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?!

[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?

[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.

[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

[allegretto]

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

[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 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]

Ah sorry. I misunderstood

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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!!