Infant passenger safety education in perinatal services in California

Of 166 hospitals surveyed in California, 53 (31.9 percent) routinely provide some information on infant car-safety to parents of newborns and 115 (69.2 percent) were interested in developing a more comprehensive program of infant passenger safety. More than 80 percent of the hospitals estimated that less than a fourth of the infants were safely restrained on leaving the hospital. Larger hospitals provided more car safety education and expressed greater interest in developing comprehensive programs in the future. Although present services are limited, there is interest in expanding infant passenger safety education not only in perinatal services but in childbirth classes as well.