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?!

[loveulotslikejellytots]

DH carried dd out while I hobbled! We have the Nuna Rebl, it's fixed in the car. No one said anything, all the midwife said is that they wouldn't be happy for me to carry her as I'd had an emergency c section.

On another note, everyone said I'd regret not having a car seat we could carry baby in and out of the car. But to be honest an 8lb 10oz baby plus a c section, there was no way I could have lifted it for at least a month - 6 weeks anyway! And by the time dd was 6 weeks old, she was a chunky monkey, I wouldn't have wanted to carry her around in it !

[Imnotacelebgetmeouttahere]

Our local hospital ( Surrey) insist on a car seat to leave - I questioned this asking what about if people were walking / bus / wanted to use a sling etc... Got told people should borrow one! When I mentioned second hand seats aren't recommended they mumbled and said " its policy - get one"

We had a car and needed a seat so was irrelevant anyway but was curious!

Ironically you can't carry your baby out...but they will insist on making parents walk from ward to NICU alone a few hours post delivery when you've passed out twice ...because they " don't have porters to cater to that"

[Gillywestinghaus]

Mumonacornishfarm I was sharing my experience of my three births. Would you like to extend your snarky comment to anyone else who specifically mentioned the hospital they delivered in? Did you deliver at the Portland too? If so you would know how far (or not) the experience deviates from the perceived "norm."

[londonrach]

Gilly...please tell whats in the portland goodie bag?

[Gillywestinghaus]

Ha! My youngest is 5 so it's a few years but I seem to remember it's a panda ("Portly Panda") a half bottle of champagne, a big box of moulten brown toiletries, and a few samples. They also loaded up my bags with baby blankets, nappies, cotton wool etc.
The current show on the tv isn't much like my experience really. The food is good, it's kind of like giving birth in a hotel room.

[ChocChocPorridge]

Had babies in two hospitals, in two countries. Both times picked up the baby and left (first DP held, second MIL held - both times I was hobbling after a C-section)

First one we took home in a taxi, no car seat (we had no car, never used a car, lived in the city, and estimated the risk of an accident on the 5 minute taxi ride as being less than the risk of a 20 minute walk - after 3 days of labour with both of us knackered)

Second we took out to the car and home - carseat never left car (ever.. until it was replaced by the next size up)

Both times we've spent so long waiting for paperwork that we've just picked up the baby, packed up and started leaving, closely followed by someone sprinting after us with the paperwork we've been waiting hours for. Some things it seems transcend borders.

[NewLife4Me]

With all 3 of ours we were escorted to the car and watched whilst we put baby in the seat.
Different hospitals, in different areas between 1991 and 2004.

They asked how we were travelling home, and said we were their responsibility until we left hospital grounds.
If we'd have said bus, taxi etc, we'd have been allowed to leave unaccompanied so they said.

[londonrach]

Thanks gilly. I pm the portland after watching the tv series asking what was in the bag but they never answered. Im noisy that way. I felt very sorry for the ladies on the tv series as it seemed all about looks not the baby. Glad your experience was different. I will experience the whold hospital birth thing very soon but in a nhs hospital. Slightly worried re the car seat as ours will be in the car and cant be removed. Deal with it at the time!

[MumOnACornishFarm]

Woah back off Gilly I wasn't being snarky! Simply pointing out that a very expensive private hospital is quite likely to be very different to your average nhs hospital experience. Which I think is a fairly safe assumption to make that the OP will be getting, as most of us who give birth in hospital will be in an nhs hospital. No need to jump down my throat.

[Frazzled2207]

Would be great if an nhs staff member here could explain to use why it's necessary to prove you have a car seat if you don't actually have a car.

[AngelsWithFilthySouls]

Obviously I hope you don't have this experience but DS and all the other babies who were in NICU and then SCBU had to pass their car seat test before being allowed to go home. Basically, we had to bring his seat into SCBU and he was placed in it for an hour with heart and oxygen monitors attached, if the alarm sounded during that hour he would have failed and they would retest in 48 hours.

When he was finally discharged, we left with DH carrying him in the car seat and they did a final check that he was strapped in safely.

[FlowerHT]

Having read through this thread am somewhat outraged I may not be able to leave hospital carrying my own child! How ridiculous! Responsible enough to carry it for 9 months and look after it at home, but not walk from the ward to the car holding it? If this applies at my local hospital (East Surrey), there's a very strong possibility they will be encountering some pregnancy/post natal rage from me! Also, since midwives have no specialist care seat training, why enforce such silly rules? Of course there are exceptions, but if they are that concerned about a car seat and parents being responsible enough to use one, why are they letting the parents leave with the child at all!

[braceybracegirl]

Angels my daughter was in scbu too and we had to pass the carseat test. but my sin was born full term and DH pushed him hom in a pram and i got a taxi. DH couldn't drive then and 10 minute walk was too far for me after EMCS.
Why do midwives have to carry the baby out? Never happened with us.

[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

[Imnotacelebgetmeouttahere]

flower

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

[Imnotacelebgetmeouttahere]

East not easy

[gonetoseeamanaboutadog]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Thingy101]

*put

[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.

[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.

[hownottofuckup]

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

[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.