P.S.A.: Pregnant Women Should ALWAYS Wear Seatbelts

Yesterday, a pregnant woman and her unborn child died on I-94 in metro Detroit. From the Detroit Free Press:

A 23-year-old pregnant woman died in a car crash on I-94 on Tuesday morning, along with her baby, who was ripped from her body along the freeway.

Shardae Homesly of Detroit was not wearing a seat belt as she rode in the front seat of her SUV, driven by her fianc�, Michigan State Police Sgt. Linda Mys said.

The couple were heading westbound near Morang on Detroit's east side shortly before 11:45 a.m. The fianc�, whose name wasn't released, swerved to avoid hitting a van that began merging into the SUV's path in the far-right lane.

Think about that for a moment. The baby was "ripped from her body".

Some pregnant women refuse to wear seatbelts because they are worried that it will "hurt the baby".

Forget that. If you are unrestrained, and get in an accident, you and your baby could die.

The safe way for pregnant women to wear seatbelts is to raise the shoulder belt slightly, so that it crosses the chest above the belly, and to pull the lap belt down a little so it crosses over the hips below the belly.