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Original poster

Newborn car seat anxiety - health visitor freaked me out

92 replies

JoannaStayton · 16/06/2021 22:58

Hello

We have a 5 week old baby - first one, fair to say I'm pretty anxious about it all. The health visitor came and mentioned that using a car seat can be dangerous as the babies head can flop forward and they can stop breathing. She recommended someone sit in the back with the baby to watch them. Has anyone else heard this?

I was planning to visit my Mum (recently widowed, in our support bubble) on a fairly regular basis, that's a 2.5 hour journey one way. Obviously can stop off once or twice if needs be but even with a mirror I won't in the back really be able to tell how the baby is whilst driving on my own. How do people deal with this? Is it just when they're really little that it's an issue? I have read somewhere that car seats are only dangerous for asphyxiation when not in the car as the angle is different, not sure if any basis for that though. Our car seat is fixed (Joie i-Spin 360) - not one that gets taken out of the car.

If anyone has any advice that would be greatly appreciated, feeling quite bleak about the next few months knowing travel could be a problem for us.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

vulpesfoxtrot · 16/06/2021 23:01

Have you got a mirror? That way you will be able to keep an eye on baby and if she gets a head slump you can safely pull over and see to her. I think the guidance is 30min journeys until they're 3 months? So just plan you have a couple of stops and you should be fine. They only tend to get head slump when the seat isn't fitted properly or they're not sat properly in the seat.
If you're still anxious join car seat advice UK on Facebook and post a photo of your baby in the car seat so people can see and comment on?

Clarkey86 · 16/06/2021 23:03

There are guidelines about not having very young babies in car seats for long periods (more than 2 hours I think), but you should be okay if you make a few stops and get baby out for a little while etc.

You do need to be careful about the head flopping - even with really highly recommended car seats their heads can flop a little if sleeping and jolted around etc. You can get mirrors to let you keep an eye on them in the rear view so you can pull over and readjust of their head is looking flopped down.

If you do have another adult or partner, I probably would have them in the back seat whilst very young because they can then readjust their head.

It’s not something to stress about, but it is something to be aware of and there’s things you can do to help a little.

mayblossominapril · 16/06/2021 23:05

I just stop every 30 mins ( or with the preschooler it’s more like every 10 min!)
I did panic about this at one point but read somewhere it’s much more of a risk with babies that have some additional health problem.

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Garman · 16/06/2021 23:05

You need to stop every hour or so with them I think, you can put the car seat in the front passenger seat if you can turn off the airbag there.

Fyredraca · 16/06/2021 23:16

If you can turn off the passenger side airbag have the baby in the front so you can see.
The button is usually in the door frame above the wheel arch.
Take regular breaks.

stuckinarutatwork · 16/06/2021 23:32

It will depend on the car seat and age and size of baby. Most good stage 0 car seats lie back quite well when properly fitted. A standard weight baby by 6-8 ish weeks would not likely have an issue with head slump in such a seat.
If your baby was premature / small for age / has poor muscle control and / or you use a group 0-1 car seat (these tend to be a bit more upright), it may be more of a concern for longer.
Certainly, for my 7lb8oz baby born at term and using a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix, we never saw their head slump ever.

DarcyLewis · 16/06/2021 23:36

I wouldn't drive 2.5 hours alone with a newborn or very young baby.

If you can't have someone in the back can you stop every 30 minutes and get them out of the seat for a bit?

Lockdownbear · 16/06/2021 23:37

Get a mirror.
I can't get the link to work but Google Halfords Baby Mirror, you line it up so you can glance into your interior mirror and see them.

Satlie2019 · 16/06/2021 23:40

Hi, the Lullaby Trust have some infromation that might be helpful to you: www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/car-seats-and-sids/

If you are worried you can get some car seats that lie a little flatter. We have a britax baby safe isize, which with a flexible bass lies a bit flatter whilst the baby is younger. I still preferred to travel with my husband so one of us could sit in the back, but when this wasn't possible the flatter seat and the mirror helped. Also as people have said, plan in frequent stops anyway.

BeesAnkles · 16/06/2021 23:49

@DarcyLewis

I wouldn't drive 2.5 hours alone with a newborn or very young baby.

If you can't have someone in the back can you stop every 30 minutes and get them out of the seat for a bit?

Personally I agree with this. Our first long trip with DS was when he was about 3 months old and I was in the back with him and we took him out of the seat every hour and laid him down for 10 mins, fed him, etc. It took about twice the time to get there which was a bit of a nightmare but we preferred to follow safety advice.

