The missus has just had our second child two weeks ago by c-section (again) and is feeling as if she is back to normal and is telling me she is fine to drive, even though she has been advised to wait 4 weeks.

She says that after the first c-section she would not have felt up to driving for at least 4 weeks but this time is very different and she has recovered far more quickly.

Does anyone have any views on this as I'd prefer her not to injure herself but she needs to be mobile asap (as she is driving me mad)?

My Mrs says not to drive, why risk it?

And your insurance will be invalid if advised not to drive.

If the doctors say 4 weeks then I'd say it is best to wait 4 weeks.
Her health is more important than being able to drive a bit earlier.

It's probably more to do with allowing stitches and wounds to heal properly - a sudden emergency stop and she may be falling apart at the seams.

As insurance is a concern the main factor must be the well fair of your wife, four weeks seems along time but you never want to reflect on heinsight.

Daughter in law was recommended 6 weeks by her hospital but wanted to drive after 4.

Her insurance company said she needed to be signed off by her doctor as fit to drive and he did that after 5 weeks. Not worth the risk imo.

Thanks for your views guys. She's not happy but I think you might have swayed her.

Another view!

My Mrs and her sister both drove about a fortnight after a C-section.

The key is that your Mrs feels up to it, and with it being the 2nd time around knows what to expect from having a section. My sister-in-laws case is quite pertinent because after her 2nd, she had to also cope with a husband who was working away all week, so mobility was key.

She was advised by her doctor that the most important thing was to be able to perform an emergency stop. (And, presumably, to be confident to do so withut hurting herself). I would guess that being able to do that would assuage any insurance doubts etc if queried.

She's going to give to it a go and see how she feels next Thursday (3 weeks). She seems very confident and obviously knows how well she is so she may well be up to it.

Again thanks to all.

My Mrs didn't have a C-section, but after a natural birth she was advised by Doctors/Nurses not to have sex for 6 weeks.

I'm glad I didn't start a thread in here asking if people thought we should wait the full 6 weeks!

if she drives against doctors orders and has a accident and kills someone she will be in big trouble ............. Not worth the risk..

Orders and advice are two different things though.

As mentioned previously (above), the advice is to protect the abdominal area from the lapstrap part of the seatbelt in case of a collision. Also, them there abdominal muscles will ache from pressing the pedals.

There's not much evidence base (which the NHS love) for a rather arbitrary 4-6 weeks given by most doctors, but they have to put a figure somewhere.

As far as the insurance is concerned, the companies are always looking for a loophole and although third party claims should not IMO be negated by being in a post operative condition, there could be an argument that the driver did not brake aggresively enough due to concerns about their wound.

You need to check the small print on your policy.

A grey area I know.

Mr's Sted drove within 3 weeks of her section btw.