You don’t have to really drive when you are pregnant but sometimes situations call for it especially if you are a busy urban working mom. So here are some safety guidelines for infant care which you need to take in to heart while driving - especially with the use of the airbag. Information courtesy of 4akid.co.za:

- After much debate over pregnancy and seat belts and air bags - it’s important to note that both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists support the use of properly adjusted three point safety belts and enabled air bags.
- Air bags are meant to work with seat belts in protecting both mother and child.
- Air bags inflate within approximately one-twentieth of a second after a crash. The inflated air bag creates a protective cushion between the driver or passenger and the steering wheel, dashboard, and windscreen.
- It is safe to be near airbags whilst you’re pregnant - Safety experts recommend that all car occupants (not just pregnant women) should move their seat as far back as possible and tilt it slightly backwards. This maximises the distance between your chest and the steering wheel if you are driving.
- Doctors strongly recommend leaving airbags turned on, whether riding as a passenger or the driver.
- Leave air bags operational; just remember that you should have a good 30cm or so between your stomach and a potential air bag.
- No authorities have yet issued definitive guidelines on the use of air bags by pregnant women, though some manufacturers advise that mums-to-be should not sit in front seats with a passenger air bag.
- Avoid leaning or reaching forward, and sit back in the seat with as little slack in the seat belt as possible - this will reduce your forward movement in a crash and allow the airbag to inflate correctly.
- To cut your risks of injury even further, though, you could sit buckled –in at the back seat, which is the safest place to travel in any car.

Tweet This Post