Safety Belts and Safety Seats Save Lives
Car crashes cripple and kill more people from birth to age 34 than anything else.

All states and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws.

What Happens in a Crash
In a car crash, there are two collisions. The first is when the car hits something, or is hit, and comes to a sudden stop. The second crash happens a split second later when anyone not buckled in can fly forward, slamming into the steering wheel, windshield, dashboard or front seat (from the back seat). The force of a 30-mph crash is like jumping headfirst off a three-story building.

It takes only a second or two for an adult to buckle up. It takes only a couple of minutes to get a baby into the safety seat. Take the time to be safe — even when you are only going a short distance.

Buckling Up During Pregnancy
Although the baby is well protected inside of your body, for the best protection in a vehicle, wear a lap-shoulder belt while you're pregnant every time you travel. The safety belt will not hurt your baby. You and your baby are far more likely to survive a car crash if you are buckled in.

The upper part of the belt should cross your shoulder without chafing your neck. Never slip the upper part of the belt off your shoulder. Safety belts worn too loosely or too high on the belly can cause broken ribs or injuries to your belly.

Safety Seats for Babies
You will need a safety seat for your baby's first ride home from the hospital. Plan to get a safety seat well before your due date.

The safest place in the car for an infant is facing the rear of the car in the middle of the back seat. This helps support the baby's head and back. If the seat doesn't fit in the middle, place it in the back seat where it fits best.

Two kinds of safety seats are made for babies — infant-only seats and convertible seats. Infant-only seats fit babies only under 17 to 22 pounds and always face the rear of the car. A convertible seat fits children from birth to about 40 pounds. It is used facing the back of the car for the first year, then can be turned to face the front when the baby is at least 1 year old and weighs at least 20 pounds.

Choosing the Best Seat
By September 2002, all new cars and trucks must have the same system to install child safety seats. This means every child safety seat will fit in a car or truck the same way.

Until all new cars and seats have these anchors, some safety seats will fit in your car better than others. A seat that is easy to use will be the best for you and your child. When buying a seat, keep these tips in mind:

• Try locking and unlocking the buckle while you are in the store.
• Try the seat in your car. If it doesn't fit, you'll need another model.
• Read the labels to check weight limits.

Using the Seat in Your Car
To protect your child, the safety seat must be secure in the car. First, place the seat in the middle of the back seat, facing the rear. Lock the seat into its base, if it has one. The base should not move more than 1 inch when pushed. The lap part of the seat belt should be tightly fastened to the seat frame. To make sure it's tight, push the safety seat down into the seat cushion while you tighten the belt around it.

The safety seat's harness should fit snugly around the baby.

Air Bags
Many new cars have air bags to protect the driver and the passenger riding in the front seat. Air bags are inside the steering wheel and dashboard in front of the passenger seat.

In a crash, air bags inflate very fast. The force of an air bag can hurt people who are too close to it. To avoid injury to you and your child from an air bag, follow these steps:

• Never put a child age 12 and under in the front seat.
• Never put an infant seat that faces the rear of the car in the front seat.
• Buckle up with both the lap and shoulder belts on every trip.
• Keep driver and passenger seats far back from the dashboard.

This excerpt from ACOG's Patient Education Pamphlet is provided for your information. It is not medical advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for visiting your doctor. If you need medical care, have any questions, or wish to receive the full text of this Patient Education Pamphlet, please contact your obstetrician-gynecologist.