The pregnancy seatbelt

It's the sort of thing you'd expect to see on Dragon's Den. A nervous entrepreneur with a lightbulb idea facing inevitable rejection from the ever-icy Deborah Meaden and anticipating Duncan Bannatyne's trademark 'I'm out' catchphrase.

Studies show that only 11 per cent of pregnant women wear their seatbelts according to government guidelines, placing the lap belt under the bump and the diagonal belt around the bump, and many women do not wear a seat belt at all.

But there are some inventors out there who are lucky enough to have the funding and business know-how to avoid the dreaded den, making a go of a new idea all by themselves. It also helps when the idea is original and most importantly, something which people need as oppose to just want.

One such person with an innovative idea is Manchester entrepreneur Stephen Weston. He has developed a new seatbelt safety device for pregnant women.

His research found that products currently on the market only focus on comfort and not on the safety of a pregnancy bump – something all new parents are concerned about. The design of Stephen’s new product deals with both safety and comfort by moving the traditional diagonal strap away from the bump, and introducing a shoulder harness.

Records are not kept on how many women in the UK lose their babies each year in car crashes as the foetus is unborn, but figures in America estimate car crashes could be responsible for the miscarriage of more than 5000 babies a year.

Stephen was inspired to create the pregnancy seatbelt after he heard that a heavily pregnant woman had been prosecuted for not wearing her seatbelt as the recommended position was too uncomfortable. He felt that pregnant women should not have to choose between their comfort and the safety of their unborn child and immediately sketched on an envelope his ideas for a harness spreading the force across the shoulders. Now after six years of research, development, and tests, he has secured a full UK patent and is preparing to launch his product in January 2010.

Studies show that only 11 per cent of pregnant women wear their seatbelts according to government guidelines, placing the lap belt under the bump and the diagonal belt around the bump, and many women do not wear a seatbelt at all.

Stephen said: “The traditional diagonal seatbelt strap, whilst saving the wearer, can be very dangerous for pregnant women in the case of a car accident, if it impacts across the bump.

“There are no other products which can completely remove the need for the diagonal strap to be positioned awkwardly across the body. We believe we can save thousands of women the pain and agony of losing an unborn child in car accidents.”

For more information on the pregnancy seatbelt, please visit pregnancyseatbeltharness