Newborns at KKH may receive loaned car seats under new road safety programme
Ms Tricia Lam, a physiotherapist at KKH, demonstrates how to place a baby in the infant car seat. (Photo: KKH)
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SINGAPORE: Parents of newborns at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) may loan a complimentary car seat under a new programme to reduce the risk of child road safety injuries, the hospital said on Tuesday (Feb 25).
The initiative, a first in Singapore, aims to empower parents to make their baby’s car rides safer, right from their first journey home, said KKH in a news release.
“Every year, we treat approximately 400 children for injuries from road traffic accidents. Many of these - especially to the head, spinal cord and internal organs - are far more severe when the child isn’t using a proper car seat,” said Dr Ronald Tan, senior consultant at KKH’s department of emergency medicine.
“Many of the injuries could be prevented with the right precautions. The need for families to have greater awareness about the effectiveness of car seats in saving lives has never been more crucial.”
Under the KKH Newborn Car Seat Programme, parents will be invited to register their interest to loan a complimentary car seat for their baby’s first year during their antenatal checkup. Alternatively, they can also sign up at for.sg/buckleupbaby.
KKH will arrange for the parents to collect the car seat by their third trimester checkup, to allow sufficient time to familiarise themselves with the seat prior to the baby’s delivery. Educational video resources and support on proper installation and use of the car seat will also be provided.
In addition, parents will have access to an expert on child passenger safety to learn more about the effectiveness of car seats in minimising the risk of severe injury in road accidents.
The loaned seat will need to be returned when the child turns one.
KKH said on Tuesday that a study of 1,483 children and adolescents with road traffic injuries found that more than half were not in a child car seat at the time of the incident.
A second study on the use of child car seats and restraints revealed that among parents and caregivers, there was a lack of knowledge in the installation and proper use of car seats and restraints.
They also doubted the importance or effectiveness of such seats, and cited inconvenience and high cost as some of the reasons for not using child car restraints despite it being mandated by law.
“This initiative is designed to provide families with the knowledge, resources, and support to ensure their child’s safety on the road,” said Dr Tan.
“We want to lay a strong foundation for a safer environment that ensures a child’s safety and well-being from infancy through adulthood.”
The programme, supported by the Traffic Police and in partnership with Komoco Motors and Mothercare, will benefit about 300 newborns in the first year, KKH said.
"We derived the 300-figure based on average delivery numbers. As this programme is newly launched, we are using the first year to better understand the needs of our population and adjust the number of car seats," added Dr Tan in response to CNA queries.
"The allocation of car seats will take into consideration the patient’s needs which could include the estimated delivery date."
The hospital sees the birth of about 30 to 35 babies each day on average.
Komoco Motors will sponsor the full cost of the car seats, which are purchased from Mothercare at a discounted price.
To encourage participants to continue to use age-appropriate car restraints as the child grows, the parents will be offered a subsidy towards their next child car seat purchase, upon returning the loaned seat.
Dr Tan, who also chairs the KKH Injury Prevention Working Group, said that as car seats are specifically designed to accommodate to a child’s size and weight, it is for parents to transition their child to the appropriate car seat as their children grow.
“Children are required to use child car restraints until they are 1.35m tall. Typically, this means using a rear-facing car seat for the first two years, a forward-facing seat from ages two to five, and a booster seat with seatbelt from age five and up,” said Dr Tan.
The KKH Newborn Car Seat Programme is one of the efforts of the KKH Injury Prevention Working Group, which collaborates closely with the National Trauma Committee and other stakeholders on measures to reduce the incidence of preventable injuries in the paediatric population.
