|
Tel:
(509) 531-0309
General email
Webmaster email
| |
   
 Motor vehicle crashes
pose by far the greatest risk of maternal trauma leading to fetal death. In the
US, about 4% of all pregnancies are involved in a police reported crash. This
means that about 160,000 pregnant drivers and passengers are involved in a police reported motor-vehicle crash each year.
While only a small percentage of these crashes result in serious injury or death
to the fetus, it still means that thousands of families or more are tragically
impacted each year.
The material below discusses how to reduce or avoid the risks associated with
vehicle travel during pregnancy and also lists additional
helpful resources and brochures from other sources on the web.
There are three ways to avoid or reduce this risk, A)
Reduce travel, B)
Decrease crash risk, C)
Increase occupant protection.
 Ideas for reducing car travel
• Arrange for people to visit you
• Shop in larger quantities to cut-down on shopping trips
• Shop online
• Ask someone else to make the trip
• Postpone trips until after pregnancy
• Rent a video or CD rather than go to movies
• Have parties at your house rather than going out
• Arrange for increased telecommuting to work if possible
• Arrange for home nursing visits rather than trips to the doctor
• Fly rather than take long car trips
Top
Decrease crash & injury risk
• Drive or ride during daylight hours and good weather
• Arrange for shorter trips, meet people part way
• Consider public transportation (buses, trains, commuter rails)
• Ride with drivers who are alert, experienced, cautious, and good defensive
drivers
• Don't ride with impaired drivers
• Plan routes you are familiar with good roadways
• Make sure the vehicle is in good safety condition (tires, wipers, mechanics,
etc.)
Top
Increase Occupant Protection (seat
belts, airbags, vehicle
safety)
 Seat belts
• Proper use of restrain systems is very important. The difference between
wearing a seat belt and not wearing a seat belt is dramatically seen in these
movies of computerized models developed by the
Impact Biomechanics
Laboratory at Virginia Tech. They are courtesy of
Stefan Duma,
Director and David Moorcroft.
Unbelted (4MB)
Belted with Airbag (4MB)
Three point belts should be used at all times.
• Fit: For proper protection, the lower portion of a lap/shoulder belt should be
worn along the hipbone, under the abdominal bulge, as low on the hips as
possible, and against the upper thighs. The belt should never be placed above
the abdomen, since this could cause major injuries in a crash. The upper part of
the lap/shoulder belt should ride along the side of the uterus, between the
breasts and over the mid-portion of the collarbone. Never slip the upper part of
the belt off the shoulder or behind your arm. Both the lap and shoulder portions
of the belt should be adjusted as snugly as possible. The idea is to leave the
pregnancy bulge with as little lap belt or shoulder belt over it as possible,
thereby preventing the mother from crashing full-force into the steering wheel,
dashboard and windshield, or from being thrown from the car.
• Position: The safest position is in a middle seat equipped with a shoulder harness.
• Make sure all other occupants and objects are properly restrained.
• If the middle seat does not have a shoulder harness the next safest position
is buckled in the right passenger seat in an airbag equipped car or other
seating position with a three-point belt.
• Remove or adjust coats so they don't interfere with low placement of the
lap belt.
Top
Airbags
- If your vehicle has an airbag, always leave it operational. It supplements
seat belts and will assist in preventing injury to you which will help the baby,
if properly used. It is optimal to have at least ten inches between yourself and
the steering-wheel column, particularly if it has an airbag. Position the
steering wheel to maximize abdomen-to-wheel clearance, while aiming it more
towards the chest than the head is desired.
- Consider using the passenger seat until the baby is born if airbag/steering
wheel clearance cannot be maintained, especially in late pregnancy.
- Front seat pregnant passengers should have the seat moved comfortably back
from the passenger-side airbag. Newer airbags that deploy with less force are
desired for small statured women.
Vehicle safety
- Purchase and ride in vehicles with high
vehicle safety
ratings.
- Ask the dealer or manufacturer whether the car and the restraint systems
have been designed to reduce the injury risk to pregnant occupants and the
fetus.
Additional Educational Resources
More |
Top
|
AASP
