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?!

[BeccaSays]

My mum said to me that I'd need to get a car seat we can take in to prove we have one. I said if they're that bothered they can come down to the car if we get a fixed car seat! Honestly!!

[cantmakeme]

Frimley Park: they saw us leaving with baby in car seat, but did not come out to check anything. Pretty sure they insisted we move the car to the front of the building though, as it was slippery and snowy outside.

[Pemba]

They've been doing this for ages. I had it when DD was born - she's 23!

At the time the hospital had a recommended car seat for younger babies that you could actually buy from them - so we did. Price was good. She watched us carry her down in the seat and get into the car - refused to offer any advice or assistance on how to strap the brand new seat into our car though. Still we figured it out eventually.

Come to think of it, I suppose she had been told not to because that might have made her liable if anything had gone wrong.

[pontificationcentral]

With dd1 the hospital staff wheeled her to the car in the wheely cot thing (we weren't allowed to carry babies in the hospital at all - even from the ward to the nursery they had to be in the cot and wheeled.
With ds1 we had to take the car seat into the ward and strap him in before we were allowed to leave.
We left dd2 in scbu for months, but I think we were required to take the car seat into the ward there too.

[Skyler101]

I had this issue. We bought a car seat 0-4 without a carry handle then realised this daft rule. Alot of hospitals won't let you leave without a handled car seat even if you're walking home! I have ended up purchasing a seperate car seat just to avoid issues. Although im also thinking it will come in handy when visiting ppl etc anyway and managed to find one half price in mothercare. We had two second hand car seats given to us so could have used one of those to take him out of hospital but they can't be used in the car for safety reasons and i didnt want to have to transfer him from one seat to another after leaving hospital. We've also been advised that it is much easier having a carry handle one for the first year and means you can avoid moving them whilst they are asleep etc so may not be all bad.

[StrictlyMumDancing]

It may be a hospital dependent thing. Where I had dd refused to let a couple out as they didn't have a car seat. They didn't drive and literally live just outside the hospital. A lot of arguments were had before finally a manager saw sense and let them go. By that point DH was going down to our car to lend them our seat (dd and I weren't going home that day).

I have no clue of they've now changed that policy of course. Hopefully most hospitals are more sensible. Ours wasn't known for sensibility

[treaclesoda]

Ah sorry. I misunderstood

[allegretto]

I meant only if you are going by car! I live abroad where lots of people don't bother and I think it would send a message that the hospital see it as important - but they don't

[treaclesoda]

Allegretto but what does it achieve? Forcing people who don't normally travel by car to buy car seats ind arrange to travel by car is beyond ridiculous. And in the unlikely event that a staff member comes to your car and straps the seat in, if you were particularly pig headed you could just wait until they go back inside and unstrap the seat. So it achieves nothing. If there is really a problem with people putting newborns on their laps, surely the answer is to have the police in the area stopping cars to check?

I haven't seen someone sit with a newborn on their lap since I saw footage of Princess Diana take Prince William home from hospital when I was a child myself.

I do however see loads of school children not strapped in and yet I've never actually heard of anyone being stopped by the police or prosecuted for not having a child strapped in.

[allegretto]

I think this is a good idea. I saw lots of babies going home just on laps in cars.

[JellyTipisthebest]

I know when I had my kids not carrying the baby out of the hospital was more to do with security being able to spot babies being taken. I pushed number 2 out in carseat on the wheels, which they thought was a great idea and didn't know why more didn't do that. A nurse/midwife still came with us to the hospital front door

[MumOnACornishFarm]

Crikey moses, I would just love to see any midwife try to tell me I couldn't carry my crying baby around to soothe him! Utter madness.

[paxillin]

Ours said they won't "let" us walk out without a car seat. Point out it isn't their place to "let" you leave with baby, what are they going to do, keep baby and get prosecuted for kidnap or false imprisonment?

[happyinherts]

Just tell them you'll stay there for 15 months until the baby can walk out on its own.

This was practice 21 years ago when my son was born in North London. I felt like saying the above. We didn't have a car, don't drive and were hard pushed to arrange it as family other side of country. Ridiculous, what did we do before cars.

[hownottofuckup]

I always thought if I'm going to drop the baby, it might as well be in the hospital.

[loveulotslikejellytots]

Wherethe I remember that rule on the ward I was on! DH got told to put dd back in her crib, it was their policy not to let you walk around with the babies. I was having a long overdue shower and dd was crying, DH asked the midwife if he was supposed to just stand and watch his 12 hour old baby scream? He was just trying to settle her. That one particular midwife took a dislike to my DH though! I asked DH what he'd do if they said we couldn't go without the car seat, he just said I'd like to know how they can legally stop me.

[WhereTheFuckIsMyCunt]

Our hospital has a daft rule about not letting parents walk round the postnatal ward with the baby in their arms. I pretend I haven't seen them and don't enforce it. Other midwives do enforce it more. It's incase they drop the baby.....which I reckon is down to them if they drop the baby. I'm suppose the hospital are more worried about what if someone has just spilt some water and then parent slips and drops the baby. It's all a bit tedious.

[Thingy101]

*put

[Thingy101]

With dc2 I carried her out in my arms. How I wish a nurse had come out with us. Turns out stbxh had but the car seat straps in the wrong fucking way. He assured me he had done it.
DC2&3 were born at home so didn't have to consider it.

[Vixyboo]

I wasn't allowed to carry ds out in my arms neither was dp.

It wasn't about the car seat- which couldn't come out easily anyway, it was that they wanted him to be in something suitable for leaving.

Next time we will take the buggy.

[gonetoseeamanaboutadog]

What are they actually going to do, call a social worker?? Or security to physically restrain you? It wouldn't be grounds for taking a baby away.

[gonetoseeamanaboutadog]

I don't think they can prevent you, really, they just try to pretend they can. Sneaky.

[Imnotacelebgetmeouttahere]

East not easy

[Imnotacelebgetmeouttahere]

flower

Easy Surrey do have this policy ( or did when I had my last in 2014)

[smileyhappypeople]

Our midwife told us we could get our things together and go and never came back to check we had even took the baby never mind a car seat! My hubby went to the staff room to check we were OK to actually leave and they looked at us as if we were stupid! Lol