Engineers have given pregnant women safety advice while traveling by car. They explained how to best cross road speed limit bumps, often called speed bumps. The study that inspired this recommendation was published in the Journal of Biomechanics.
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At the moment when the car overcomes a bump to limit the speed, its occupants are subject to specific acceleration and vibration for a short time. In the study, scientists assessed their effect on a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy with a cephalic presentation.
“Our study focused primarily on the effect of sudden acceleration on pregnant women,” said Professor Hadi Mohammadi. Mohammadi from the University of British Columbia.
Engineers developed theoretical biomechanical models, for which they used data obtained from crash tests of cars. They also included information about the physical and physiological characteristics of the body of pregnant women. They took into account different variations of vehicle speed and speed bump height.
“We took all these factors into account to ensure that the model was complete and reflected the reactions of a pregnant woman and the fetus in the real world,” explainedMohammadi.
The simulation results showed that too high a speed when crossing a speed bump can increase the pressure of the amniotic fluid, which protects the fetus. This may result in minor brain damage and abnormal acceleration of the fetal heart rate. For the expectant mother, such shaking can cause uterine contractions, abdominal pain, increased uterine activity, and possibly other complications.
Based on the modeling results, scientists gave one basic piece of advice to pregnant women and those who carry them by road. In front of a speed bump, the speed should be reduced to at least 41 km/h, preferably to 25 km/h, to avoid harm to the fetus and the expectant mother.