Just a few sentences can persuade pregnant women to use seat belts.(Obstetrics)

KAILUA KONA, HAWAII -- Tell pregnant patients to wear seat belts when in a car, and chances are that they'll do it, Dr. William G. Barsan said at a meeting on medical negligence and risk management.

One study found that 92% of mothers who got some prenatal education about seat belt use later reported using seat belts, and 83% could describe proper seat belt placement. Only 71% of mothers who did not get seat-belt advice reported using seat belts, and only 65% could describe proper seat belt placement, said Dr. Barsan, professor and chair of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

This did not require extensive, 20-minute education sessions but simply telling the patients at an office visit, "The studies are clear--you're better off wearing a seat belt. If you wear it, here's how you want to do it," he added.

There seems to be some confusion among the lay public and even among some clinicians about the benefits of wearing seat belts during pregnancy. Dr. Barsan argued with his own wife about it during her pregnancy, he said at the meeting, sponsored by Boston University.

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