnancy is a joyous occasion for many couples starting their families or adding a new baby to the household. One aspect future mothers may not be aware of is that during the second trimester of their pregnancy, they face a more likely chance of being involved in a motor vehicle accident.
A pregnant woman in this stage of her pregnancy sees her chances of being involved in a car accident climb by 42 per cent, according to a recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
During a pregnancy, the crash rate during the first trimester was 4.33 incidents for every 1,000 people a year, the crash rate during the second trimester was 7.66 incidents for every 1,000 people a year and the crash rate during the third trimester was 2.74 incidents for every 1,000 people a year.
The study analyzed the data from 507,262 pregnant women between 2006 to 2011 in Ontario, who accounted for 6,922 motor vehicle accidents, 757 of the those accidents occurred during the second-trimester of the driver’s pregnancy.
This second trimester was the most dangerous period for a pregnant woman and it was common for women of all different socioeconomic backgrounds and different ages, according to the study. Pregnant women living in urban cities were more at risk than women in rural areas mothers giving birth to their second or third child also had a greater risk profile.
Meanwhile, this only applied to pregnant drivers. Pregnant women who were vehicle passengers or pedestrians seeing no uptick in motor vehicle collisions.
During pregnancy, there are many physiologic changes happening which can include nausea, fatigue, sleep disruption and unintended distraction. The increased crash rate is not linked to “baby brain” says the study.
While this doesn’t mean that pregnant women will want to be stop driving, it is important to note that human error, such as not checking your blind spot before switching lanes or not slowing down at a stop sign, can lead to lead to serious accidents.
Since a motor vehicle accident can lead to complications during a pregnancy, it’s important that female drivers practice safe precautions including: not speeding, avoiding distracted driving, proper use of signals, following traffic laws and always wearing a seatbelt.
Accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.