Studies about Driving and Pregnancy - Tummy Shield

Studies about Driving and Pregnancy

Even NHTSA while describing their recommendation for how to wear the seat belt while pregnant used to say:

studies driving pregnancy(NHTSA has since redesigned their site. Now we can find no mention at all about driving during pregnancy and seat belts

“Motor vehicle crashes account for four of five deaths that occur among unborn babies of pregnant women who experience trauma.” — Journal of the American Medical Association

“Automobile crashes are the largest single cause of death for pregnant women and the leading cause of traumatic fetal injury mortality in the United States.” — U. S. National Library of Medicine

“Pregnant women who are hospitalized following motor vehicle crashes are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, even if they are not seriously injured or not injured at all.” — Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center

“Information and research needed to help reduce risks to women and fetus from motor vehicle injury during pregnancy.” — Journal of the American Medical Association

Studies about Driving and Pregnancy

  1. Attico NB, Smith RJ 3rd, FitzPatrick MB, Keneally M., “Automobile Safety Restraints for Pregnant Women and Children.” The Journal of Reproductive Medicine. March 31, 1986 (3):p187-92.
  2. Cesario RNC, PhD, Sandra K., “Seat Belt Use in Pregnancy: History, Misconceptions and the Need for Education.” Nursing for Women’s Health. Volume 11, Issue 5 (October|November 2007): p474–481.
  3. Delotte, J.; Behr, M; Thollon, L; Arnoux, P; Baque, P; Bongain, A; Brunet, C; “Pregnant Woman and Road Safety: a Numerical Approach. Application to a Restrained Third Trimester Pregnant Woman in Frontal Impact.” Journal de Gynecologie Obstetrique et Biologie de la Reproduction (Paris). Volume 36, Issue 6 (October 2007): p577-81.
  4. Delotte, J.; Behr, M; Thollon, L; Arnoux, P; Baque, P; Bongain, A; Brunet, C; “Pregnant Woman and Road Safety: Experimental Crash Test with Post Mortem Human Subject.” Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy. Volume 30, Issue 3 (May 2008): p185-189.
  5. Duma, Stefan; Moorcroft, David M.; Stitzel, Joel D.; Duma, Greg G.; “Computational Model of the Pregnant Occupant: Predicting the Risk of Injury in Automobile Crashes.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Volume 189, Issue 2 (August 2003); p540-544.
  6. Duma, Stefan; Moorcroft, David M.; Stitzel, Joel D.; Duma, Greg G.; “Evaluating Pregnant Occupant Restraints: The Effect of Local Uterine Compression on the Risk of Fetal Injury.” Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. Volume 48 (September 2004).
  7. Duma, Stefan; Moorcroft, David M.; Gabler, Hampton C.; Manoogian, Sarah M.; Stitzel, Joel D.; Duma, Greg G.; “Analysis of Pregnant Occupant Crash Exposure and the Potential Effectiveness of Four-Point Seatbelts in Far Side Crashes.” Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. Volume 50 (September 2006): p187-198.
  8. Duma, Stefan; Moorcroft, David; Stitzel, Joel; Duma, Greg; “A Computational Model of the Pregnant Occupant: Effects of Restraint Usage and Occupant Position on Fetal Injury Risk.” Virginia Tech – Wake Forest, Center for Injury Biomechanics – United States Paper Number 05-0367 (2005).
  9. Friese, Greg; Wojciehoski, Randal F.; “Fetal Trauma from Motor Vehicle Collisions.” EMS World. (July 1, 2005)
  10. Goodyear, Sarah, “Should Pregnant Women Be Warned About the Health Risks of Driving?” The Atlantic City Lab. (March 13, 2013)
  11. Hardy, WN; Schneider, LW; Rouhana, SW; “Abdominal Impact Response to Rigid-Bar, Seatbelt and Airbag Loading.” Stapp Car Crash Journal. Volume 45 (November 2001): p1-32.
  12. Hofferbrth, James, (2013). Prevention of Fetal Injury in Motor Vehicle Crashes. (Online)
  13. Hyde, Lisa K.; Cook, Lawrence J. MStat; Olson, Lenora M. MA; Weiss, Harold B. MPH, PhD; Dean, J. Michael MD, MBA; “Effect of Motor Vehicle Crashes on Adverse Fetal Outcomes.” Obstetrics & Gynecology. Volume 102, Issue 2 (August 2003): p279-286.
  14. Klinich, Kathleen DeSantis; Schneider, Lawrence W.; Moore, Jamie L.; Pearlman, M.D.; “Injuries to Pregnant Occupants in Automotive Crashes.” University of Michigan – United States Paper Number 98-SP-P-17 (1998).
  15. Klinich, Kathleen DeSantis; Schneider, Lawrence W.; Moore, Jamie L.; “Investigations of Crashes Involving Pregnant Occupants.” Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. Volume 44 (2000): p37-56.
  16. Klinich PhD, Kathleen DeSantis; Flannagan PhD, Carol A. C.; Rupp PhD, Jonathan D.; Sochor MD, Mark; Schneider PhD, Lawrence W.; Pearlman MD, Mark D.; “Fetal Outcome in Motor-Vehicle Crashes: Effects of Crash Characteristics and Maternal Restraint.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Volume 198, Issue 4 (April 2008): p450.e1–450.e9.
  17. Pearlman, M.D., “Motor Vehicle Crashes, Pregnancy Loss and Preterm Labor.” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.Volume 57, Issue 2 (May 1997): p127–132.
