How & Why Pregnant Women Should Wear Seatbelts

Wednesday, 25. June 2008

I can’t believe I’m writing this piece but I felt it should be included. It’s to do with pregnant women and the wearing of seat belts. Volvo, who is the only car manufacturer to have a pregnant test dummy (look – leave it – I’m just reporting it OK) called Linda, it’s true, the bloody dummy is called Linda – good grief. Anyway, Volvo, on a very serious point says ‘car safety for unborn children is rarely documented as foetal injury and deaths often do not show in statistics.’ As a result of extensive tests with Linda they have found that there is a safe way of wearing a seat belt and that women should always belt up as it offers greater protection than not wearing a belt which is what many women do believing that the belt could harm the unborn child. Also they recommend that air bags are enabled as they also provide greater protection. So here are the instructions for wearing a seat belt safely if you are pregnant.

Place the diagonal strap between the breasts (over the breastbone) with the strap resting over the shoulder, not the neck.
Place the lap belt flat on the thighs, fitting comfortably beneath the enlarged abdomen, and over the pelvis, not the bump.
The belt should be worn as tightly as possible
In this way the forces applied in a sudden impact can be absorbed by the body’s frame.
Pregnant women should not wear lap only belts as they have been shown to cause grave injuries to unborn children in the event of sudden deceleration.

Don’t forget all pregnant women should wear seatbelts by law. This applies to front and back passengers.