Has anyone heard of this??? Re: Type of car seat hospital will let you go home with.

So I was showing a gf of mine the car seat we got for our little one. It is the fisher and price newborn to toddler reversible car seat that was recently on sale at target (we didnt get it on sale though!!!!!! :wall: ) and she told me that the hospital might not let me take my baby home in that and that the hospital she went to said they needed to have a capsule or they couldnt take their baby home.

Has anyone heard of this? I will have to ring my hospital tomorrow to check but I thought this was bizarre. She did go to the Hills Private Hospital, so not sure whether this was just her hospitals policy.

I am going to Hornsby Hospital in Sydney which is public.

I know they have to be installed properly or they wouldnt let you take the baby home, but this I have never heard of.

I don't think that's right! Your car seat will be more than fine. Maybe she just got confused because she used a capsule?

Definitely ring your hospital, but I can almost guarantee that it won't be a problem :)

I actually have no idea on the answer - but its YOUR child? Who are they to tell you what to do? :o

Hey Ali,

I'm pretty sure that all baby capsules/car seats sold in Aust comply with Aust/NZ standards.

I also thought that hopsital staff just verbally checked with parents before discharge that they had fitted an appropriate baby seat/restraint. Ultimately, it's up to parents to make sure they have the right gear and follow the law (as well as not endangering the baby of course!) which you're doing. I think mat ward staff would be taking a bit of a liability risk to go out to your car and actually inspect your set up IYKWIM?

I heard through a friend that there is a company that do fittings and hiring of baby capsules/seats and other things like cots that service a bunch of hospitals on the north side of Sydney so you could always get your situation checked by them once you have bubs.

our paperwork from the hospital simply says a properly fitted child restraint, to be arranged by us. they offer contact details to hire a capsule, but as long as it means Au standards (which yours does) there is no drama with it

our paperwork from the hospital simply says a properly fitted child restraint, to be arranged by us. they offer contact details to hire a capsule, but as long as it means Au standards (which yours does) there is no drama with it

as long as it meets aus standards and is properly fitted its fine.
Hospital verball checks, they dont come and inspect it, and we never had a capsule for DS, just a reversible S'n'S chld restraint.

I don't remember when I left hossy, but when I came to collect my sister the middy walked us to the car and had a quick look, no big deal.

We have that car seat and have left 2 different hospitals with our 2 baby's no drama's
Its a great seat. Wishing you many happy car trips.

The nurse came out wth us to check the car seat to make sure you actually have one, that is current (ie no velcro capsules!! lol) So long as it is fitted and meets safetyy standards then they cannot prevent you leaving with your baby in it.
I think you friend has misunderstood.

tehe Ali, it's amazing what some people 'hear'. Really, how could a hospital overrule national legislation?
Your carseat will be fine (we have the same one) and had the older version for Darcy and it was great too. :D

When we were leaving with DD, we were using a capsule and the mw was shocked when we asked if she could check the straps for us, which she did of course (neither of us had much to do with a bub before).

I don't see how they can stop you leaving as long as the carseat is approved to AU standard, and as someone pointed out, all ones sold here meet the standard.

We walked out of the hospital on our own... they asked if we have a Infant restraint and we said yes... well the words the lady used was..

"Do you have an infant restraint big enough for you baby?"

(Cooper was 10lb 13oz at birth... getting on large for a capsule - especially carrying it around)

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tehe Ali, it's amazing what some people 'hear'. Really, how could a hospital overrule national legislation?
Your carseat will be fine

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:yeahthat:
I can also tell you that my DD and I were discharged from Hornsby and she went straight into a reversible seat :)
They didn't check our seat either, just the verbal thing. (But they did keep us there after we wanted to leave because there was a massive storm, LOL.)

Thanks everyone. I thought it sounded funny and maybe jsut a private hospital thing! I knew you ladies would be able to help me out.

Thanks again. :)

When I had DD1 at the SAN they came and checked we had a capsule in properly and it was common to check then but that was 17 yrs ago!! When I had DS there they didn't check. DD2 was born in Darwin and they didn't even have mandatory car seat laws there then.

