Severe road traffic injuries in the third trimester of pregnancy.

We report 9 women in the third trimester of pregnancy who were severely injured in road traffic accidents. There were 3 accelerated labours and half the babies died. Immediate obstetric interference was often impractical and did not improve fetal survival. Noteworthy injuries of the central nervous system were associated with very high fetal mortality. Fractures of the pelvis were not nearly as disastrous as the literature suggests. The first consideration in management should be the well being of the severely injured mother, since the injuries that would kill the fetus are not likely to be amenable to surgery. The only justification for intervention for the sake of the fetus that survives the moment of impact is to salvage it from its dying mother's body.