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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Hospital policy - parents leaving with their bags.....

28 replies

babyignoramus · 16/02/2009 13:44

I was just talking to my mum and she mentioned that when my sister gave birth she (my mum) had to take the bags to the car first as the hospital wouldn't let new mums leave at the same time as their bag...???

Does anyone know if this is a universal thing, and if so, why? My mum's intrigued!

OP posts:

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nuttygirl · 16/02/2009 13:57

Eh???? We were allowed to just sort ourselves out. Dh did take most of the bags first but just so he could carry the car seat and I didn't have to do any lifting.

whatamithinking · 16/02/2009 17:32

that sounds odd, never heard that before. we did the same as nuttygirl, mainly because i'd been in 4 days and gathered soooo much stuff!!

NAB09 · 16/02/2009 17:33

I am sure it is more to do with not wanting new mums to carry things.

plj · 16/02/2009 17:37

I think NAB09 is right. I had a C-Section, and wasn't allowed to carry anything when I left hospital. One of the nurses came with us to the car as we had DT's to take home, and so many bags as I was in hospital for a week, and DT's for 3.

soon2befamilyof4 · 16/02/2009 18:11

I am sure if you have somebody to help you, they will be allowed to carry them. I have never heard of this before though and once I was discharged that was it. Most staff are far too busy to worry about what you do once you are off their books I am afraid.

lou031205 · 16/02/2009 18:14

I know that at my hospital, you have to be escorted to the car with your baby for security reasons, but they couldn't care less about the bags.

bronzeShower · 16/02/2009 18:20

I was more annoyed that we (dh) wasnt allowed to carry ds1 out himself. We had to be accompanied by a mw who carried him.

Original poster

babyignoramus · 16/02/2009 18:22

Well, my sis was leaving with both my mum and her boyfriend and my mum had to get the bags into the car and then come back for them, even though my sisters boyf was carrying the baby.

Bizarre or what???

OP posts:

crokky · 16/02/2009 18:24

I wasn't allowed to carry my DD when I was in hospital. I had her in my arms and I was told off! (Health and Safety - I was told it's OK to drop your baby in your own home, but not in hospital).

soon2befamilyof4 · 16/02/2009 20:06

crokky I think this is the same in all hospitals, so they don't get sued.

bronzeShower · 16/02/2009 20:28

I think this time I'm going to tell them to so off if they try and stop me

scotlass · 16/02/2009 20:47

That's odd. I remember leaving hospital with DD (nearly 10yrs ago) and a staff member insisting she had to carry DD out to the car. She bumped the car seat off loads of walls and the lift door being generally not careful and I remember wanting to kill her.

IlanaK · 16/02/2009 20:50

We carried our own bags and our own baby when I had ds3 in July last year. We took him out with dh carrying him in a sling actually.

JemL · 17/02/2009 15:27

Where I live, you can carry your own baby out ONLY if it is in a car seat - if not, you have to be escorted out, with nurse pushing baby in wheeled cot - and they have to see that you have a car sit fitted to put the baby in to. Their policy is that they will not let you leave without a car seat - although I don't know how they would enforce this?!

Original poster

babyignoramus · 17/02/2009 15:31

But what if you don't have a car? Are they able to force you to buy one just for a taxi ride home, even if you never need to use one again?

It just seems rather weird to me.

OP posts:

notcitrus · 17/02/2009 15:39

MrNC had to carry A in the car seat and fortunately my SPD was sufficiently better that I walked pushing my wheelchair with all the bags in it.

This was after amazing amounts of talks and paperwork but not knowing whose stuff was going to be important we thought we'd better have it all - A was cleared to leave by the paediatrician at 10am, didn't escape until 5.15pm. So took MrNC over half an hour to drive from the hospital car park to the door where A and I were waiting with everything! Next time I'll refuse to leave until after rush hour!

breaghsmum · 17/02/2009 16:32

at my hospital the staff carry your baby to the door. although as my mums a midwife there she was able to do it anyway but she did explain that it was for health and safety reasons.

LadyOfWaffle · 17/02/2009 16:38

Cor I carried 2 bags to the car and DH took DS. Longest walk of my life! DH was told the no carrying the babies thing was something to do with being banged into etc., and fainting risks etc.

snickersnack · 17/02/2009 16:44

How strange. Both times (in London hospitals in the last 4 years) we've just left. Both dcs in car seats, but no-one mentioned bags/carrying them to the car/health and safety. Distinctly remember the lift journey in each case as they howled and we got more and more embarrassed.

breaghsmum · 17/02/2009 16:45

ive just realised that OP was about bags and not babies! doh.

claireybeemine · 17/02/2009 16:50

Not sure, they just left me to it. They did make sure we had a carseat with us though. I do remember getting told off for carrying dd along the corridor when I was trying to find a mw to buzz us out though, apparently you aren't allowed to carry babies in the ward they have to be pushed in the cot!

JemL · 17/02/2009 17:10

Babyignoramus - yes, even if you don't have a car and are travelling by taxi, the hospital still won't let you go without a car seat.

(Realistically, even if you don't drive, you are likely to be driven places - many of my friends don't drive / have cars, and all have car seats.)

Am still intrigued to know how they enforce it though - they are VERY STERN when they tell you about it!!

mrsgboring · 17/02/2009 17:15

Well no-one ever checked we had a carseat - we took DS out in a pushchair, which they checked to see if he was strapped in.

What if you go home on the bus? (would be my preferred option actually as you can breastfeed if needed!)

Can only imagine the bag thing is so you don't stuff an extra baby in a sports bag and then take it out at the same time as your own crying baby so it's not heard. It's totally barking.

solidgoldbullet4myvalentine · 17/02/2009 17:17

I can't remember what happened with me and DS. I think my dad carried him in the car seat and I carried one bag and my mum carried the other. ISTR I had given my parents one of the bigger bags to take home the day before (am single mum, was going back to parents' house with DS).

mrsgboring · 17/02/2009 17:24

Actually, it really annoys me this carry them out in the carseat thing; they shouldn't be encouraging the lugging of carseats as there's no way of doing it which doesn't endanger your back and shoulders (esp. just after giving birth)

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