I have read lots of times that my baby won't be "allowed" to leave hospital unless I have a proper car seat...?

they don't stop you leaving without a car seat installed unless you are taking the baby home in a car (trust me you will not walk!) they do this because they are liable if a baby is injured on the way home from the hospital in a misfitted car seat they can be held liable (don't ask me how) they wouldn't keep the baby in the hospital until they are old enough to not need a car seat they would probably put the baby into foster care or something, don't know how they would prevent it but I can imagine security would be involved. incidentally we don't own a car, so we hired one and it was checked before we left! ETA: wow! awesome for you, I could barely stand 5 days after my son was born let alone walk anywhere!

The hospital can (and will) prevent you from discharging your baby if they feel he/she is at risk if you do so. I was told explicitly that if I insisted I could discharge myself against medical advice any time I liked after my C-section, but I couldn't discharge my baby until the recommended time. I would expect "I'm taking my newborn home in a taxi without a car seat" to qualify as "at risk" (and, indeed, "I'm walking home alone carrying my newborn and it's a mile away"), but "I live 50 yards away, I'm walking with my husband and my baby in a suitable sling/pushchair" to be absolutely fine. I honestly don't know what they'd do with a mum who didn't own a car seat, had no plans to buy one, and insisted on going home in a taxi _because legally she could_. I'd suspect you'd get on CPS's register pretty quick. Babies should not be used as pawns to test the letter of the law. Not that it sounds like that's what you'd be doing. But if someone did, they need help and support, and the baby needs protection. How long ago did you have your first baby? The requirement to take baby home in a suitable car seat was certainly there when I had my daughter. She's 14 in a couple of months.

It only applys if your taking the baby in a car! There only looking out for the safety and well being of the child anyway like. They couls ring social services i suppose, or hospital security to prevent you leaving without a car seat or they'd provide ya with one if possible!

Of course I agree 100% that babies should be in proper car seats. However I don't see how the hospital could do anything other than call children's services on you if they believed you were putting your baby at risk or i guess they could call the police and report you of you left without putting your baby in a car seat. But they aren't going to snatch your baby from you and hold it hostage until you bring a proper car seat, nor will they inspect your car. When I had my youngest (he's 10 months almost now), I was told the same thing. But when it came time to leave the hospital, nobody paid any attention to if we had a car seat or not. I was wheeled out with my baby in my arms by hospital transport- those are the ones in scrubs but they aren't nurses or anything, they are just trained to wheel people to one place or another. He dropped me off at the door where my husband pulled up the van. Nobody came out to check if we had a car seat installed or inspect it to see if it met any standards. Also I don't believe the hospital would have any rights to do anything after you have been discharged, which happens before you even leave your room. It's just one of those scare tactics they use hoping that anyone stupid enough not to want to secure their child safely into a proper seat will be also stupid enough to believe the hospital checks your car/car seat before they "let" you leave.

In the Uk I believe taxi's have exemptions for short distances but I also understand they carry a couple of general use seats. Of course you'd be able to walk your baby home if you had the right equipment although I doubt they'd be happy if you were using a sling and on your own, think of the possibilities for you both if you should fall. I've never had a choice because we are 14 miles from the Maternity Wing but when my kids were born in the 70s all we had was a carry cot loose on the back seat. Thank goodness someone realized that seats were necessary for babies and children and invented them.

It makes the hospitals look good if they do this. Besides, having one that is not up to code is also against the law, and they walk you to the car with the baby, so if the car seat was not up to code then they would see it.. and it would make them liable for letting you leave knowing that the child is in "potential" danger. It's just all procedure. If your walking home or riding a train, things like that, then you do not have to have a car seat.

i find this "rule" very funny. the hospital in which i had my 3 kids also has this rule. well, at least it did for the last two kids. with my first 11 years ago the nurse just carried my daughter to the car and i held her in my arms on the drive home. we didn't own a car seat because we didn't have a car. with my second child the rule was that a car seat was necessary and in fact when the time came to leave the hospital a nurse carried my son to the car and checked that the car seat was installed properly and then checked that we had our son strapped in properly. now, this is the funny bit, with my youngest son who's 22 months old, the "rule" was the same as with my second son. however, when it came to leaving the hospital there was no nurse to even accompany us to the carpark. we were signed out and were then told we could leave. my husband and i carried our son out to the car and put him into the carseat without any "supervision" and for all they knew we could have gotten onto a motorbike to drive home. i found this practice very bizarre considering how meticulous they were at checking the car seat and how we strapped the baby in whit my second son in 2001, and they didn't even accompany us out of the hospital room with my youngest. i totally agree that children should use a car seat and i always use them since we own a car, but with my first child we didn't even own a car and the only car jouney she made in the first two years of her life was the one when we brought her home from hospital.

I too find this rule bizarre, for example, what if a person lived across the road from the hospital? But it makes sense this way: Afteryou've had a baby you won't feel like walking too far or carrying your baby too far because birth cn leave you feeling tired and your muscles need to rest to recover from the changes they undergo during birth (thats why you should rest and not strain yourself for a whileafter borth in case you pull or damage muscles). So its sensible to have the baby in a secure carrier, and car is the quickest way to get home. I know rules can really grate and get on your nerves especially when youre pregnant, but remember as soon as you get your baby home youre back in yourown hoe and can start living by your rules. Hospitals are a lot to put up with if youre a strong minded person who has their own way of looking at things (like I was and still am) and some rules can make you feel annoyed but soon you'll be home with your baby in your arms so just smile and brush off all the annoyances because it will all be over soon and you'll be homewith your new baby:-)

also most hospitals will have car seats that woman can borrow if you dont have a car and are getting a taxi or friend take you home