Parent and Child Parking...What About Heavily Pregnant Women?

[frillylemons]

I fully appreciate that parents with Hilton and pushchairs need the extra space to get out of cars and that it is useful to be that much closer to the shop, but I am 8 months pregnant and am having bad pelvic pain which makes walking hard. What about women in my situation and similar? Are we allowed to park in those spaces? If not, I think we should be able to!

Anyone who wants to can park in them

Of course you can, anyone can, it's only disabled spaces that are non negotiable.

When I was pregnant and ignorant of such issues, I asked at my local supermarkets helpdesks. They all agreed I definitely counted as a 'parent and child' in my own right!

If you want to park there, just park there.

I would in your situation without feeling guilty about it. In fact, I did once.

thats if there is any available. you can normaly park nearer in a normal space.

Well no-one could say you haven't got your child with you!

The P&C parking spaces are a hot topic on MN.

Tbh frilly I would say park in them if there is a space as you need it. I did when heavily pregnant as they were near the store and I didn't have to struggle across a massive car park.

I like P&C spaces, I just wish they were more rigourously enforced to allow those who needed to use them more liklihood of getting a space.

I used to park in them when heavily pg. Could open the door, but the following belly wouldn't fit in a normal sized parking bay. I once had someone park really close to my car when heavilt pg, and had to climb over passenger seat to get in
So, just parked in p&b spaces after that.

You can park there, you may get a 'ticket' if no child seat in the car but these are not legally enforceable anyway. Supermarket staff cannot usually override outsourced car park company so if you get a ticket and it worries you don't bother trying to appeal to the staff.

I had spd when I was pregnant with dd1 and I asked at customer services at my usual supermarket about parking. They gave me a temporary sticker to put in the windscreen and I used the p&c parking.

I guess I was a bit different as I was on crutches but I think if you are heavily pg, you'd get the same treatment. Ask.

I don't see why not. They are only a marketing gimmick aimed at attracting the lucrative parent market. I would say that there are probably more pregnant women struggling and needing to be as close as possible to the shop than there are parents with small children unable to get themselves across the carpark to the shop.

Obviously very new mums are likely to find walking hard, particularly after a c-section, but you tend not to see that many very new mums out doing the weekly shop, particularly since you can't drive after a c-section.

That's really interesting! I honestly assumed you couldn't park there. Maybe I'll get DH to put the car seat in the car ready for LO so it makes car park people happy!!

I used them when pg. I don't use them now. In our local supermarket (have moved areas)they are quite far away with marked path for to walk along.
At asda a jobs worth told me I couldn't use them, I liked them as I had spd and I could open The door wider. I went in and spoke to the manager who told the staff member it was perfectly acceptable.

Walmart/Asda in Cribbs Causeway Bristol did have 'mother to be spaces' they had a stork painted on them.

I did. By the time I was too big to fit into normal sized spaces I figured nobody would dare argue with me!

Just do it ! It better than the people parking in the p&c places with children who then wait in car with them whist other half goes to do the shopping !!

I am totally going to do it And I will just glare at anyone who dares to try and stop me

I love the idea of stork bays! The staff at Sainsburys were always really helpful when I was pg, would routinely help load my bags into the boot for DH to unload at home.

online shopping is your friend.

thats all im saying

Years ago when I was pregnant with my son, Tesco and Sainsburys both sent me a mother and baby magazine/ brochure type thing to get you to buy more stuff that you don't actually need. Inside both of them, was a section on P&C space, stating that pregnant women were able to use the spaces as well.

That was great news for me, as from about 6 months, not only did I have SPD at the front of my pelvis, my sacroiliac joint at the back also separated, so I could hardly walk, and parking in a space where I could open the door all the way made it much easier for me to get out the car, and being a little closer (the spaces were actually closer than the disabled spaces!) meant I could manage further inside the shop I still had to go shopping 4 times a week as I couldn't walk more than a couple of aisles.

Also, with regard to car seats in the car, my husband used to hunt the trolley bays for the trolleys that you can clip the car seat onto so we could shop while DS was sleeping, so you wouldn't necessarily always see a car seat in the car.

I used to park in one of the disabled spaces in my company carpark for about the last 3 weeks of pregnancy. Since I was still working 10 days before my due date I was pretty big by this point, still carrying laptop etc and the main staff carpark was much further away! I spoke to the HR department and they couldnt have been kinder! I think most sane individuals wouldnt begrudge a P&C to you and the ones that do can off!

Parents with Hilton should definitley be allowed to park in P&C places. Seriously though, park in them all you like.

My local supermarket was revamped and whilst doing so, they increased the number of P & C places. There are now so many that I went and complained to Customer Services (I do have children).
I park in them if there are any free, regardless of whether the children are with me.
If the supermarket are stupid enough to take a large percentage of the car park with them, then I will damn well park there .

So yes OP, park wherever you like ... apart from the disabled spots, they are rightly sacrosanct!

Absolutely park there. I would use them when so huge I could hardly get out the car. And cry if anyone has a go at you. It's the hormones!