Traffic injuries of the pregnant women and fetal or neonatal outcomes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between pregnancy outcome and injury severity of pregnant woman in traffic accidents. METHOD: We reviewed insurance reports of traffic accidents and collected data on injuries of pregnant women and outcomes of their pregnancies. RESULT: A total of 135 pregnant women, with a mean injury severity score of 1.8+/-4.0, were involved in traffic accidents from 1994 through 2003. Injury severity score, abdominal abbreviated injury scale score were significantly higher in women whose neonates died than in women with healthy newborns. However, neither the likelihood of having been subjected to direct external forces during the accident nor injury severity differed between women with spontaneous abortions and woman with healthy newborns. CONCLUSION: Predicting abortion on the basis of maternal injury severity is difficult. Because unknown variables may contribute to fetal loss, further studies of traffic injuries are needed.