Automobile safety restraints for pregnant women and children.

Automobile safety restraints were introduced into the United States over 20 years ago but continue to be utilized by a minimum number of automobile passengers. Universal usage could reduce highway crash fatalities by an estimated 9,000-15,000 lives per year. Although women generally utilize automobile safety restraints more than do men, there is a dramatic diminution during pregnancy, when usage rates approximate those of men. In pregnant women the largest single cause of maternal death is automobile crashes. In infants and small children the restraint efficiency approaches 90% protection. Health care providers should become actively involved in seeing that automobile safety restraints are properly utilized on pregnant women, infants and children.