how soon did you drive after a c section ?

[lou222]

my beautiful little 2 lb 5 oz boy is in scubu and it would be much easier if i could drive.
i'm just over 2 weeks and feel fine
did anyone drive so early ?

I drove a week afterwards - though only a few miles because I didn't think I was allowed.

a week after that, I made an appt. for the GP to get the OK and she looked at me as if I'd gone mad.

apparently, this 6 week rule is a load of nonsense and if you feel fine / feel able to do an emergency stop etc., then you are fine to drive.

Check your insurance though, I'm no legal expert.

Sorry - so yes, I was driving after 2 weeks and my insurance only said anything about pain relief / GA (so basically not allowed to drive for 24 hours after taking major pain relief - for me that was 24 hours after leaving hospital)

Glad you are feeling so good!!

As soon as I was out of hospital a week later. I checked with my insurance and as long as I felt fine it was fine with them.

YOu need to phone your insurer as they are all different. I could drive after 3 weeks with GPs go-ahead

I drove after 3 weeks even though I was told not to drive for 6!

I first drove exactly 3 weeks after my section. I felt fine and my driving was not restricted in any way. You should really check with your insurance company that you will be covered to drive though as your insurance could be invalid if you drive within the recomended 6 week recovery time. Perhaps you could speak to your doctor and explain your situation, if they declare you fit to drive your insurance must accept a doctors ruling that you are medically fit.

I'm so sorry that you are seperated from your little boy at the moment, it must be heart wrenching for you! My thoughts are with you. He will grow bigger and stronger each day and you will soon have him home in your arms where he belongs. x

Oh, Lou222, I am so sorry - I totally missed that your DS is in hospital.

I hope your little man is home with you soon.

thanks for your quick replies
i am off to the doc on thursday so will ask then
i'm relying on friends who have all been great but sometimes the staff have just let me have a cuddle and i have to dash off for my lift home!
he is doing ok, not putting much weight on and needs to learn to poo!!
but he is teeny tiny and perfect and i can't wait to get him home - they have told me sept !

I rang my insurance company befoe my c-sec and they have a very stringent 6 week policy unless you have a doctors apointment to clarify you're ok (verbally is fine apparently)before that.

They do have a section on the claim form which investigates surgery prior to any incident/claim so driving before the 6 weeks would have jepodised any claim. Best check first!

Congrats on your gorgeous little boy...my DD was is scbu 18mths ago (3lbs) and now she's a strapping lass! Roll on Sept

I drove after 5 weeks (but really didn't feel able to before then), rang insurance company to check beforehand and they really didn't care! But definitely better to check. You really need to be able to do an emergency stop, have a practice somewhere and if you can't do it without being in pain maybe wait a bit longer.

Ds was also in SCBU so I can really sympathise - it was a nightmare sorting out lifts. Eventually I persuaded a friend who worked nearish to drop me off on her way (well, marginally out of her way) to work and then dh picked me up after work. It meant I was in the hospital 12 hours a day for 2 months but was better than not being able to get there at all! If you're not really ready to drive yet is there anyone you could ask a favour of for a regular lift?

7 days with DS1

2 weeks with DS2. Saw GP, she said to practice an emergency stop in a stationary car (ie slam your foot on brake).

Get your GP to check and if you seem ok call the insurance company and hopefully you can

Like you my DS was in SCBU (3lb) and I was desperate to drive before the 6 weeks were up. I drove after 4 but wish I'd tried earlier as arranging lifts, public transport etc. was a nightmare

Thinking of you lots, hope your little man has a smooth ride through SCBU xx

thanks again for your replies
i drove on weds at 2 weeks and 1 day and was fine
went to the doctor today 2 weeks and 2 days and all he said was do you have vertigo ? - no
then your ok to drive - never mentioned emergency stops so i'm going by what the doc tells me and am driving
i had loads of friends offering lifts but was just inconvenient being stuck to a time each day.
the little one is doing ok, had a lovely skin to skin cuddle today for an hour and a half.
he's now on 5 ml of my milk every 2 hours so should start to put on a bit of weight.

Well done, it's such a relief to be independent and able to drive again. Great news about your lil man, the skin-to-skin cuddles are wonderful- they called it kangaroo care in our SCBU- do as many as you possibly can, there's lots of research showing how much better babies do with them. And fab news that he's started on your milk Hope you're not finding the expressing too hard, it can be incredibly draining so keep eating lots. Have you see the Bliss messageboard yet? V good support for parents of premmies, advice on expressing etc- see: www.blissmessageboard.org.uk/index.php
Wishing you & your little boy lots of luck xxx