Can a newborn travel in a car?

The problem is you’re scrunching up their windpipe in a usual car seat so that’s why they now say only 30 mins………if you can find one of those lay flat seats someone was on about or keep doing regular stops and take the baby out you will be fine but I wouldn’t just leave a day old baby scrunched up for 2.5 hours……..

Indeed and one of them can sit in the back with the baby. That's what we always did for longer journeys.

Can you imagine all the business men who have done everything to avoid their own crying babies dealing with your brand new baby in 1st class?!

You can buy premix formula in cartons,easy to use , no faff
lay flat car seats are great for babies when you’re on a journey

Why is that?

And yes, you should be in the back with baby.

I wouldn’t. Having to change nappies on the train will not be great. Walking up and down carriages to find a vacant toilet - not ideal. The back seat of your car would be better if you can’t get to a services on time.

I didn’t know there were lie flat car seats but that sounds the best option.

Bloody hell all this scaremongering - nobody and i mean nobody stops every 20 minutes to get their baby out the car seat. Honestly baby will be fine to get out once an hour. As long as you get a decent car seat where baby’s head has enough tilt back for airways to be open, honestly you’ll both be fine. Don’t overthink it xx

The risk is asphyxiation, which can be fatal, not mobility issues..

I don't think it's necessarily an issue after a section. I think it depends on recovery. At least I had zero pain or discomfort in doing a stretch of an hour at 5 days postpartum. But I was fortunate in my section recovery and was back to normal within a few days. There is a huge spectrum of recovery though and she won't know until she's there.

More importantly though, what is the evidence for the 30-minute rule? On average, how many lives does it save a year? A safety rule should have measurable outcomes. Everything I've read indicates the problem is with positional asphyxiation, and if you start in the back with them, you can keep an eye on where their head is.

MIne did, an hour away actually, just stop halfway and perhaps another time for rest.

20 years ago we did 5hr drive, with 1 short stop, for a family wedding with 6week old. Never thought a thing about it. DS slept whole time. Don’t remember any guidance back then!

@MinnieBalloon of course it is. The discussion usually goes better when people actually engage their brain. Why put that emoji about the OP being in hospital for 3 days? You surely must be aware that there are many, many reasons why someone may need to be in slightly longer after birth, even if you didn't experience that?

Oh gosh I’d far prefer getting out of the car for a five minute stretch a couple of times than not have all my own things around me!

Chances are you may have to stop for a feed part way through the journey anyway, so that will be a stretch out of the seat.

OP it’s not optimum, but it’s what you have to do. You have to get used to everyone having an opinion. It’s advice, not instruction.

if you think logically, how many kids do you know with mobility issues due to a single long drive?(back when I was a baby we didn’t even have car seats!).

A couple of short breaks en route (a chance for a coffee and to show baby a bit of the world) and you’ll be back in your cosy home in no time!

Oh dear. You realise this is a discussion forum, yes?

I'd just do the car journey, stop every 30 mins, take baby out to stretch. 5 mins break then back in and drive some more.

The lie flat car seats are quite expensive. Would you have to travel back up to that hospital for check ups and follow up care - if so then it would be worth it. If not, its not worth it for the sake of one journey in my opinion.

Don't bother with a hotel, you need so much stuff for a baby that it will feel like you've moved house! Sterilisers, bottles, changing mats, 90 thousand outfit changes (and no laundry facilities).

Train would be the very worse idea of all. After a C Section you are so sore that every bump just on the car is agony, let alone a train! You'll be bleeding heavily and if anything jogs you then you could pull a stitch.

Sorry I should have said every 30 mins or so for 15 mins, not 20 - typo! But yes we didn’t stick to 30 mins max per day guidance we were told as we needed to stay with my family, so we made sure we stopped every 30 mins (journey did take most of the afternoon, we just took it slow) and as I said to OP she has to get home so it’s just a case of stopping as much as she can. In this situation there is no way she can stick to the guidance when they need to get home. It’s a case of doing what you can with the situation you have. We stuck to not in a car seat for longer than 30 mins for each stretch of the journey. So we did stop a lot but I actually found it was more or less in line with baby getting fussy/ feeding/changing/ us needing to stop for one reason or another. Tbh 3 days post c-section she’ll need to stop herself to get out and stretch. I needed it at 2 weeks pp.

@MinnieBalloon I'm sure there are reasons why the OP has to be in for three days- probably the same reason why she's having her c section 2.5 hours away. These reasons don't need to be explained to us as the OP was asking about the journey,

Shockingly- just because you experienced something doesn't mean that everyone else's experience will be exactly the same.

Easiest option would be to get a lie flat car seat. No need to change hospital, no need for public transport. Do the simplest thing.

@northerngirly can you borrow a lie flat car seat for the journey???

Just a word of caution on lie flat seats. Most don't fully lie flat - they tend to be around a 23 degree angle - so the time restrictions still apply so you would still need to be stopping every 30 minutes. But they would put little one in a better position than a regular car seat

PP mentions the carry cot which is truly lie flat so is the best position for baby, but not safest if you were in a collision - rear facing is much safer

I live rural and we are a 3.5hr drive from the nearest hospital.
I had a c section last week and only stayed for 1 night before being discharged to our local birthing and postnatal unit for 2 nights. The drive was not particularly comfortable and I needed a cushion. I sat in the back with baby and we stopped once for a feed (finger/syringe fed so took a while).

Congratulations
JOIE carrycot for car so baby can lay flat and sleep
personally I would have your DH drive, its more conducive being in on car and not reliant on a train
Train is a potential faff
Plenty rural families take babies home from hospital its not insurmountable

We had the Maxi Cosi Jade lie flat carrycot, as we had a pre baby booked holiday (12 hour drive) when he was 10 weeks old. It was brilliant, actually miss it he also ended up using it until he was 1. It was very comfy and felt alot safer to use. We never took it out of the car though it was too heavy.

We do and it's fine.