Can a newborn travel in a car?

Unlikely with a newborn having just had a c section. Which is the scenario I and the OP are referring to.

Well interestingly boomers didn’t put babies in the safest option of backward facing car seats and instead carried them in their arms or put them in carrycots. We seem to have gone full circle based on 3% of SIDs deaths (aka a tiny number) being in car seats.

My kids are a similar age, I seem to remember 2 hours for car seats.

So what if you are driving on your own with your child?

Well what do you suggest instead, they need to get home ?

Why not? Presumably in case they stop breathing, are easier to get to if they cry, have a poonami, any number of things. Are you quite alright?

no, firmly Gen X.

Why do you need to see your child for the duration of a car journey?

Haha why not?! So you can see them presumably as the baby will be rear facing. Your post is giving boomer 'in my day' vibes but your kids are too young for that 🤣

As a mother of older children (15 and 19), I find this whole discussion bemusing.

Surely the point of the guide lines is to stop babies spending their whole time in car seats? Not to make the hospital trip home a logistical nightmare!

And as for parents sitting in the back with their DC, just why?

Loads and loads of people live more than 30 mins away from the nearest hospital, so frankly you’ll have to do it, make stops if you have to to cuddle / feed / change, but what’s the alternative? Walk?

God don't get the train! Absolutely packed full of germs and awful people. You'll be in pain, bleeding and need to be comfy a car seat that you can fiddle about with til it's comfy will be way better. Don't even consider the train! Especially if this is your first baby you have no idea how awful you'll feel (I've had 2 sections) baby will be fine but just get a lie flat car sear as suggested.

There’s no way this is safer than just taking the newborn on his designated car seat and taking a few breaks. Even without the breaks it still would be safer. The newborn will be sent through the air and windshid in case of an accident! Please don’t do this, OP!

I had a c section and struggled with a 15 minute drive home. It was agony and I was exhausted getting from the ward to the car, the journey and getting into the house. From friends who have had natural births some of them can barely sit and would have had such a hard time in the car for any length of time. It’s not just the baby to consider here

Parenting is making the best decision on what's available. It will pretty much never be perfect. And remember the guidance doesn't see shades of grey.

If you have a completely healthy 8lb baby, didn't need any help, no NICU etc AND a proper infant car seat that reclines (my cybex cloud t wasn't totally flat but was certainly able to be reclined enough) AND I was in the back with the baby and able to monitor at all times ... well I'd just give the baby a big feed and nappy change, pop in the car and go. And I'd go longer than the 30 mins if baby is happily asleep, probably stopping at the half way mark and do the same again for the last leg. As a one off it's likely fine. Obviously it would be different with a 3lb baby that had been in the NICU and a parent wouldn't be in the back with them.

I wouldn't consider the train or a hotel. You'll be more comfortable at home and sat in a car rather than trying to carry all your bags from a several day stay and a baby onto a train less than a week post c section.

In my case it was cosleeping. I didn't want to but my baby didn't sleep and I was becoming so tired it was dangerous. It was 1,000,000% more safe for me to intentionally cosleep according to safe cosleeping guidelines in bed than be so tired I fell asleep holding baby on the sofa or while driving etc.

Having had a c section, I know there was no way I'd be up for a multiple train journey three days afterwards. I didn't even require painkillers after 3 days but there was no way on earth I could have faced walking through multiple stations or running the risk of my reserved seat being taken by someone else.

A car journey with multiple stops and/or a lie down car seat is the best option IMHO

How many babies were in the study and how long did the study run for please?

Thats not to say that each of those deaths wasn’t a horrific thing to go through and it’s not to minimise each specific experience but if the research was following 500 babies over a six month period compared to the entire population of china over a ten year period that makes quite a difference to the overall risk.

In my experience, mumsnet will tell you it’s impossible, a newborn shouldn’t be touching a car sear for more than 5 minutes or they risk catching on fire. In the real world I never saw anybody being so neurotic, I live in London and had 2 DC via sections, my hospital was a good 45min-1h away from home, I took an uber both times and just made sure I sat by their side and paid attention to their breathing and neck positioning. It was not realistically to ask the uber drive to stop once or twice before my destination. If you’ll be on your own car you can obviously stop when an as you wish so I’d probably stop twice if they are fussy (newborns can be quite fussy) to feed them/settle them and of course give them a rest from the car seat position.

I know 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

I'd definitely look into the train for ridiculous expense, baby picking up germs from all and sundry, nowhere proper to change the baby, hardly any space, worrying about the baby crying and disturbing people, shit food and a horrible little toilet to try to pee in while the train is moving when you've just had a C-section, and trying to breastfeed in front of a carriage of people. Then when you get to the station near home, you still have to get home. 🤦🏻‍♀️

This is the answer.

I don’t think the lie flat ones are as safe if you have an accident. But if you sit in the car in the back then you can make sure all is okay and you can take breaks.

Some of the responses on here are mad. A quick google says the risks are very low.

I’d sit in the back with the baby to monitor them and break up the journey for feeds several times.

we certainly did 2 hours drives with the baby a few times before they were 3 months’ old. Wasn’t very relaxing though. I always sat in the back with them to monitor them until they were a bit sturdier.

I'd deffo look into the train for comfort & safety

If money allows you could hire a car transfer like a pre booked taxi & carry the baby in your arms but only while wearing a seat belt obviously

whatever. My advice (NOT instruction, as per my last post) still stands.

Let's get things in proportion here.

The results were from a 10 retrospective year study in the USA. The 348 babies that died in a sitting position represent 3% of SIDS deaths. Of those 2/3rds (roughly) were in car seats, and 90% of those they weren't being used as directed (defined as failure to strap in or using it when not in a car). Just over half of the deaths were in the child's home.

In the UK there are about 216 SIDS deaths a year. So you'd expect about 4.3 babies to die a year in car seats. About half of that are outside parents home, which would include on the road. So 2.15 babies. Most of the babies have at least one risk factor, but it doesn't list them so I'm not accounting for them, save to say they will inside the obvious such as illness and prematurity.

At its worst you are looking at 2.15 babies. There are around 650,000 babies born in the UK each year. That's a sids risk of in car, car seat death of 0.00033%. We have no idea how many of those babies had been in the car for 5 minutes or 5 hours. It's an absolutely negligible risk, especially if it's a one off journey and a parent is in the back.

The hardcore bit was expressing breast milk while my DH drove up the M1. Never seen so many double takes from other drivers...
Good luck with your journey!

Or staying in a hotel for 3 days after a 3 day hospital stay 🤦‍♀️ Bizarre - people rely too much on mumsnet responses and forget to use their own minds. I’d hate to be a first time mum now honestly!