This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
The Effect of Pregnant Occupant Position and Belt Placement on the Risk of Fetal Injury
Technical Paper
2004-01-0324
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
The goal of this project was to evaluate the effect of occupant seating and seatbelt placement on the risk of adverse fetal outcome from a motor vehicle crash. Unrestrained, 3-pt belt, and 3-pt belt plus airbag tests were simulated with the Virginia Tech pregnant occupant computational model in both a driver-side and passenger-side vehicle interior in frontal impacts at 35 kph. The pregnant occupant model is a small female human body model modified to include a finite element uterine model. The model was previously created and validated with abdominal force-deflection responses. Peak uterine strain was reduced by 30% to 50% in passenger-side simulations vs. driver-side simulations. However, in the unrestrained, passenger-side simulation, the pregnant occupant sustained a HIC score of 2820, suggesting immediate maternal death and a high likelihood of fetal death. Additional simulations were run in which the vertical position of the lap-belt was varied through three heights. It was found that the vertical position of the lap-belt can increase the risk of adverse fetal outcome by a factor of three. The worse case lap-belt height corresponds to the belt being placed directly over the placenta. This case produced a peak uterine strain of 97%, well above the reputed tissue limit of 60%. It is recommended that, when practical, the pregnant woman ride in the passenger seat with a 3-pt belt. The seat should be positioned as far rearward as possible and the lap-belt should be worn as low as possible
Recommended Content
Authors
Citation
Moorcroft, D., Stitzel, J., Duma, S., and Duma, G., "The Effect of Pregnant Occupant Position and Belt Placement on the Risk of Fetal Injury," SAE Technical Paper 2004-01-0324, 2004, https://doi.org/10.4271/2004-01-0324.Also In
References
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 1998 Obstetric aspects of trauma management Educational Bulletin Number 251
- Jernigan MV 2002 Statistical analysis and computational modeling of injuries in automobile crashes MS Thesis Virginia Poltechnic Institute and State University
- Kent RW Crandall JR Bolton J Prasad P Nusholtz GS Mertz HJ 2001 The influence of superficial soft tissues and restraint condition on thoracic skeletal injury prediction Stapp Car Crash Journal 45 2001-22-0008 183 204
- Klinich KD Schneider LW Rupp JD Eby B Pearlman MD 1999a Challenges in frontal crash protection of pregnant drivers based on anthropometric considerations SAE technical paper series ; 1999-01-0711 1 23
- Klinich KD Schneider LW Moore JL 1999b Investigations of crashes involving pregnant occupants UMTRI-99-29.
- Moorcroft DM Duma SM Stitzel JD Duma GG 2003 A finite element and multi-body model of the pregnant occupant for the analysis of restraint effectiveness SAE technical paper series . 2003-01-0157
- Pearlman MD Tintinalli JE Lorenz RP 1990a A prospective controlled study of outcome after trauma during pregnancy American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 162 1502 1510
- Pearlman MD Tintinalli JE Lorenz RP 1990b Blunt trauma during pregnancy New England Journal of Medicine, 323 23 1690 1613
- Rupp JD Klinich KD Moss S Zhou J Pearlman MD Schneider LW 2001 Development and testing of a prototype pregnant abdomen for the small-female Hybrid III ATD Stapp Car Crash Journal 45 61 78