Towards safer motherhood: a cross-sectional study of seatbelt practice and its correlates with pregnant front passengers in Samarinda, Indonesia.

Background: The use of seatbelts in motor vehicles among pregnant women can reduce morbidity and mortality due to road traffic crashes; however, to date, there are no published studies on seatbelt usage among pregnant women in Indonesia. This research aims to promote the safety of pregnant women when using a motor vehicle. Its objective was to investigate the practices of seatbelt usage among pregnant front passengers and the associated factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Samarinda, Indonesia. Pregnant women were asked to complete a self-administered validated and published questionnaire, the SaPeIH-Q, which included sociodemographic information, and an assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to seatbelt usage among pregnant women. Multiple logistic regression (MLogR) was performed via SPSS version 27 to identify independent factors associated with seatbelt usage.

Results: Among the 326 pregnant front passengers, only 34.7% used seatbelts, and only 39.3% correctly identified the placement of the three-point seatbelt. The practice of using seatbelts before pregnancy and knowledge of seatbelt usage were significantly associated with using seatbelts during pregnancy (p = 0.001 and 0.004, respectively).

Conclusions: The seatbelt usage rate among pregnant front passengers was low. Pregnant front passengers who used seatbelts before pregnancy were more likely to use them during pregnancy, and pregnant women with good knowledge were more likely to use seatbelts during pregnancy. The rate of seatbelt use during pregnancy may improve with increasing knowledge of seatbelt usage and the use of seatbelts before pregnancy.