Should mums-to-be get space to avoid car park bumps?
PARKING up at stores and supermarkets can be tricky business and it’s even harder when a woman is pregnant.
Maneuvering yourself in and out of the car door can prove almost impossible with a bump in the way and that’s without having young children to help too.
So should expectant mums be able to use parent and child parking bays to give them that extra space?
What are the rules at supermarkets and are there any laws on it? We’ve been finding out.
What do parents think? We’ve been asking Manchester mums for their views on the issue and it proved quite a contentious subject.
Most support the idea of women using the bays. Like Amy HodsonRidgway, from Denton, who struggled finding spaces when she was pregnant with her twins Olivia and Ethan, now 10 months old.
She said: “I definitely think pregnant women should be able to use them. I parked in a normal parking space at the hospital when I was 33 weeks pregnant with twins as the space next to me was empty so I could get out.
“When I came back someone had parked in the spot next to me, really close to me, and I could not get in the car at all.
“I had to go back in to the hospital and speak to security and after waiting for over half an hour to see if anyone came to the car I ended up giving the security guard my keys to reverse my car out for me as I couldn’t even fit between the two cars.”
Mum Jamie Guarino, from Gee Cross, Hyde, is 37 weeks pregnant with twins and says she can no longer use the normal bays.
She told the M.E.N’s Manchester Family: “I cannot park in normal spaces as I cannot get out of the car due to the size of my bump. I do attempt where possible to park on an end space, where I can open my door fully, but it’s not always possible.
“I have no objection to using the parent and child furthest from the door, but if I don’t use those spaces I physically cannot get out of my car.”
And pregnant Claire Clayton was so stuck recently, she had to climb in her car through her boot.
She said: “I use them even when I’m not with my two-year-old. I’m six months pregnant, like a whale and struggle in normal bays.
“I actually went to M&S a month back and parked in a normal bay to come back to some idiot who’d parked that close to me they may as well have been parked on top of me.
“I had to go through my boot get to the driver’s seat. People wrongly use these spaces all the time.”
But not all mums agree. Others told us they think the bays should only be used by people getting babies and young children in and out of the car.
Kirstie Cash, mum to one-year-old Jessica, told us: “Personally I don’t think they should be allowed to use them. Even heavily pregnant with swollen feet, anaemia and breathlessness, I wouldn’t have used one.
“I think that they should be child and parent only. If you’re that big or unwell - get shopping delivered.
“They’re for parents to get their children out safely, not just convenience. I was large when pregnant and just parked on ends so I could get out without a parked car next to me. And I arrived early to appointments
so I could take my time and not rush from one end of the car park.”
Claire Glover feels the same, saying: “I don’t think being pregnant is reason enough to use a parent and child space.”
She added: “Yes pregnancy can cause hip pain etc and make it difficult to walk, but then again so can arthritis, so should those people with arthritis and other issues that don’t require a blue badge be able to park there?
“I’ve never struggled to find a decent parking space to suit my needs in any supermarket. If the parent spaces are taken I park towards the back of the car park where it’s quiet, or on an end space.”
Other parents told us what they objected to most was people using the spaces without any children at all, or abusing them in other ways.
Lindsey Gregory shared two photos of a mobility scooter taking up a space at Aldi and a driver parking across parent and child spaces at Tesco, both in Stalybridge.
She told us: “These are just some of the ridiculous abuse of the spaces I’ve seen.” What does the law say? David Connor, a director at WHN Solicitors, which has seven offices across Greater Manchester and Lancashire, said it’s not clearcut.
He said: “It’s a very woolly area of law as pregnant women are with child, but not in the technical sense. Heavily pregnant women need extra space in the same way a parent with a small child would need extra room to load shopping and children into the car.
“You’ll see designated priority spaces close to entrances on trains and buses - so public transport recognises this need - but there’s no law extending this to private car parks, meaning it’s at the land owner’s discretion.
“Some areas of law such as personal injury cover ‘en ventre sa mere’ - meaning a child in a mother’s womb - but this currently doesn’t extend to contract law which governs car parking.
“By entering a private car park, you’re effectively entering into a contract with the parking company, with the sign disclaimers creating the agreement. Closely monitor this signage as some do state the child must be with you to warrant parking in the parent and child spaces, while some don’t.
“Use caution and in the worst case if you’re slapped with a fine, you may be able to challenge it if the signage isn’t clear on whether or not the spaces can be used by pregnant women, but this is at the discretion of each car parking firm’s stance.”
What do supermarkets and stores say?
Ikea is a step ahead of many retailers by offering specific ‘expectant mum’ spaces. Sadly, this is only in America and there are no current plans to introduce them over here.
A spokesman said it would be down to individual stores as to whether a pregnant woman could park in one of their parent and child bays. He said: “Our main aim is to make the shopping experience as smooth as possible for each customer and many stores offer extra assistance for those who need it.” We found one retailer with a small number of expectant mum bays Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre in Didsbury. Parent and child bays were introduced last year, which included two for expectant mothers. General manager Mark Welsby said: “We introduced parents and child bays as parents needed additional space to assist with placing babies and toddlers into prams or push chairs in a safe area. “With expectant mums they need the space as, especially near to term, it can be difficult getting in and out the car, add to that the size of their bump and it can sometimes be impossible given the size of a normal parking bay.” At Sainsbury’s pregnant women can use the parent and child bays, but need to clear it with the store first.
I cannot park in normal spaces as I cannot get out of the car due to the size of my bump Pregnant mum Jamie Guarino