The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor, found that if pregnant women are properly restrained by a seat belt, the estimated 370 fetuses that die each year as a result of crashes in the United States could be reduced to about 200.

Mark D. Pearlman, vice chair in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan, and fellow researchers said in a media release that the study findings, which appear in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, debunk a long-standing myth that wearing a seat belt is not safe for pregnant women.

Researchers looked at 56 motor vehicle crashes involving 57 pregnant women at 20 weeks' gestation or more. Among the 10 unbelted women involved in crashes, 80 percent experienced fetal death or major complications, compared with 29 percent for women who were properly restrained.

Additional findings show:

• Seat belt use is believed to prevent approximately 84 percent of serious fetal injuries and deaths due to car crashes.
• About 6 to 7 percent of women are involved in a car crash during their pregnancy - that translates to about 170,000 car crashes a year involving pregnant women.
• More fetal deaths are due to car impacts than child deaths caused by bicycle accidents. "

Read the paper in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology