New study shows seat belts save the lives of unborn babies

Apr 3 2008

New research from the U.S. has found that for pregnant women seatbelts protect the fetus in the event of an accident.

According to University of Michigan researchers the lives of 200 of the roughly 370 fetuses killed yearly in U.S. vehicle crashes would be spared if all pregnant women wore seat belts.

Dr. Mark Pearlman, who led the study, says seat belts protect the fetus and not wearing a belt is a big problem.

He says every time a pregnant women gets into a motor vehicle, without question, she should wear a seat belt.

The researchers analysed in detail 57 crashes involving women who were at least 20 weeks pregnant; twelve fetuses were killed in the crashes.

The researchers found that the pregnant women who wore seat belts reduced the risk of their fetus being killed or experiencing other serious complications in a vehicle crash by 84 percent compared to women who did not wear seat belts.

The analysis revealed that 72 percent of the women were wearing seat belts and only 38 percent of the women whose babies died or suffered serious complications were wearing seat belts.

The accidents also resulted in serious non-fatal complications included the woman's placenta prematurely separating from the uterine wall, preterm birth prior to 32 weeks of pregnancy and direct fetal injury.

The researchers hope the findings will dispel once and for all what Pearlman calls the "myth" that wearing a seat belt is harmful for the fetus.

Dr. Pearlman says the study shows by not wearing a seat belt the mother suffered worse injuries which in turn impacts on the fetus.

Dr. Pearlman advises pregnant women to wear seat belts under the belly as much as possible, and across the hips with the shoulder strap placed between the breasts.

He says seat belt straps should not go directly across the stomach and should be below the belly button as low they can comfortably go; they should be snug and not loose.

Pearlman says overall, about 82 percent of people in the United States wear seat belts regularly and 6 percent to 7 percent of pregnant women are involved in some type of car crash during their pregnancy.

The study also showed that air bags were not harmful to fetuses.

The study results have prompted Pearlman to initiate a campaign called Safe BABI (Seatbelts Are For Everyone - Buckle All Babies In).

Pearlman collaborated with researchers from the U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), the Department of Emergency Medicine and the College of Engineering to study data from the 57 severe automobile crashes involving pregnant women.

The research is published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.