No good options, right?

lgenne

New member
I'm about 20 weeks pregnant, and was driving home from work this evening, feeling kicks to the (properly positioned) lap belt. In a collision, bad things would likely happen to my uterus, right? And stats don't look good for belted pregnant women? And there are no well tested devices to improve the situation?

I had a brief thought about being safer without a seat belt, then thought that through...
 
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Baylor

New member
You are not safer without a seat belt. A properly positioned seat belt low and under your belly is always the way to ride in the car.
 

katymyers

Active member
Your baby is extremely well protected by your uterus. We know pregnant women AND their babies are safest using a seatbelt. It's pretty rare for the seatbelt to harm a fetus and generally only happens in very severe accidents that have pretty poor outcomes overall anyways.
 

CarSafetyGuy

New member
Yeah, I wouldn't worry about this much. Just position your seat as far back from the steering wheel as safely possible, which, by the way, is what we should all be doing anyway, regardless of pregnancy status.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
Your pelvic bones will protect your uterus from severe injury if you're seatbelt is worn properly. There are some crash tested pregnancy seatbelt adjusters in the UK, but I haven't researched them in a long time.
 

CarSafetyGuy

New member
And to add to what katymyers said, I've looked at crashes (though I've yet to find the time to blog any) in the past year where pregnant women had successful emergency deliveries after serious crashes (including the kinds of collisions where others in the vehicle died). The baby is very well protected, relatively speaking.

The two crashes I've blogged that involved pregnant women who died along with the baby were extremely severe collisions; one was a high speed side impact in a vehicle with a poor side impact score, and the other was a collision involving a rear underride collision with a semi trailer.
 

thepote

New member
And to add to what katymyers said, I've looked at crashes (though I've yet to find the time to blog any) in the past year where pregnant women had successful emergency deliveries after serious crashes (including the kinds of collisions where others in the vehicle died). The baby is very well protected, relatively speaking. The two crashes I've blogged that involved pregnant women who died along with the baby were extremely severe collisions; one was a high speed side impact in a vehicle with a poor side impact score, and the other was a collision involving a rear underride collision with a semi trailer.

Can you link to your blog? Thanks :)
 

CarSafetyGuy

New member
Can you link to your blog? Thanks :)

Hi thepote - it's in my profile. I think putting commercial links in the forums is against the TOS.

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/airbags/qanda <--The IIHS, when talking about airbags, notes that it's not always possible to move far back enough to prevent injury when pregnant, and suggests using airbags and seat belts if refraining from driving completely is not possible in the late stages of pregnancy.
 

lgenne

New member
And to add to what katymyers said, I've looked at crashes (though I've yet to find the time to blog any) in the past year where pregnant women had successful emergency deliveries after serious crashes (including the kinds of collisions where others in the vehicle died). The baby is very well protected, relatively speaking.

The two crashes I've blogged that involved pregnant women who died along with the baby were extremely severe collisions; one was a high speed side impact in a vehicle with a poor side impact score, and the other was a collision involving a rear underride collision with a semi trailer.

I'm assuming none of those happened at 20 weeks.

Thanks all for indulging and assuaging my random paranoia.
 

Baylor

New member
(Yes, I realize that I'm far safer with a seat belt than without.)

I was not sure after the comment about considering going without.

If you die in a crash most likely your child would perish too. So keeping you safe in the car is most important.

It is a shame a lot of pregnant women are misled to believe that the seat belt is harmful when it is the one thing that in a crash can save the life of mom and baby.
 

CarSafetyGuy

New member
I'm assuming none of those happened at 20 weeks.

Thanks all for indulging and assuaging my random paranoia.

You're correct. Also, I forgot...last year, I was on the scene for a two-vehicle non-fatal collision on a rural highway. I called in the collision, waited for the police, etc. One lady lost control of her vehicle on ice, and was t-boned by a lady in an oncoming vehicle. The one who was t-boned was 9 months pregnant. However, she was absolutely fine. She'd been belted, it was a relatively low speed collision where she was hit by a small vehicle, and she was in a large one.

So yeah...it happens all the time, and it's a highly survivable situation for you and baby. As Baylor stated, keeping you safe in the vehicle is what's most important.
 

keri1292

Well-known member
At 20 weeks, the baby should be safe and above the lapbelt. What little bit may be lower would likely just squeeze upwards. I'd wear the seat belt and not think twice about it. Babe is travelling in it's own airbag bubble. :)
20weekspregnant.gif
 

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