Can you leave hospital with baby without a car seat?

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on carrying the newborn in your arms? Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you planning on carrying the newborn in your arms? Lol

NP.

I assume the OP would have a stroller with a bassinet.

[Anonymous]

Former L&D nurse here.

A few points from my time...

1. If you're not taking a car home, we wouldn't stop you from leaving if you didn't have a car seat. We would provide education regarding where and how to get your car seat installation checked.

2. Walking home is certainly possible, but it isn't a guarantee. You may feel great and you may feel like crap.
You should definitely prepare for not being up for the walk. Getting your car seat checked installation checked prior to birth is a good idea. Make sure you have something safe and secure to carry a new born home in.

3. Be prepared to be told that you shouldn't walk home. It is a risk. You may think you're up for it and then half way there get weak. You may over exert yourself. We don't want something to happen to you and then have the "why did you let them walk home?!?!?" stuff thrown at us. We won't stop you from walking home, but just be prepared to hear from multiple people that you shouldn't.

[Anonymous]

I would have been more comfortable walking, the ride home was hellish. On the other hand, newborn outdoors in a D.C summer? Hard pass. I also think if I had been planning to walk home my doctor would not have discharged me, as a PP said there are real concerns with fainting, especially if you’ve had any hemorrhaging.

Everyone could take a breath, though, there are plenty of reasons not to have a car or car seat, and I don’t know what’s up on DCUM today with things people feel like are abuse...again do you think CPS has the kind of spare time to come to the hospital room of a UMC DCUM family because they’re planning to walk three blocks home without a car seat? You realize there are children in this city who aren’t eating dinner tonight right? The nurse who made that call would not be on anyone’s Christmas card list. I also don’t see an insurance provider springing for extra nights of hospitalization for a healthy newborn to protect them from...going for a walk outside.

It is also wholly untrue that insurance doesn’t pay if you check out AMA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I for one wouldn’t want to walk 10 minutes after giving birth! And this is coming from someone who has had 4 kids and runs 30 miles/week. Just bring the car.

This was my first thought, and I also have four. I would have been to sore, drained, and flat out gross feeling to walk.

Yes. Mom of 3.

[Anonymous]

I walked home from the hospital with my baby in a stroller. We lived a block from the hospital. I actually planned to walk home carrying the baby or having my husband carry the baby but the hospital staff had my husband walk home and grab the stroller and come back. It was actually really nice to walk home pushing my stroller and looking at my baby, one of the proudest moments of my life. My daughter flew before she was in a car seat because we walked everywhere until she was 4 months old and we flew to see family.

[Anonymous]

This happened to my SIL. They didn’t let her leave. The entire thing is kind of weird because some ppl can just walk home and my SIL was one of them. I think the rationale is that you can just walk a block from the hospital and then get into a cab without the hospital knowing. Best thing to do is to being a car seat and then the stroller or frame you are click the car seat into. Then you can just use that to walk home. Whether you have a car or not it’s a good idea to have a car seat and that stroller frame just in case you need to get into a cab.

To all the PPs being snarky I don’t understand why. It’s a valid question, and many women can walk for 10 minutes after birth.

[Anonymous]

One other thing to consider: All the stuff other than the baby that you will have to carry home from the hospital.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I for one wouldn’t want to walk 10 minutes after giving birth! And this is coming from someone who has had 4 kids and runs 30 miles/week. Just bring the car.

This was my first thought, and I also have four. I would have been to sore, drained, and flat out gross feeling to walk.

They probably dont want to pay for parking for the 2 days. Send DH home first to pick-up car and come get the mom and kid.

If its a dont want to lose our street parking spot issue, you will be up odd hours with a newborn and likely able to reclaim a "good" spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I for one wouldn’t want to walk 10 minutes after giving birth! And this is coming from someone who has had 4 kids and runs 30 miles/week. Just bring the car.

This was my first thought, and I also have four. I would have been to sore, drained, and flat out gross feeling to walk.

They probably dont want to pay for parking for the 2 days. Send DH home first to pick-up car and come get the mom and kid.

If its a dont want to lose our street parking spot issue, you will be up odd hours with a newborn and likely able to reclaim a "good" spot.

OP should bring a carseat that clicks into a stroller, and Uber home if needed.

[Anonymous]

Honest question, no snark, but do people without car seats really never need to drive their kid anywhere? I have a car but live in super walkable neighborhood in the city but not near a hospital. We walk to the pediatrician. But we still needed to drive him to a lactation consultant and an ENT for evaluations. Not to mention visiting family out of state, drives to beaches and parks not nearby. I guess if you're always taking public transit it's ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honest question, no snark, but do people without car seats really never need to drive their kid anywhere? I have a car but live in super walkable neighborhood in the city but not near a hospital. We walk to the pediatrician. But we still needed to drive him to a lactation consultant and an ENT for evaluations. Not to mention visiting family out of state, drives to beaches and parks not nearby. I guess if you're always taking public transit it's ok?

I have a few friends who don't drive so they just Uber occasionally if they have appointments they can't walk to. Family comes to them or they rent a car for a few days for vacation. It is a perfectly valid lifestyle if you live in the city.

[Anonymous]

They let us leave the hospital with the baby in my arms. No car, no car seat. We could see our house from the window of our maternity room and it was our second. I had a vaginal birth with almost no tearing. I might have walked home with the third as well but I honestly can’t remember.

Zero chance I could have done that walk after the first one, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One other thing to consider: All the stuff other than the baby that you will have to carry home from the hospital.

PP who walked home: DH carried all the stuff, I just carried the baby.

[Anonymous]

I could have walked home after my 2nd, but not after my first. I'd have a plan.