New Study Finds Parents Use Car Seats Incorrectly Driving Newborns Home

©iStockphoto.com/Melissa Schalke

A new study has been released that found that infants are exposed to risk as early as leaving the hospital due to incorrect positioning of car seats.

Research conducted by the Oregon Health and Science University Hospital observed over 250 families and looked to see if parents unintentionally placed their newborns at risk based on child safety guidelines defined by NHTSA. They found that 93 percent of those studied committed at least one critical error in positioning and installing the car seat, based on the manufacturer recommendation for the installation.

Of the findings, some interesting numbers: 69 percent had harnesses that were too loose, 34 positioned the retainer clip too low(18 percent placed it too high), and 20 percent used a product that was not compatible with the car seat. Another 15 percent didn't know how to secure the harness.

The full press release including more findings, is available here. The results of the study were presented on Oct. 13 at the the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.