Knowledge and practice of seat belt use among pregnant women

• Published in: Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Main Author: Daud S.; Zahid A.Z.M.; Abdullah B.; Mohamad M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd 2018
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85081989025&doi=10.5005%2fjp-journals-10006-1612&partnerID=40&md5=dd94e3d745b462f4c121adc1e5e1263b

Aim: Our study aims to determine the prevalence of seatbelt use in pregnancy and associated factors of the correct seat belt use. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional survey of the pregnant women who presented to the antenatal clinic of a tertiary medical center for 12 months. Patients were selected by using a systematic random sampling method. Face-to-face interview by trained interviewers was done to collect data, based on 11 questions survey. Participants’ knowledge on correct placement of both the lap and shoulder belt was assessed using a representative diagram. Results: Eighty pregnant women participated in the interview. Their mean age was 30 (± 3.85) years old, 76.3% of them attained post-secondary school education, and the majority (68.8%) was multigravida. Only 20 (25%) women knew the correct use of the seatbelt. There were no significant associations between knowing the correct use of seatbelt with the women’s age (p = 0.18), educational level (p = 0.10), gravid-ity (p = 0.21), gestation (p = 0.44) and status of ever receive information on seatbelt usage (p = 0.07). The highest source of information was from printed materials A total of 66 (82.5%) women drove during pregnancy and 74 (92.5%) were passengers. Six of the participants were neither a driver nor a passenger as they were public transport users. More than half (57.6%) of the drivers will always use a seatbelt, but only 43.2% will always use a seatbelt when they were passengers. More than 80% of those who did not always wear a seatbelt either as drivers or passengers stated feeling uncomfortable as a reason for noncompliance. Conclusion: There is lacking in awareness of the importance and correct seat belt use in pregnancy among the pregnant women. Steps should be taken to increase the correct usage of seatbelts to reduce maternal and fetal mortality due to road traffic accidents. © 2018, Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd. All rights reserved.