With Memorial Day around the corner and the unofficial beginning of the summer road trip season upon us, here's an important bit of news from the annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Emergency medicine researchers from Wake Forest University analyzed a national database of over 2 million people injured in car accidents and identified over 2400 cases involving pregnant women. They found that women who were wearing a seat belt or driving in a car with an airbag were less likely to experience fetal complications than women with neither a seat belt or airbag. Women with both a seat belt and an airbag had the best outcomes. This research confirms findings from several smaller studies.

The March of Dimes provides a nice summary of car safety guidelines for pregnant women.

Published: May 17, 2009

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