Abstract
Recently, women who drove automobiles on a daily basis before pregnancy also continued to do drive after pregnancy. Approximately 3 % of pregnant women have experienced a motor vehicle collision during their pregnancy. Therefore, traffic safety education tailored to physical changes during pregnancy is an urgent issue. Hence, we conducted a longitudinal survey of the actual positional relationship between the abdomen and steering wheel while driving during the pregnancy period and targeted three pregnant women with no abnormalities during their pregnancy. The results showed that when seated in the driver's seat, pregnant women tended to increase the distance between the acromion and abdomen and decrease the distance between the steering wheel and abdomen according to their gestational week. A pregnant woman had a distance of less than 12 cm between the steering wheel and abdomen at seven months gestation. As the gestational weeks progressed, the protrusion of the abdomen made it more difficult for pregnant women to maneuver the steering wheel. This increased the risk of contact between the abdomen and steering wheel in a motor vehicle collision. Therefore, pregnant women should be provided with specific health guidance, such as observing the legal speed limit, maintaining sufficient distance between vehicles, and the correct way to wear a seat belt towards the end of their pregnancy. Furthermore, support should be provided to pregnant women to self-manage and assess whether or not they can drive a car themselves.
