Can a newborn travel in a car?

https://www.mumsnet.com/articles/2-hour-car-seat-rule

It seems it’s still 2 hours according to mumsnet 🤷🏻‍♀️.

We bought all our DCs home in the car. 25 miles. Last one in a snowstorm.

There are literally risks in everything people of any age do every day. Life is about balancing them in the best way you can while living it. It’s really quite worrying that an adult (I assume) doesn’t know that 🤦🏻‍♀️.

The harsh reality of life is that there are very few normal activities that babies haven’t died from. As parents we need to reduce risk as much as is reasonable but we can never fully eliminate it and sometimes we have to apply judgement about what’s best to do (weighing up the various risks associated).

planning a couple of stops at motorways services is sensible and most people here agree with that. Stopping every 20 minutes is seen as overly cautious and could be putting the baby at more risk if it means you need to stop in an unsafe place.

Well, that was a baseless comment!

The poster is correct - you clearly don’t understand statistical analysis at all, as you have evidenced.

It's not like she can just choose to give birth somewhere closer. She has explained this already.

You aren’t very good at looking after babies are you? 🙄

Your baby and you will be perfectly fine just plan a few stops..the actual thought of even considering getting on a train instead of driving in a car is soo crazy. That would require so much more effort on your part and would be so inconvenient (obviously there are people who may get a train who live in a city and that suits their circumstances) . Not sure where all the hysteria is coming from..... lots of people drive long distances with newborns and they are OK.

You aren’t very good at statistics are you? 🤦🏻‍♀️

It's not fully flat, but a decent recline, even in the car.

I had a cybex cloud t, very healthy 9lb baby. Would have been absolutely fine for a 90 min nap in the back of the car, with me sat next to him watching for any sign of respiratory distress. The car seat tolerance test done on premature babies is 90 mins long.

Unless OP has a 3/4lb baby that's had some breathing difficulties a 90 minute one off journey will likely be fine in any reclined infant car seat.

The Cybex cloud cannot lie fully flat and not flat at all when in the car, only slightly reclined. Don't think it would be suitable for this length of journey with a newborn. Stopping every 20-30 mins would be ok, but it would still worry me a bit.

The train is an option, but probably not one you'd appreciate 3 days after birth, especially if you've had an emergency c section. I found a 15 min walk a few days after a section was enough to need a 2 hour nap.

In your situation I'd get a proper bassinet car seat. Nuna and Maxi Cosi do them.

Whilst there are guidelines on traveling long distances with a newborn, they are only that. Babies are quite resilient and a healthy newborn will let you know if they are uncomfortable by crying. If it were me I would travel in the back of the car with your baby so you can monitor them more easily. This is as much for you as for them, so you don't have to worry about something happening when you can't see them. Many people have to travel extended times to get home from hospital and they won't discharge either of you if you aren't well enough to do the journey. However if you do feel sore after the c section, you can always book a Travelodge for a few nights. I think it's more likely that you will find the journey more uncomfortable than your baby will in a quality car seat designed for a newborn. Good luck to you and congratulations. 😂

I'm going to guess this is a first baby. You've thought about the baby but don't forget you. I had a second degree year with stitches and every second of sitting for the half an hour drive home from hospital felt like an hour! There is no way I would've coped with a journey any longer than that and tearing is really common and I had a textbook labour. Please rethink your plan. Yes of course there is the baby to consider but YOU will be in a lot of pain, sore and probably changing a huge maternity pad every hour. 2.5 hours is not practical.

I see some posters are still fixated on car seats. Op can buy a lay flat carrycot car seat. Car seat isn’t the only option

I agree, I'd take the train.

Second option would be as @SJM1988 suggests, I'd sit in the back and be checking on baby regularly. Regularly stopping when needed and using a lie-flat car seat.

Of course they can. As a diabetic my natal care was in a London hospital where I gave birth to ds1 and then ds2 and Dh had to drive us home, 30 miles, a good hour and a half.

Babies shouldn't be in a car seat longer than 39 mins at a time

My baby hated 20 minutes in the car on the way home. Illegally, I ended up taking them out as they were screaming.

In fact I just googled out of curiosity. Perhaps we SHOULD ban shoelaces!

It matters because it shows the statistical risk of a choice.

People have died tripping over their own shoelaces but you don’t ban shoelaces based on a rare occurrence.

Besides, someone upthread appears to have looked into this study and it isn’t related to car seats specifically, so is statistically inaccurate anyway in this scenario.

Wow!
What an amazing parent shaming post that was.

What does it matter how many? 348 died, if someone wants to make it 349 because they can’t be arsed to take their baby out of a seat enough times that’s up to them but I’d rather not risk my own child’s health when midwives and hospital now tell you to not leave them for more than 30 mins, they’ve not just brought those guidelines in for no reason……if someone else wants to risk their babies life that’s up to them but the fact a lot of people are arguing against it suggests to me they are not concerned if their child struggles breathing or not so maybe they should think about why they are even having children if stopping during long journeys is too much for them to undertake………

I’m not sure why people keep saying lie flat car seats aren’t actually completely flat? Maybe 5 years ago but now you can buy completely flat car seats.

www.argos.co.uk/product/3100945?_gl=1zjqa8g_upMQ.._gs*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhvK8BhDfARIsABsPy4i7XcWvZ90Y9pdbAEwmbh2t_KU1KnMzyABy0lOqJF_OgI-zyleGCacaAgh7EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9k_FmlsYW1PLjAPZ0jnWtxwO

I don't know if you're in the UK but pressure on maternity services, particularly where there are problems/risks, means that the nearest unit may not be the one you end up at.

No doubt the examples that turn up in the media are exceptional but people moving around the midlands or between Liverpool and Manchester are widely reported.

This is a good reminder! When my first son was about 6-7 weeks old, we were hospitalised with RSV. At that point, he had not yet been diagnosed with reflux although it was obvious there was something not right as he could not be put down, didn't sleep at all. The first night in hospital, I was in bits with exhaustion and worry. Every time I lifted him out of the car seat to lie him down to sleep, he would wake up and howl. The car seat was the only place he would settle.

A lovely nurse came in and stopped me keeping lifting him. Reassured me that it was better for him, and me, that we both got some sleep instead of worrying about his positioning. It was the first night since birth that he went more than 20 minutes without waking.