Can a newborn travel in a car?

[northerngirly]

For various reasons it looks like I will be giving birth in a hospital 2.5 hours from my home. It looks as though that will be the best option for my pregnancy.

What I’m confused about is can a newborn travel in a car for that long home? Obviously we will stop a lot but is it dangerous? What happens if I have no choice but to do that?

Can anyone give any advice?

They'll be fine. I'd try and get home ASAP over stopping numerous times IF possible.

Whole heartedly disagree with the previous poster. A newborn should not be in a carseat for more than around 30 minute, certainly not on day one when they are so scrunched and it’s hard to have them comfortably in the car seat full stop.
If you’re going to do this you need to stop regularly and take the baby out.

Really consider your choice to use a hospital 2.5hrs away imo.
You could have an emergency c section and a car journey will be agony, or stitches which could be just as bad, you could have a longer stay and it’s a 5 hour return journey for someone to bring you more things.

Yes it's fine but are you driving alone? It's a big difference if you're asking "can I be driven 2.5 hours home with my newborn" versus "can I drive them 2.5 hours home with them in the back seat". Former is fine. Latter is probably not.

Oh I won’t be driving! My husband will be. And we’ll probably have been in hospital for 3 days.

I can’t really rethink the hospital to be honest, that’s not an option. I will talk to my midwife about the best way to do it as well.

The recommended advice with a new born is out of the car seat every twenty minutes. It does seem excessive however this is the newest research. Best of luck 😌

It is also possible to use a lie flat car seat like the Maxi Cosi Jade, then you don't need to worry about the length of the drive or stop all the time. Circumstances meant I needed to do multiple very long drives with a newborn and they largely slept the entire way in a fully flat seat. Does take up about 1.5 seats in the back though!

Would it be better to use a train? I had discounted this as being in public for that long feels much riskier but now I’m wondering.

Depending on how much space your have on your back seats it could be worth looking at one of the carry cot style car seats for this trip. If not I’d look for a more ergonomic car seat, like one of the Avionaut ones for example, which really help their positioning and keeping the airways open. A lot of infant car seats don’t offer great newborn positioning which could really be an issue on such a long drive. The Lullaby Trust no longer say half an hour, but they do advise avoiding long journeys and taking frequent breaks. I’d want to travel in the back with the baby too. It’s possible to travel 2.5 hours, but it will take a long time.

If you choosing a far away hospital buy a lie flat car seat
You might need to go back and forth for appointments after

This is SO helpful, thank you! Will look into this asap!

If reconsidering your hospital isn't an option, then you really have no choice but to do the drive not matter what the guidelines say.

I'd sit in the back and be checking on baby regularly. Regularly stopping when needed
Have you thought about a lie flat car seat maybe to reduce the risks?

Personally, I’d be happier on the train with the baby than in the car. You can move the baby around and attend to them when they need instead of needing to wait until the next services. I’d probably look at booking first class too - fewer people around and more comfortable for you.

I live rurally the nearest proper hospital is 3 hours away, very few babies are born in the local midwife led unit. It's fine, not ideal, but fine.

You need to take breaks every 20-30 mins

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.

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!

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

This is what I’ve been thinking! Very rural people must have to do this as a matter of course. Thanks for the insight

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.

@Completelyjo I will be having a planned c section. As I said, we will be in the hospital for 3 full days afterwards. I think the train stations we would be using would be okay for this but lots to consider and weigh up.

I wish I could book out a whole carriage like the Queen or a football team!

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.

This is definitely an option we’ve considered too, maybe 3 or 4 nights to take baby to a week old possibly. But cost and comfort - I wonder if I’d just rather be at home.

Also I don’t think I’m going to breastfeed so that would be easier at home.

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.

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.