Although it may seem cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear a safety belt during pregnancy, you should most definitely not avoid doing so. If you wear the safety belt correctly, you’ll endure minimum discomfort and it will in no way harm the baby. Moreover, wearing a safety belt could potentially save both you and your baby’s lives in the event of a car accident.
Apart from these all-important factors, the law requires everyone to buckle up. A few exemptions from wearing a safety belt do exist. If you’re, for instance, supervising a learner driver, or driving a delivery truck that travels no more than 50 meters between stops, you are exempt. But, as a pregnant woman, you’ll only be excused from wearing a safety belt if a doctor decides that you’re not required to wear one based on medical grounds. If this is the case, you’ll have to produce a certificate when stopped by traffic officers.
Here is some more valuable information regarding safety-belt usage during pregnancy.
Reasons to Wear A Safety Belt When Pregnant
A car accident can potentially not only cause physical harm to you, but also to your unborn baby. The fetus can be affected negatively by the impact of a car accident in several ways. Complications include premature labor, miscarriage, or a placental disruption, in which the placenta that supplies the baby with food and oxygen is separated from the wall of the uterus.
How To Wear A Safety Belt During Pregnancy
Always wear both the lap belt and the shoulder strap. The lap belt should be placed underneath the belly and on top of the thighs, never across the belly, as the latter will put the mother’s most important organs at risk when an impact occurs, and could also put the baby in harm’s way. For maximum protection, the shoulder strap should go between the breasts and not underneath an arm.
Seat-Belt Adjusters
Although you may be tempted to opt for a seat-belt adjuster, it’s important to know that there are no government or crash-test standards in place with regard to such devices. Furthermore, they may actually cause more harm than good. Seat-belt adjusters are designed to change the positioning of the safety belt, which firstly causes slack in the belt that could increase the chances of neck and head injuries. Secondly, poorly-designed devices could actually place the lap belt dangerously close to the uterus, which could have disastrous consequences for the fetus should a crash occur.
Real world crashes have proven that wearing a lap and shoulder belt, without extra seat-belt positioning devices, is ultimately the most effective way of reducing injuries to both the mother and fetus should an accident occur.
If for whatever reason, you have considered not wearing a safety belt while pregnant, you should reassess your thinking. Apart from the fact that it’s illegal to drive without one, statistics have proven that wearing a safety belt during pregnancy can potentially save the lives of both mother and child.
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