Anyone involved in a car accident is typically frightened and traumatized and often injured, but a car crash is particularly dangerous for a pregnant woman. Even a minor collision can increase the possibility of a high-risk pregnancy; cause an injury to her unborn baby or even worse, suffer a miscarriage.
Any kind of trauma, from a sudden stop in a fender bender to the deployment of airbags, can put a pregnant woman at risk of miscarriage. If you are pregnant and have been involved in an accident–no matter how minor, you should seek medical attention immediately, even if you don’t feel hurt.
In the unfortunate event that your unborn child sustained injuries or you have suffered a miscarriage as a result of the crash, birth-injury lawyer Jeffrey Killino will carefully review the car accident and your pregnancy in conjunction with medical experts and can advise you of your legal options. Sometimes a car accident doesn’t cause an immediate miscarriage but your unborn baby may be seriously injured.
Slamming on the brakes can result in placental abruption – a serious condition in which the placenta partially or completely separates from the uterus before a baby is born, commonly occurring around 25 weeks of pregnancy. Placental abruption can cause hemorrhage, miscarriage, or premature delivery. You may not notice any symptoms so it is crucial that you get a thorough obstetric examination and ultrasound. Sometimes a woman doesn’t miscarry until a few weeks after the car crash. Premature birth is another issue, and one that can also result in serious complications.
Car Accident Miscarriage Facts
Automobile crashes are the largest single cause of death for pregnant women and the leading cause of traumatic fetal injury mortality in the United States, according to the U. S. National Library of Medicine.
Every year, about 170,000 pregnant women experience a car crash. The website saferide4kids.com says an estimated 3,000 pregnancies are lost every year due to car crashes when driving while pregnant, based on more than 25 research studies conducted in the past 10 to 20 years.
A 2015 study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that the risk of fetal death from a car crash is at least five times the risk compared to the first nine months of a baby’s life. This number is based only on the 227 pregnant mothers and babies who died in a car crash (compared to the 60 newborns who died in traffic crashes in 2012). It does not take into account possibly thousands of times a pregnancy is lost when the mother survives.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that automobile crashes account for four out of five deaths that occur among unborn babies of pregnant women who experience trauma. “Information and research is needed to help reduce risks to women and fetus from motor vehicle injury during pregnancy,” JAMA noted.
Car Accident Miscarriage Prevention
Researchers and car manufacturers say that seat belts aren’t the optimal answer to safety for pregnant women and although it’s the best safety device they have, they could make it better. Be sure to wear a properly fastened seatbelt throughout your pregnancy.
NHTSA recommends that the seat belt should be positioned low on the abdomen, below the fetus, with the shoulder belt worn normally. When crashes occur, the fetus can be injured by striking the lower rim of the steering wheel or from crash forces concentrated in the area where a seat belt crosses the mother’s abdomen.
Suffering a car crash miscarriage is heartbreaking. As well, you may be angry and confused and not know where to turn. Insurance companies likely won’t be on your side and they will try to prove that your miscarriage was unrelated to the accident, so it is important to look into legal options.
Birth injury attorney Killino will offer you the compassion, guidance and personal attention you deserve. He can help you find justice and you may be able to recover damages in a court of law from those responsible. Contact nationally-recognized birth-injury lawyer Jeffrey Killino today at 877-875-2927 to discuss your legal options.
