September is Baby Safety Month, and the caring team at Kona Community Hospital (KCH) is dedicated to emphasizing the importance of baby safety — including the necessity of properly installed car seats. The hospital staff continually stresses the importance of car seats to patients receiving services through their outstanding Maternity Services Department, also known as their Women’s Health Unit. Here, patients cannot go home with their babies unless regulation car seats are correctly installed in their vehicles. KCH Maternity Services nurses, Andra Giachino, RNC-OB and Kristine Luta, RNC-OB, are certified car seat installers and trainers who available to show parents how to use a car seat correctly.

Here’s a quick look at what the Kealakekua, HI, hospital wants you to understand about car seat benefits as part of Baby Safety Month:

• Frontal Crash Protection: Babies who ride in rear-facing child safety seats receive head, neck, and spinal protection in the event of a frontal car crash. Frontal crashes are the most common type of vehicle accidents, and should one occur, the baby’s head, neck, and spine are cradled by the back of the car seat. Babies must ride in rear-facing car seats in the back of the vehicle until they are two years old.

• Potential Projectile Object: A baby who is not strapped into a car seat correctly is a potential projectile object in the event of a crash. Unrestrained children may seriously injure a driver or passenger in another vehicle, which includes potentially fatal injuries.

• Blankets & Bulky Clothing: Placing a blanket between your baby and the car seat or dressing the baby in bulky outerwear before riding in a car seat is never recommended, as the seat’s harness straps will not be as secure. Draping a warm blanket over a baby that’s securely strapped in is the safe option.

Different car seats are required depending on your child’s age. Discuss the best options for your baby before you or your partner give birth with the expert staff at Kona Community Hospital. Their Maternity Services Department offers a full range of helpful services, including childbirth and breastfeeding classes, labor, delivery and recovery services, and more.

For more on services available through the Maternity Services Department, please contact Kona Community Hospital online or visit their Facebook page.