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?

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!

This is really really helpful, thank you so much.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

If you can do the train, this would probably be better. Newborns can go in the car but advice is no longer than every half hour so your journey would take a lot longer.

As a middle ground, what about an AirBnB? Choose one that's a nice home from home environment where you can make your own food/drinks whenever you like.

That said, in terms of the baby travelling, a few days won't make a difference to how they'll manage the journey, so this is only more of a comfort for you.

I've never had a baby and never will and all the babies I've known were at least 10 years ago, so the whole concept of a lay flat car seat has blown my mind! Such a good idea, especially as you can then use it indoors too, without necessarily waking baby up to put them in/out of the car - just undo the straps indoors. Amazing!

Although babies are better off not being squished, I wish I had thought of the concept of lie flat car seats at £300 a pop, and the wheeze that you can’t possibly use a second hand car seat.

🙄

What choice do you think people have? My nearest hospital is nearly an hour away, and I'm on the edge of a major city. What about people who are more rural?

I don't think our IQs have suffered due to oxygen deprivation! And if they did I feel this would have been studied. I think the risk is for babies that would otherwise spend hours and hours daily in a carseat

Sit in the back with them - my newborn went blue after only ten minutes in a car seat. They were absolutely healthy, born at term, no issues etc. Thankfully we were in an ambulance with a midwife with us (transfer after homebirth for me) and we're able to stop and get her out. Thinking about what might have happened if she travelled alone in the back of the car with my partner driving to the hospital still keeps me up at night.

what public transport options do you have? we took the overground train home from the hospital with our newborn recently - we don't have a car and i didn't feel confident putting the car seat into a taxi !

but if you have to drive just sit in the back with the baby and stop when you need to

I’m not sure what point you’re making, the vast vast majority of women don’t give birth 2.5-3 hours from home. 1 hour away is hardly comparable.

My son was born in Pembrokeshire and when we were discharged we had to travel home to Bristol, so in the region of a 4 hour journey (pre motorway). He was in his carrycot (remember those?) the whole way and it was fine. Never actually gave it much thought at the time.

The guidance changes constantly - I live rurally and had an hour drive to hospital- back then (14 years ago) there was no guidance u was aware of any they were fine.

However, you can always stop / cuddle and feed etc. you may also struggle being seated so long after a recent birth so have a look at at stops on the way back with nice facilities if there are any.

Also if you live rurally I recommend you have all the numbers for out of hours pharmacies / walk in centres and late night shops where you can buy nappies etc if you accidently run out.

This has made me feel so much calmer about the whole thing, thank you so much. I really appreciate the common sense.