Can a newborn travel in a car?

That sounds like a great seat! I had an IUGR baby who then had sepsis / was in NICU, so was tiny when she came home. We had a maxi cosi and when I look back it was terrible positioning for her 🥴 I'm glad our journey was only 15mins home or so.

Three days postpartum following a c-section you are not going to want to face a train journey. On top of that you've still got to get from hospital to station and station to home.
A lie flat car seat is likely to be your best bet. Good luck with baby

I would recommend having backup options whatever you decide and make sure you have enough stuff with you and a list of hotels or air bnbs in the area in case you don't feel that you can face the trip.

After my (emergency so generally harder recovery but everyone has a different recovery) c-section and then 5 days in hospital I definitely could not have done a long car trip. I could barely get into the car and a 10 minute drive home with my stomach flopping around at every bump and corner and my incision hurting was more than enough.

If train is an option I would totally do that. So much easier to feed without having to stop and not having to worry about time in car seat.

We moved house when DC2 was 2 weeks old and I sent DH in the car with toddler while I followed by train for this reason.

You can get lie flat car seats some one them go across two seats though but worth a look

I have the BeSafe Go Beyond which has a lie flat feature, but if the seat it in a crash it rights itself to 45° which BeSafe believe is the safest position to be in a crash. It’s less ergonomic than the Pixel Pro, but still offers good newborn positioning and if the OP’s baby is likely to be prem or small, there’s a separate insert to improve the positioning further. Still the lie flat feature on that, like most lie flat car seats with the exception of the carry cot style ones which sit sideways, isn’t a true flat position and concerns for the baby’s airways in them are still valid, and a 2.5 hour drive will still need to be broken up a fair amount.

Honestly, I wouldn't overthink it, and would just do it, sit in the back and make 1 or 2 stops.

The evidence behind the 30m is very shaky, and mostly relates to poorly or premature infants. Before this 'rule' came in, no one would have thought about it twice, and I don't believe the number of babies dying in cars has changed very much. Being in a car for so long IS riskier, but virtually all of that risk is because being in a car is inherently riskier than not. You are more at rush on a long journey than a short as well.

We did a couple of journeys of about an hour within that first week, went through town with lots of speed bumps etc, and it was fine at my section. No pain whatsoever..

Note, the lullaby trust does not give any time limits in it's car seat guidance (https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/product-information/car-seats-and-sids/)

I think it's one of those 'rules' that you have to test with common sense and make your own mind on. Like the 'stay in the room with them when they nap', doesn't mean lugging a moses basket around so you can pee. Or making each bottle fresh from water that has cooled for 30 minutes whilst simultaneously feeding on demand 😂

Often the guidance takes no account of practically or maternal wellbeing. But then you get postnatal anxiety creeping in, and mums peeing themselves because they don't want to leave their baby for a minute to go to the toilet, or getting stressed that their baby is going to die because they're in a traffic jam and baby has been in a car seat for 45 minutes.

It's useful to know why these rules/guidelines have been given, but feel free to find your own way around it to decide how strictly you will stick to it, and if there's any mitigation you can do when you go your own way.

I still sit in the back now with DS age 2.5 so you can definitely do that. I had a c section and on leaving hospital all I wanted to do was get home to be honest. The last thing I'd have wanted was a faff with public transport or a hotel. I'd take the breaks and get home personally

yeh it’s got to be the op’s choice and she needs to weigh up the pros and cons of each. Every birth is different and every circumstance so there is no right option. It’s impossible to imagine what giving birth/new born life is like if you haven’t experienced so the op can only get different peoples opinions to form her own.

in my opinion a train would be horrible.
theres also the logistics of getting to the hospital in the first place/ where the car will be etc when taking the train although the partner could probably take the car back and travel back to the hospital by train whilst the op is in hospital.

The carrycot style car seats aren’t as safe as they arnt rear facing. You need to invest in a good supportive car seat and stop at least once or twice on the way home.

I imagine you will be more comfortable at home and it probably be easier from a practical point. You will need to be sterilizing bottles etc which will be easier at home etc

also, will a health visitor be coming to visit you, if so you may need to be home for that.

Such a long trip isn’t something many women want to do post-partum with a newborn however you do it. I wouldn’t want do a 2.5 hour car trip while stopping every half hour and spending all the time in the car concerned for my baby’s breathing and oxygenation levels either (and I also struggle with car sickness in the back seats, where I’d want to be to watch the baby). But the OP needs to get home from the hospital somehow. There are pros and cons to both train and car, and it’s only the OP who can balance those for herself and her circumstances. It’s why I said ‘personally’ because I think it would be a better option for me, not that I think the train would be right for everyone.

Ive read that lie flat car seats are good for airway positioning but not as safe in a crash - seats that are safest in a crash are the ones that keep baby more upright (which is worse for airway). Is there a happy medium? I've heard the avianaut pixel pro is one of the best for putting baby in a good position. Maybe that plus lots of breaks plus you sitting in the back next to baby is the best option? @bertiebotts is an expert on all things car seats so tagging for you!

We had a long journey home after baby was transferred to a specialist hospital at birth. We didn’t know about the 30 minute rule (it wasn’t in the literature that came with our seat), and the hospital didn’t say anything, despite knowing we had a long journey home. We checked on baby regularly. Really wished we had a mirror to see baby better! We also did 2x 1 hour journeys in a day to and from family most weeks.

A lie flat seat does sound like a good idea, especially if you’ll be using the car a lot after baby is home. But if not, just take your time and plan in stops for snuggles and feeding.

If it's an easy train ride that can be better than driving as you can feed the baby easily, pop to the loo or get a cup of tea without having to stop etc. But! If you've just had a c-section and the train journey will involve lots of changes/steps/ lifting of equipment then you'd be better off in a car.

I would book a hotel for a couple of nights personally, try to get your strength up and feeding established. Then drive home with plenty of time so you can stop often.

I can’t imagine many women would want to be on the train 3 days after giving birth. Plus higher exposure to infection/ colds etc. Trying to feed on the train when not yet used to it.

This would be safer so baby is either lying flat or in your arms for the whole journey

How far away from the hospital is the station? How far away is your house from the station?
What are your reasons for a hospital so far away?

There are just so many scenarios you can’t control and the distance poses so many risks depending on how your birth goes. I felt like I got hit by a bus with my 2 and definitely couldn’t have been walking up steps in a busy train station or sat on a train for hours soon after my emcs!

Look at a car seat that can lie flat - the cybex cloud for example.

have some stops along the way to take them out of the car seat and also see if they need feeding.