Dr. Katie Waldman, an emergency room specialist in Australia, has shared an important PSA on how to wear a seat belt safely when pregnant.
Waldman filmed the TikTok video in her car after treating an expectant mom who had been involved in a T-bone crash.
“She came in because she hadn’t felt her baby move since the accident. It had been a couple of hours, which is very scary," the Scottish physician told TODAY Parents.
Luckily, the baby was fine. But the story could have had a much different outcome. A minor accident can cause a pregnant woman to miscarry if she isn’t buckled properly, Waldman explained.
“She was wearing her seat belt across her bump. You should be wearing your seat belt underneath your bump basically over your hip bones. That prevents the baby from taking all the impact,” Waldman said.
The shoulder strap should be above the belly and in between the breasts.
Waldman noted that any kind of blunt trauma to the abdomen in a pregnant person can cause placental abruption, a serious condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before birth.
“For that reason you want to sit as far back as you can from the steering wheel. You don’t want the steering wheel touching your abdomen,” Waldman said. “This also minimizes the impact of airbags hitting your belly."
Since sharing the clip last month, Waldman, who is 37 weeks pregnant, has been inundated with comments.
“I was taught this 2 hours before I was in a bad car accident at 22 weeks. It literally saved my son's life,” one mom wrote.
Many people thanked Waldman for the life-saving tutorial.
“I had no idea how to wear my seatbelt but it was always on my mind when driving," one mom wrote.
Added another, “This needs to be taught more! I’d never have known this."
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