Hospital won't let baby leave unless in car seat?

[Chimerah]

Been reading on various other threads how hospitals won't let you leave hospital with baby unless they're in a car seat?

We have not purchased a carry car seat, only one that's 0-4 and always stays in the car.

Will they really not let me carry the baby out of the hospital? Or will they want to come with us to car to check?!

Of course they will. Not all babies leave hospital by car.

As an aside though, you might regret the no carry car seat. Carrying them into the house when they're asleep is a godsend at times.

I think this is an urban myth, some people don't drive and would be walking home. If they were concerned they could come to the car with you but I doubt they will.

Is it rear facing?

Our hospital - if you were going home by car then they wanted to see baby in car seat.

If you were walking or going on bus they wanted to see stroller that lay down flat

And they were very adament

I walked out of hospital with DS2 in a sling, no one stopped us / asked about a car seat.

What's Pottering said. Dd1 left in a pram and l carried dd2 as we didnt get a carry cot car seat either.

Won't be a problem, although some hospitals help you get baby in the car seat safely as there have been cases when newborns breathing has been affected. I walked home with baby in a pram.

We weren't allowed to leave without the car seat. If your hospital has these rules you will just need to explain, they might want you to use a buggy to wheel the baby out of the hospital (we weren't supposed to carry baby anywhere, I got told of for carrying mine into the tea room. I did not give a fuck) and if they're concerned about the car seat as opposed to the health and safety aspect of not carrying the baby out the hospital in your arms then one of the midwives can follow you out to the car.

I wouldn't worry about it.

A midwife followed us to our car and watched us buckle DD's carry car seat into the car!!

Midwife carried baby for us down to car. Not sure if this is because we also had similar in car car seat or if there is some mad rule about us not carrying baby out ourselves. Felt like we were being seen off the premises and must be quite consuming of staff time!

Our midwife with our first child took us to our car and made sure we put her in properly. They didn't with our second but then we already had a 3 year old st this point

If leaving by car and in car car seat, they'll jaunt come down with you to check baby is safe in appropriate seat. Simple.

We had the exact same situation - when buying our car seat in a different town to where we live we were told by the shop that the local hospital requires babies to be carried off the wars in the car seat. I was a bit but made sure I asked the midwife at my next appointment about the policy at the hospital I would be going to - she looked at me like I was mad and said she had never even heard of that being a thing! In the event DH carried DS out to the car in his arms.

I left with my first in a sling and waved to the midwives who didn't leave their station. With my second, they'd signed my discharge stuff but there was an emergency and they were consequently all busy so I just walked out, carrying my baby.

How exactly are they going to stop you or force you to buy a carseat? Would they have insisted I learn to drive and buy a car too?

I had to have a car seat and the midwife had to carry baby out of the hospital for me.. Really annoyed me! (Not the car seat!) I wanted to carry my own baby I had been in a week so wasn't just given birth weak etc...

Son number 2 I can't remember. I had a gallstone attack the day I was leaving X

They just want to see that if you are leaving by car, then the baby is safely buckled in an appropriate seat.

If you are taking your baby home by car IME they will come and check that the seat is installed correctly and that you know how to strap the little one in.

If you are going home without a car of course sling/pram/whatever will be ok.

What they want to avoid is anybody going home in a car with a newborn baby on their lap.

Have never heard of this happening in the hospital where I gave birth, thank goodness.

And there definitely were no midwives going out to the car park to check your car or anything.

I have a leaflet somewhere that states you wont be allowed to leave without a suitable car seat I will see if I can find it and post a photo. I think if you insisted on leaving all they could do would be call the police who surely wouldn't be able to do anything unless you were actually getting in a car with no car seat or call SS who would maybe want an explanation and maybe a visit.

I did ask about it and the mw told me they had cases of people getting in black cabs holding babies in their arms which is actually not illegal so this rule has been put in place to deter people from doing that. I kind of think if your going to put your baby in any sort of vehicle without a seat you may need support of ss anyway.

Maybe take a photo of the car seat so they can see it installed in your car or just bring the pram in.

From memory, I think we had to show DD in seat at the hospital.

Why don't you ask them?

Midwives walked us out the car both times and checked our car seats. DH had to drive the car around so they could check before we left. We didn't bring it in the hospital, so if your hospital is like mine you will be fine if you have one in the car.

I seem to think I was rolled out in a wheelchair, but that could be a false memory,

Anecdotally as a baby, DD needed feeding - just quick afternoon breast feed to get her home when we were shopping locally - then I'd give her another one an hour or so later. My mother was most put out when I said I couldn't feed her as dh drove us home. So I do get the hospital rules.