In order to learn more about what happens to mothers and their unborn children during auto accidents, Volvo has
introduced a crash dummy meant to represent a woman in a late stage of pregnancy. The presence of a fetus in a crash
(or crash test) complicates matters greatly, as the safety devices that protect a non-pregnant person could be harmful
or even fatal to a fetus. Airbags and seatbelts can cause direct trauma to an unborn baby, but device-child contact is
not the only danger. A restrained person is subject to various pushing and pulling forces during an accident, which in
a pregnant woman can cause the free-floating placenta to become detached, thereby depriving the child of oxygen. The
dummy shown in cross-section is meant to be the size of average American or European.
Volvo develops world's first pregnant crash dummy
In order to learn more about what happens to mothers and their unborn children during auto accidents, Volvo has introduced a crash dummy meant to represent a woman in a late stage of pregnancy. The presence of a fetus in a crash (or crash test) complicates matters greatly, as the safety devices that protect a non-pregnant person could be harmful or even fatal to a fetus. Airbags and seatbelts can cause direct trauma to an unborn baby, but device-child contact is not the only danger. A restrained person is subject to various pushing and pulling forces during an accident, which in a pregnant woman can cause the free-floating placenta to become detached, thereby depriving the child of oxygen. The dummy shown in cross-section is meant to be the size of average American or European.