Abstract
Of 208 pregnant victims of severe automobile accidents, 28 were lab belts and 180 were unrestrained. Lap-belt restraint was associated with a reduction in maternal death from 7.8 to 3.6 per cent, and with an increase in fetal loss from 14.4 to 16.7 per cent. Among unbelted pregnant women involved in severe collisions, the death rate was 33 per cent of those ejected from the car and 5 per cent of those not ejected. The fetal death rate was 47 per cent when the mother was ejected and 11 per cent when she was not.