October 8th 2023.
Louise Woodhead, a 29-year-old nursery nurse from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, was involved in a car crash when she was 38 weeks pregnant. She was driving with her partner Ben Rafferty and a friend when a car overtook a tractor on a blind bend and crashed into her car. The impact pushed her car into a hedge, and the airbags went off.
“I was scared to death about the baby,” Louise said. “My stomach was black and looked really bad. I'm lucky I'm here and I have a baby.” Her baby bump was left with extensive bruising, but luckily, an ultrasound and CT scan revealed that the baby was unharmed.
On July 4, Louise welcomed her son Sullivan, weighing 7lbs 4oz. However, she still had severe bruising which hadn't gone down when she gave birth. She had an emergency c-section after a long labour, and was relieved to find Sullivan was absolutely fine with no marks on him.
Louise wants to urge other expectant mums to be more cautious while driving, and to wear an adaptable seatbelt to better protect their bump. “Adaptable seatbelts ease the tension across the stomach. It would stop bruising and stop the damage to a baby,” she said. “I was lucky - he was quite robust - but it could have been different. Somebody else might not be that lucky.” The driver who caused the crash was given a driving course, and no criminal charges were brought against them.
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