I have the same car seat as you and I would find it a big hassle to switch it to the front seat as it's very heavy and cumbersome to move.

cocoloco987 · 17/06/2021 06:36

Dd would scream for the entirety of journeys til she was at least 6 months old so I had no trouble knowing she was alive. Having the seat on the front passenger is another option

JustWonderingIfYou · 17/06/2021 06:46

You would need to stop for 20mins every 30 mins of that drive. I think for first 6 months and then stagger the increase in time.

They really aren't supposed to be in car seats for long periods of time especially on a regular basis.

Maybe buy an infant lie flat car seat for a bit of peace of mind. I was always worried about car seat, they look so tiny when new in them all strapped up.

1940s · 17/06/2021 07:02

You will need to stop every 30 minutes and get baby out for a decent stretch of time 2.5 one way therefore becomes a mammoth journey. You can't rely on a mirror to see if a tiny baby like that is breathing

1940s · 17/06/2021 07:04

Please note it's not just forward flop. They can asphyxiate in a fairly regular position so even sitting beside them for 2.5 hours and ensuring no head flop isn't enough

PixieDust28 · 17/06/2021 07:06

Your baby can't be in the car seat for 2.5hrs with a couple stops that young anyway.

It's 20 or 30 minutes.

It's true, some car seats are really bad for their posture.

I had a Joie car seat which reclined for DS. It was almost completely flat. He was never scrunched up in there in a sitting position.

Once he grew out of that we got the Joie 360 spin and yes it reclines but I wouldn't say it's a good recline for a newborn. Best to just wait to see your mum until someone can sit in the back with the baby.

custardbear · 17/06/2021 07:07

My children remained in the front seat as babies but I was able to disarm the Airbag but don't think all cars have this facility - I also agree with stopping frequently - mine needed regular bf so that sorted stopping as cant do that on the go lol

PixieDust28 · 17/06/2021 07:08

@cocoloco987

Dd would scream for the entirety of journeys til she was at least 6 months old so I had no trouble knowing she was alive. Having the seat on the front passenger is another option

You should never do this.

TakeMeToYourLiar · 17/06/2021 07:08

I put the snuza hero on my daughter when I am driving alone. If she stopped breathing the alarm would go off

BertieBotts · 17/06/2021 07:11

The guidance for stopping after 30 minutes only applies for the first 4 weeks, at 5 weeks old you're OK to go with the older guidelines of 2 hours max then take a break.

Make sure you have all the inserts in and the seat set up correctly for your child. I also find with this one it's quite important to really wiggle the strap pads in between their shoulder and chin otherwise they tend to be over their shoulders in a V rather than nice and close to the neck.

The isofix leg needs to be as short as you can have it while still being green and the base in contact at the edge of the vehicle seat (it's ok if there's a gap where your isofix connections are).

You can sit in the back if you like but it's not necessary. You'll see in a mirror if her head falls forwards. It is a good idea to stop if that happens, but it's not an emergency that you need to stop immediately. If you can't stop safely, then keeping driving for a while until you can is OK.

The risk is that the baby will go into a chin on chest position, which over time will reduce oxygen saturation levels. It's not something that you want, but it's not inevitable with all car seats, it totally depends on the shape and angle of it and to some extent the child as well! It is also not an urgent emergency if it happens. Babies can tolerate the improper position for a short time. The problem is that they can't get themselves out of it, that's why you don't want to leave them unsupervised in any product that can cause this position, and why you don't want them in that position for hours and hours.

DecorChange · 17/06/2021 07:13

Get one of them alarms that tell you if they stop breathing. Lots of little stops. Get them out. And a mirror that goes on the headrest. We had to do 3 hour trips to the hospital when ds was 5 days old. There's not much else you can do

BertieBotts · 17/06/2021 07:13

It's fine to put a rear facing seat on the passenger sest if you can disable the airbag. However OP's seat is isofix only and not very many cars have isofix in the front.

Tinselandlights · 17/06/2021 07:13

When my DD was very little I used to get the train instead - could that be an option? My DM bought their own car seat and would pick me up from the station at the other end, so it was a 30min drive rather than 4+ hours for us.

It meant I could deal with nappies etc rather than faff around in service stations.

DonLewis · 17/06/2021 07:14

Oh, there's so much to worry about with a tiny baby isn't there? It can be really overwhelming.

You've had all of the advice and the guidelines linked. It gets easier, it's only really the next few months that you need to stop so often and take long ish breaks. Just allow the extra time in these early months, but don't let it put you off completely.

Just a thought, what's the train journey like to your mums?

RampantIvy · 17/06/2021 07:17

Can't your mum come and visit you instead?

Foxhasbigsocks · 17/06/2021 07:17

@Tinselandlights I used to do the same when dd was that age

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