  18. Pearlman, MD; Klinich, KD; Schneider, LW; Rupp, J, Moss, S; Ashton-Miller, J; “A Comprehensive Program to Improve Safety for Pregnant Women and Fetuses in Motor Vehicle Crashes: a Preliminary Report.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Volume 182, Issue 6 (June 2000): p1554-1564.
  19. Weiss, HB, “The Epidemiology of Traumatic Injury-Related Fetal Mortality in Pennsylvania, 1995-1997: the Role of Motor Vehicle Crashes.” Accident Analysis and Prevention. Volume 33, Issue 4 (July 2001): p449-54.
  20. Weiss, HB; Songer, Thomas J.; Fabio, Anthony; “Fetal Deaths Related to Maternal Injury.” The Journal of American Medical Association. Volume 286, Issue 15 (October 2001): p1863-1868.
  21. Weiss, HB; Strotmeyer, S.; “Characteristics of Pregnant Women in Motor Vehicle Crashes.” Injury Prevention:Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention. Volume 8, Issue 3 (September 2002): p207-10.
  22. Weiss, HB; Sirin, Hulya; Sauber-Schatz, Erin K.; Dunning, Kari; “Seat Belt use, Counseling and Motor-Vehicle Injury During Pregnancy: Results from a Multi-State Population-Based Survey.” Maternal and Child Health Journal. Volume 11 (2007): p505-510.
  23. Weiss, HB; Vladutui, Catherine J.; “Motor Vehicle Safety During Pregnancy.” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine volume 6, issue 3 (May/June 2012): p241-249.
  24. Redelmeier DA, May SC, Thiruchelvam D, Barrett JF. “Pregnancy and the risk of a traffic crash.” Canadian Medical Association Journal volume 186 (10), (May 2014): p742–50.
  25. Evans L, Redelmeier DA. “Traffic Deaths Before and After Birth.” European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology volume 194, (November 2015): p258-259.
  26. Pearlman, M. D., Tintinalli, J. E., Lorenz, R. P. (1990). Blunt Trauma During Pregnancy. New England Journal of Medicine, 323(23): 1609-1613.
  27. Klinich KD, Schneider LW, Eby B, Rupp J, Pearlman MD. Seated anthropometry during pregnancy; 1999a. UMTRI-99-16
  28. Tyroch, Alan H. MD; Kaups, Krista L. MD; Rohan, Jenny RN; Song, Sam MD; Beingesser, Kelli MD. Pregnant Women and Car Restraints: Beliefs and Practices. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, volume 46, (February 1999); p241-245.
  29. Stefan M. Duma, David M. Moorcroft, Hampton C. Gabler, Sarah M. Manoogian, Joel D. Stitzel, and Greg G. Duma. Analysis of Pregnant Occupant Crash Exposure and the Potential Effectiveness of Four-Point Seatbelts in Far Side Crashes. Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, volume 50, (2006); p187-198.
  30. McGwin G Jr1, Russell SR, Rux RL, Leath CA, Valent F, Rue LW. Knowledge, beliefs, and practices concerning seat belt use during pregnancy. J Trauma (March 2004); p670-675.
  31. Michelle B. Mulder, Hallie J. Quiroz,Wendy J. Yang, Davis S. Lasko, Eduardo A. Perez, Kenneth G. Proctor, Juan E. Sola, Chad M. Thorson. The Unborn Fetus: The Unrecognized Victim of Trauma During Pregnancy. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, volume 55, (2020); p938-945.
  32. Chibber R, Al-Harmi J, Fouda M, et al. Motor-vehicle injury in pregnancy and subsequent feto-maternal outcomes: of grave concern. JMatern Fetal NeonatalMed 2015; 28(4):399–402.
  33. Aboutanos MB, Aboutanos SZ, Dompkowski D, et al. Significance of motor vehicle crashes and pelvic injury on fetal mortality: a five-year institutional review. J Trauma 2008;65(3):616–20.
  34. P. Petrone, P. Jiménez‑Morillas, A. Axelrad1, C. P. Marini. Traumatic injuries to the pregnant patient: a critical literature review. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg (2019) 45:383–392.

News Stories

NPR – (5/12/14) While this article doesn’t mention the Tummy Shield, it does describe a Canadian study that shows women in the 2nd trimester are more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash. Tummy Shield can help protect mom and baby in the increased likelihood of a crash.

USA Today – Nov. 27, 2009 – Researchers trying to protect pregnant drivers. Researchers and car manufacturers realize seat belts aren’t the optimal answer to safety for pregnant women and although it’s the best safety device they have, they could make it better.

studies show seatbelt could be better for pregnant women

Today’s Parent – (5/11/16) Discusses Canadian study that reveals more crashes during second trimester than before pregnancy and significantly lower rates during the third trimester than before pregnancy and still lower rates for the first year after birth.
(https://www.todaysparent.com/pregnancy/what-you-need-to-know-about-driving-while-pregnant/ )

YASA International – (11/26/14) Talks about driving and pregnancy with suggestions for safer driving during pregnancy and briefly reveals some research.

Pregnancy Statistics – (as of 6/9/2015) from Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Examples of pregnancy crashes that make the news.