Specialists: Pregnant women best buckle up

Two groups made up of obstetricians and gynecologists have compiled a report recommending that pregnant women wear vehicle seat belts to reduce the risk to life from accidents, coming out against the widespread misunderstanding that they should not wear them, the groups said Monday.

The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimate that traffic accidents cause up to a combined 10,000 cases of miscarriages and premature births as well as 40 deaths of pregnant women annually.

To reduce the casualties, the groups decided to incorporate the recommendation into a doctors' guideline, set to be released shortly, and urge doctors to explain to pregnant women that seat belts can lessen the impact of an accident on their bodies if they are used appropriately.

The Road Traffic Law requires people to wear seat belts, but it has a provision exempting pregnant women in cases where doing so would affect their health.

Many people misunderstand this provision and mistakenly believe that such women should not wear seat belts, according to Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Tsukuba, who took part in drafting the report.

Understanding about the effectiveness of wearing a seat belt is not sufficient among doctors either, according to Hiroshi Murao from the Nambu medical center in Okinawa.

"If the seat belt is the standard three-part type that also holds your shoulder and it is used properly, there is no need to worry" about possible pressure on the stomach during a crash, Murao said.

The report also recommends a seat belt be placed over both the shoulder and waist, but not on the stomach.

Some overseas studies indicate that the fatality rate from traffic accidents is higher among expecting mothers and their unborn babies when a seat belt is not worn.

At least 12 advanced countries, including the U.S., Canada and Sweden, oblige pregnant women to wear seat belts like everybody else, the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology said.