A new study could have a profound effect on fetal deaths and injuries caused by car accidents.
The study, by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that about 200 fetuses each year would not be lost if pregnant women properly buckled their seatbelts every time they were in an automobile.
“It's very clear, based on this study, that pregnant women should buckle up every single time they're in a vehicle,” says senior author Mark D. Pearlman, M.D., vice-chair in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the U-M Health System. “Our study strongly suggests that about 200 fetuses each year would not lose their lives if women simply buckled up each time.” An estimated 370 fetuses die as a result of car crashes each year in the United States.
The research debunks a long-standing myth that wearing a seatbelt is not safe for pregnant women, says Pearlman, the S. Jan Behrman Professor of Reproductive Medicine.
“Some women are very concerned because the lap belt overlies their fetus. This study shows that the opposite is true, that seatbelts clearly protect the fetus,” he notes. The study appears in the new issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The study results have led Pearlman to initiate a campaign called Safe Babi (Seatbelts Are For Everyone – Buckle All Babies In).
Pearlman teamed up with researchers from the U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), the Department of Emergency Medicine and the College of Engineering to study data from 57 severe automobile crashes involving pregnant women. The study, the first of its kind, performed detailed crash analysis, including accurate estimates of the crash severity, restraint usage and pregnancy outcome. Among the six improperly restrained women, three (50 percent) resulted in fetal death or major fetal complications. Among the 10 unbelted women, eight (80 percent) of the instances resulted in fetal death or major complications. Among the properly restrained women, 29 percent of instances resulted in death or complications.
“Given that there are seatbelts in virtually every car in America, the cost effectiveness of a project like this is truly extraordinary,” says lead author Kathleen DeSantis Klinich, Ph.D., assistant research scientist with UMTRI.
The study states that: