Risk of car crashes jumps during second trimester of pregnancy: study

TORONTO – A new study suggests that women are at a significantly higher risk of being in a serious car crash during the second trimester of pregnancy as compared to when they aren't pregnant.

The study says the risk is about 42 per cent higher than at other times and is largest in the early part of the second trimester.

The study says the increased risk is equivalent to the elevated risk associated with suffering from sleep apnea.

The authors, from the University of Toronto, say that a number of things that happen during pregnancy would make women more distracted or less able to respond quickly to poor driving on the part of other drivers.

Dr. Donald Redelmeier says those include fatigue, nausea, distraction, sleep disruption.

He and his co-authors say pregnant women should not stop driving, but they should be aware of the risk and take steps to drive more cautiously.

The study is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.