Posted By Alexander Falconer Is driving part of their normal duties? If not, then it is up to them to decide how and when they get to work. I have known employees to work right up to 2 weeks before their due date. If it is part of their normal duties, then you can assess the risk, and assist in the planning of their workload to the extent that driving time is minimised in the latter stages. Would have thought there would be other issues to take into consideration, ie, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, the ever enlarging bump, constriction by steering wheel/seatbelts, etc, etc Why not discuss matters with the person concerned and ask for their opinions? Get them involved with the risk assessment!

Posted By MeiP Thanks both. Yes, driving, or more specifically travelling is part of the normal duties. We already consider the usual risks, provide advice on seatbelt placement and restrict driving if a symptom like dizziness, for example from anemia, is becoming an issue. I was just concerned that for shorter women who already sit forward in their seats, there's not a lot of space between the increasingly large bump & the steering wheel!

Posted By Karen Todd Not sure what you can do in that instance. A bigger vehicle won't help if you've got wee short legs. I worked until a week before my due date and had no problems with the usual items like desks, cars, etc, but I'm quite tall. I have seen others really struggling though. As an aside, at one of my antenatal classes someone asked the question - could they drive themselves to hospital in labour!!! Midwife advised v. strongly against it as contractions v. painful. Person was strongly advised to get a taxi (telling her she'd be surprised how many in labour ladies the taxi driver would have deposited at hospital). In the end, the midwife told her if she was insistent on driving herself into hospital in labour, to go very early when contractions not too bad. I really hope she didn't though... KT