When You Should Not Drive If You Are Pregnant

You put the brakes on a lot of exciting activities when you’re pregnant in order to protect the health of both you and your unborn child. Examples include riding roller coasters, soaking in hot tubs, and participating in pub crawls.

With all the things you can’t do when pregnant, it’s understandable to question if you can still perform everyday tasks like taking a shower, going for walks on the beach, and driving a car.

Generally speaking, all of these questions have a resounding “yes” as their answer! While pregnant, you can continue living your life.

But when you should not drive regardless of the type of vehicle – be it a car, motorcycle or a huge truck likes tow truck of Santa Clara Towing? Below are a few examples.

1. If you experience extreme nausea, don’t take the wheel.
You shouldn’t drive if your nausea is so severe that you can’t get up off the couch (or, let’s face it, the bathroom floor).

You thought managing an unexpected sneeze while driving was a stressful situation? A sudden barf is much worse. Not to add that driving while pregnant is prohibited since nausea frequently coexists with dizziness and lightheadedness.

2. Never drive if you can’t stop in a safe place.
To reach the brake pedal, you must move your seat back from the steering wheel so far. The shoulder belt is too tight over your, ahem, newly enhanced chest, so you need to tuck it behind you.

3. If you can’t make frequent stops, don’t drive.
Speaking of unexpected stops, avoid getting in the car if you can’t plan a few rest stops on the route to your destination.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that frequently begins in the leg and can advance to your lungs, can have serious and even fatal repercussions when it occurs to a pregnant woman.

4. Avoid driving when… pregnancy restricts your mobility
When there is a real automobile in your blind spot and you can’t turn around to see it, you’re going to run into trouble!

You should choose not to drive if you have a large belly, severe back discomfort, or are simply too stiff and ungainly to check your mirrors or twist your upper body from side to side.