Car seat belts do not increase foetal complications risk after accidents

Washington, May 17 (ANI): Seat belts in cars are meant to save lives. However, many pregnant women do not wear them thinking that the belt itself could injure the baby in a car crash. Now, a new study has shown that the seat belt does not put the baby at risk.

For the study, a group of researchers led by Dr. Stacie Zelman from Wake Forest University examined a national database of over two million injured patients, and found over 2,400 pregnant women injured in car crashes.

They found that women wearing a seat belt, having an air bag, or both were significantly less likely to have pregnancy-related complications than women with neither a seat belt nor an air bag.

The combination of a seat belt and air bag resulted in the lowest rate of complications.

The researchers suggest that pregnant women should use seat belts with confidence that they will help, not hurt, in a crash.

The study has been published in Academic Emergency Medicine, the official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. (ANI)