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Pregnant drivers who do not wear a seatbelt when involved
in a car crash are nearly three times more likely to experience
a fetal death and twice as likely to have excessive maternal
bleeding than are belted* pregnant drivers involved in a car
crash, according to a study in a recent issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Pregnant drivers not wearing seatbelts in a car crash also
were more likely to deliver low birth-weight infants than
pregnant drivers not involved in a car crash.
According to the researchers of this study, many pregnant
women still do not wear seatbelts despite substantial research
on the overall protective value of seatbelts.
Previous research shows that the leading reasons for this
include forgetting, discomfort or inconvenience, no seatbelt
available, and fear that the seatbelts may cause injury to
the woman or the fetus. Since motor vehicle crashes are the
leading cause of traumatic fetal death in the U.S., the researchers
suggest that strategies be developed to improve seatbelt usage
among pregnant women.
*It is recommended to place the lap belt under the pregnant
belly.
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