Leaving hospital without car-seat....

[Dacdevdhi]

Hello all
I'm currently pregnant with my 3rd, and with the 1st two I took a taxi home, and had them in a car seat.
This time round I wish to take the 3rd home in a baby carrier and get train back. As not only will it be quicker, its also a hell of a lot cheaper than a taxi/cab.
Would it be possible to do that, as don't want to have to get a car seat I won't be using again, as I don't drive.
Will be coming from St Mary's - Paddington

Thanks

You can leave with the baby in a pram with the newborn bassinet/carry cot attachment you just can't carry them or have them in slings at my hospital

Newborns struggle to regulate their body temperature - why would you want to subject them to a walk/public transport etc

The parenting seminar I was on the other night said if you must get a taxi ensure it's a black cab one where the pram can be wheeled into it and the baby remains more secure than being in your arms

I don't think they would do it for a pram. But for a babe in arms and a mum who's just lost a lot of blood and has been through a major surgery? Yeah, I think they might decide to act in the interests of the child.

It has happened to two people I know. Maybe because they were quite young and working class and didn't know the law? I don't know. But they were told they were not allowed off the ward (in one case) and hospital grounds in the other.

Both have gone on to have more babies and just borrowed a car seat! No drama, no battle. They could just bring baby home with an undisputed discharge.

I'm not sure how safe a sling on public transport is straight after being in labour. If you've had a c-section, lost a lot of blood or had an epidural then I'd imagine there'd be a high risk of fainting. And the thought of loads of stairs...

I'd check with the midwife beforehand. The last thing you want is an argument when trying to leave or a possible safeguarding concern being logged. Of course, any referral would be unfounded and you'd just end up with a meeting, but that's not something you want on record. Also, if the baby needs a hospital admission at some point that referral will come up, if something like rolling off the bed or bumping head comes up then the safeguarding concern could cause problems.

I think the attitude of 'well they can't physically restrain you' is irresponsible. They can make life very difficult for people and that shouldn't be ignored.

They can't physically restrain you but they can lock the doors!

Dad can carry the baby in a sling then. Problem solved.

They can even wheel the baby in a cot to the front door if the hospital is worried about someone tripping over carrying a baby on hospital premises.

It's like hospital procedures where you are meant to get a lift home. Do you plan to get the bus even though it's against medical advice and you will have to lie on discharge? Or do you trust that maybe your doctors have a good reason for this and actually maybe a few hours after pushing a human being out of you you light not be quite as steady on your feet or medically ready as you think you are?

They cannot stop you from leaving the ward in this case - you would simply be going AMA. If they thought that you were drowsy and likely to cause a road accident should you be driving yourself home then they could call the police and report this. But again, we are getting off topic.

In regards to preventing people from leaving healthcare establishments, it is a extremely difficult thing to do. I'm a mental heath nurse and there are very strict criteria should I wish to invoke my nurses holding power on someone to prevent them from leaving the ward and I would have to be able to stand up in a court of law and justify my decision making. This is a power that I have invoked once in my entire nursing career and not a decision that I took lightly. So in the knowledge of how difficult it is for even mental health professionals to prevent someone from leaving the ward who they think could be in imminent danger or present imminent danger should they leave...I'm sorry, but no, midwives do not go preventing parents from leaving the ward and/or raising court orders and safeguarding concerns regarding the numerous parents who don't happen to have a car seat.

Also my midwife said I should not be using a baby carrier for the first few (two?) weeks.

She gave you poor information. I carried DS in a stretchy sling two days post CS.

@AurorasGingerbreadHouse

They can't physically restrain you but they can lock the doors!

For goodness sake, this is bordering on deprivation of liberty! It is akin to holding someone hostage for no justifiable reason other than lack of a car seat to take a newborn baby home! What kind of powers do you think healthcare professionals hold in regards to competent, capacitous individuals? With all due respect, you are clearly very misguided as to the scope of practice of certain healthcare professionals.

@AurorasGingerbreadHouse

They can't physically restrain you but they can lock the doors!

That IS physically restraining you. And it wouldn't stand up for a second in court.

I wish I'd realised when I was having my first baby that the staff had no power over me whatsoever. They posture that they do, but in reality I could have picked up my baby at any time and told them I was leaving and there would not have been a thing they could or would do about it. The paternalistic attitude HCPs often pull with pregnant women and new mums is total bullshit, and I say this as someone who generally supports HCPs.

Why can't you use the car seat you used fir the other two?

Surely locking the doors and not letting a new mum home with her newborn purely because she didn’t have a car seat would mean the hospital was breaking the law and infringing on the woman’s human rights?

I'm actually finding it hilarious and somewhat bewildering that an person thinks that midwives are going to be running around hysterically requesting court orders, calling police, locking people on hospital wards, basically holding them hostage because the parents don't have a car seat. Do you genuinely think this or are you just so stubborn that you can't admit you were wrong so just keep digging deeper and deeper? My guess is it's the latter...

• a person

I'm actually finding it hilarious and somewhat bewildering that an person thinks that midwives are going to be running around hysterically requesting court orders, calling police, locking people on hospital wards, basically holding them hostage because the parents don't have a car seat.

Same! It's completely ridiculous.

Me too. My hospital also clearly weren't this controlling either time - I walked from the delivery suite to postnatal after having my first and walked around the ward just holding my baby in my arms all the time both times, as did the midwives. As it happens I did leave with a car seat both times, but nobody checked, and I was walking around wearing the baby in a soft stretchy sling as soon as I got home.

I took my baby home by bus. Baby was in a sling. No one said anything about it. We didn’t have a car seat.

I wish I'd realised when I was having my first baby that the staff had no power over me whatsoever

So much this. Going into a hospital to give birth is a choice in itself, it’s an available service that a woman can choose to use or not use. Every procedure, vaginal exam, intervention and treatment is offered and requires your permission. The length of time a woman chooses to engage with the service is up to her. Yet so many women seem to believe NHS staff have sort of authority and control over them and their bodies.

I mean it does happen. Does that mean it should happen or that it's right? Not at all. But it does happen.

They can't stop you leaving as an adult. But they can cause a lot of issues if you try to take a baby against medical advice.

If they decide that the car seat might be representative of a bigger issue then yes they absolutely can. The moment the mother raises her voice hospital security, police or social services would be called. Can anybody trust that full of meds and no food and no sleep and low on blood with stitches and everything they will be in the best position to advocate for themselves? So yes, going against hospital policy is a bad idea. Why risk putting yourself in that position?

Nor can they stop you leaving with the baby without a court order or police and that generally isn't going to happen for the reason alone of lack of a car seat. They can give advice but that's it.

If they have already discharged you or stated that you and baby are fit for discharge, it's not AMA. It's your baby, and you can go wherever the hell you like with it.

It's *your baby and you can go wherever the hell you like with it.
*
Not if it's deemed neglect, abuse, etc. You can't.

It's must be nice to have that much confidence that social services won't make your life difficult. IME it's better not to have them all over you for no reason, because if there then is a reason at some point it looks like a pattern. SS are not big fans of parents who wilfully ignore Health and safety advice.

Medical staff don't go calling the police every time a patient raises their voice

I don’t think social services would be particularly interested in a hospital informing them a mother left with her newborn in a pram or a sling Surely they are busy with actual concerns and cases.