Should pregnant women be allowed to park in mother and baby spaces at the supermarket?

Question

I always end up parked next to some idiot who hasn't left enough room for me and my tummy to get back into my car!

Answer 1

Most definitely!  

The parking lot signs for my local grocery store say "Reserved for Pregnant Women and Parents with small children".  The intention is clear - they want to make it easier for both those expecting and those who already have kids!

Answer 2

Park wherever you like, you will be parking there soon enough  anyway once you've had your baby. I'm sure some people will not mind considering you have a huge bump and i know how difficult it can be to get out of your car in a tight space! I see loads of people parking at a mother and baby parking space even when they clearly have no kids with them!! That's annoying!

Answer 3

Don't you hate that?

At our local grocery store(Hy-Vee) they do have spaces that say "Reserved for new and EXPECTING mothers", so I always parked there and now I still get to.

You're carrying a baby as much as anyone else... yours just happens to be in your belly at the moment.

ETA: I don't agree with parking in a handicapped space, though. Pregnancy is by no means a handicap and there are people that actually need those spaces.

Answer 4

YES YOU SHOULD!!!

me and my partner used to either take up 2 normal spaces or use the parent/child parking as i found it impossible to get out of a car with about a foot to move. I know if your heavily pregnant and i mean 38+ weeks they shouldnt have a problem with it as they can see you cant get out. You park where you want, they can argue with a pregnant woman if they want their heads bitten off!!!!

Answer 5

You should park there, It's as much your right as the moms with kids!!!

Answer 6

I would agree more to a pregnant woman parking in a mother and baby space than some person without a kid or any need to park there (happens all the time in our local sainsburys)

Answer 7

yes i think so.

Answer 8

I would rather a heavily pregnant woman park in them than some ignorant idiot who doesn't need it. I always see able bodied people with no kids or pregnant belly using them and it gets on my nerves - if only they knew how hard it is to get a baby out of a car seat especially when you only have a 3 door car.

Answer 9

lol i was thinking the exact same when i went shopping the other day, i know what you mean and yes i think you should be allowed after all we are mother and baby (to be) x

Answer 10

6 months plus I think is fair.........

Answer 11

I absolutely feel that a women in her third trimester should be allowed to park in the mother/baby spaces, or handicapped spaces if the store doesn't have mother/baby spaces. Most people don't realize how hard it is to get in and out of the car and to walk long distances when you are 8 months pregnant. Especially if it is hot out.

Answer 12

yes i dont see why not, i did when i got far on into my pregnancy as the space was too small to get in and out with a big bump when parked in a normal space. It really annoys me when idiots with no kids and who arent pregnant park in them, then the people with kids have to struggle with shopping and babies to get back to the car thats parked a mile away!

Answer 13

I'd love to see spots that said "Reserved for people who would have difficulty parking somewhere else -- please be respectful and don't take the spot unless you feel you really need it."

I'm not sure pregnant women's being in a mom w/ baby spot would really help ... at our supermarket those spaces are no wider than any other space.  And actually anyone who was substantially overweight would have as much need for the extra space as much as someone who was pregnant.  I'm all for people who have any reason to need a little extra help getting it.  I can think of times when I really could have used a close parking spot ... when I sprained my left ankle, for example (and could still drive and wasn't entitled to a handicap spot, but had a heck of a lot of trouble walking around).  How about mothers of multiple toddlers, who technically aren't infants but are really hard to get safely across a parking lot? And how about the elderly who aren't officially disabled but still can have lots of trouble getting around?

Sadly, there's enough people who abuse even the handicap spots that I'm not sure a system of leaving spots for anyone who felt they really needed it would work.

Answer 14

Here in Canada, the parking spots are labeled "expectant mother & mother with Tot Parking"  So I say yes.

Answer 15

I think so....At our supermarket there are spots for expectant mothers but no spots for mothers with infants.....I think there should be both everywhere. For people who don't like it they can just deal because i live in north dakota and until you've been pregnant and had a small baby with you to carry into a store when it's 50 below you just don't understand the need for such a parking spot.

Answer 16

No, but I do believe that women past the 6 month mark whould be given disabled parking passes as they have less mobility than many blue card-holders.

Answer 17

Walking is healthy for pregnant women. If you can't walk from the car to the door, how do you expect to walk around the store.

If you are having a difficult/complicated pregnancy, you should be able to get a temporary tag that would allow you to park in the handicapped spaces.  Otherwise, park where you find a spot, and walk.  (And if you often get boxed in, try parking far to the right of YOUR spot, or parking in an empty section of the lot.) Even skinny people have had issues with people parking 'over the line' and making it hard to get in or out of our car.  We deal with it.

I don't think much of the increasing sense of entitlement that many mothers are having these days....

Answer 18

Yeah - they don't specify!

Answer 19

I would say yes - as long as they were in the last trimester. I don't drive, so relied on hubby to drive to the shops with me. He has always parked in normal spaces - so much so that I have to nag him to use the parent and child ones!- and when I was in the later stages he often had to drive the car out of the space before I could manage to get in.

Maybe there should be a special car sticker given to all pregnant women in thier last three months to allow them to park there with no penalty.

Answer 20

Yes. Unless your on your 7th kid and your just getting pregnant to be able to park closer to the store :) I also think for stores that don't have such spaces available they should be required to build an escalator type moving walkway that runs the entire parking lot or perhaps a shuttle every 2 minutes and then they could just past the cost on to the rest of us shoppers.

Answer 21

im not sure about this one - being pregnant and with 3 small children myself (5,2 and1).

the spaces at my local asda are always full anyway, so it probably makes no difference.

if i cant get a M&B space, i usually park far away so no one really parks near me.

GONEFOREGOOD i hope youre 'joking', but if not its idiots like you that mean people like me have to struggle when shopping.

EDIT: i actually think that M&B spaces should be put further away from the doors, with a path to the door, this will stop people from using because they are convenient and close to the door/cash machine.

Answer 22

WHy not - if I take my mum shopping I park in the 'Parent and Child' section as it does not specify the ages of the parent or child!

Answer 23

Yes after a certain point (i.e when you are huge lol) but not just for all pregnant women. As a mum with babies, I can assure you that someone who was 6 weeks gone parking there would irritate me loads.

Answer 24

I believe in the UK you are allowed to park in a disabled space if you are 8 months + pregnant.  I never had the guts to do it though!

EDIT: For those saying pg women should do excercise, it's not the walking across the car park that's hard, it's getting that bump out of the car in the first place!

Answer 25

I will answer this the way I answer all these mother & baby parking ones.

I have 2 kids and managed through both pregnancies, mind you one full term with a 2 yr old, without special parking. If you cant fit out of your car find a spot with more room and walk a little further.

And FYI I was overweight before I was pregnant and still managed to get out of my car before, during and after the baby, and with 2 kids. It is not that huge of a deal. Handicap parking is one thing but women have managed for years to park while pregnant and with kids all over parking lots. If you are unable to walk from pregnancy then your doctor should give you a tag to use the handicap.

Answer 26

I think a woman in the later stages of pregnancy should be allowed to, i dont drive but find it really hard getting in and out of our car when hubby has driven us to the supermarket or similar place, at 38 weeks you just can't suck the bump in and it can be quite painful when you catch it.

People with older children in car seats can use the space even though those children are perfectly able to get in the car themselves, heck my 4 year old can get in and out himself so an 8 year old who has to use a booster should be able to, whereas a heavily pregnant woman lacks the flexibility and mobilty of that child.