Motor vehicle accidents occur every day on the roads throughout New Haven, and all of New England. These types of collisions can affect more than just negligent or careless drivers. Often, other motorists are also involved. This can result in them, or their passengers, suffering serious injury, or even death. Generally, both male and female drivers of all ages have at least some level of risk of being involved in auto accidents. However, the danger may be greater for some groups than it is for others. One such group, according to a study recently conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, is pregnant women. According to a Fox News report, the study found that approximately one out of every 50 women would be in an auto collision.
During pregnancy, women commonly experience a range of symptoms, including anxiety, distraction, fatigue, insomnia and nausea. Additionally, many women also complain of foggy thinking during pregnancy. According to one researcher from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, all of these factors can contribute to driving errors by pregnant women.
In the study, researchers examined the records of over 500,000 women both in the four years leading up to them giving birth, as well as in the first year after they gave birth. Only those car accidents that were serious enough to warrant the women checking into an emergency room were counted in the study.
Based on the study’s findings, it appears that women are more likely to be involved in motor vehicle accidents during the second trimesters of their pregnancies. Among all of the women drivers followed, the study showed an annual car accident rate of 4.5 per 1,000. That rate remained the same for them during the first month of their pregnancies. In the final month of their pregnancies, the rate dropped significantly to 2.7 per 1,000. The annual rate of car accidents among the women followed in the study increased significantly, to 7.6 per 1,000, during the fourth month of their pregnancies.
The study did not account for all of the factors that may contribute to motor vehicle accidents in Connecticut, and elsewhere. It did, however, raise some important concerns for pregnant women, which can impact not only them and their unborn child, but also other motorists and passengers.
