As stated above, the Tummy Shield is technically an aftermarket product and many such products incorrectly claim being crash tested or meeting safety standards that do not exist. Therefore, technicians will make the blanket statement that all aftermarket products are unsafe which may or may not be true depending on the product.
A tech from Car-Seat.Org used the Tummy Shield during her last pregnancy and loved it. Here is what she had to say in response to this question: “There’s a difference between ‘unregulated’ and ‘unsafe.’ I am the tech who test-drove it in my most recent pregnancy. I really did like it. I stop short of outright recommending it because I don’t want that kind of liability. Sadly, we don’t have any standards to test these products against so it’s up to the consumer to make the best guess she can. But the fact is that seat belts don’t have to pass any pregnancy-related safety standards either so NOT using the Tummy Shield is just as much of a judgment call.”
Just like car seats, and seat belts before them, innovation precedes regulation. Perhaps with more education, studies, acceptance and use, there may one day be regulations for safety products for pregnant women to use while driving. We hope to pave the way. We have been sharing the reports, studies and crash test info with various tech organizations. We, unfortunately, have not directly been in touch with all Child Passenger Safety Technicians or organizations, yet. We haven’t had any technicians continue to question it’s safety after learning more about it.