We had the paperwork that said you had to have an approved seat etc but no-one even asked when we were there.

Alibaby I just checked my hospitals information & it just says an approved infant car restraint fitted to vehicle. I don't think a hospital can make you buy a capsule if you want a reversible instead. They may prefer a capsule but it's not their choice.

I agree with eveyone else. As long as you have a car seat that meets Aus standards they can't specify which one. We had a reversable and it was fine. They also didn't even come and check it anyway. Can't even remember if they asked! Your will be fine as long as it is designed for newborns.

Perhaps the hospital meant that she couldn't take her baby home if she didn't have something to carry her in? I know at my hospital they do not let you carry your baby out of the hospital - you have to have a capsule or a pram to carry bubs in until you get to the car. I think it's a health and safety thing - ie you might slip and fall while holding your baby, causing injury to bub, which then leaves the hospital open to legal action if you were so inclined

Think you have something there Bon.
My middies wouldnt let me carry her out - and I so wanted to!! lol They told us we had to use the plastic hossie bassinet to wheel her out in.
But you can imagine some people suing the hospital because they tripped with their baby!

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Thanks everyone. I thought it sounded funny and maybe jsut a private hospital thing! I knew you ladies would be able to help me out.

Thanks again. :)

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We're having bubs at a private hospital & all our paperwork says is that we need a child restraint that meets Australian safety standards. We have the S'n'S Royale revesable car seat. I think they do come & check to make sure it's fitted properly.

Target wouldn't be allowed to sell the FP car seat if it didn't meet ASS anyway.

Bon ~ You have a good point there. I was planning on using our pram for this.

well since I didn't even get asked I can assure you that there wont be a problem. I think your friend is confused :) I have had 3 babies, and not once have the hospital questioned my car seat.

Wow - my hospital didn't even have anything in their paperwork, ask me any questions AND let me carry both babies out!!! pmsl

Either they are wayyyy negligent, or just sunshine coast cruisy...lol

hehe I don't think it's normal practice to ask or not let you carry them out. I didn't have a problem with either Mel. My friend birthed in Adelaide and I asked her and she said she had never heard of it and she walked her bub out of the hospital...

well we went to Gosford district which is public and they didn't even ask us, we did actually have a capsule but my partner could not get it out of the car so we just carried her out, but plenty of my friends have used the convertable seats and had nothing said to them.

I walked Yasin out of hospital in my arms and put him in a convertible rear facing car seat. My hospital made no dramas about either of those things.

well my Dh and mum walked our son home in the pram as our carseat was still on layby lol

Well you also would n't want to allow people to take a baby home just in their arms though - most people are responsible, but there are some who aren't.

Perhaps it is because with a capsule, you bring it to the room and they can see that you have one, with the other style unless they come to the car with you, they won't be able to tell what you've got.

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Really, how could a hospital overrule national legislation?

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ditto to that.
I think your friend didn't realise that reversible car seats are perfectly legal in Australia.
When I had DD, nobody checked my car seat. Nobody ever asked me about it either. They did tell me early in my pregnancy that I needed to have one. But that is just common sense. But I was at the birth centre and my midwife had been coming for home visits, so she might have seen that there was a rear facing car seat installed in my car.

As long as it meets Australian Safety Standards, the hosital has NO RIGHT to disallow you to take your baby home. And they wouldn't have any interest in doing so either.

Saša

Bon, I would have kicked up the biggest stink. I don't think they would have a legal leg to stand on if they wanted to enforce this rule. If I want to carry my baby. Whether it is in my arms or in a sling, that is MY business. I understand that they want to cover their behinds, but this is just ridiculous. I would understand if they advised against carrying the baby, but they have no right enforcing this.

Saša

So, I have to ask... what if you don't subscribe to the whole car thing?

midwife only asks you that you have a suitable car seat they do not check anything to do with it.

if however you are using a capsule and have baby wrapped in blankets and strapped in they will, ask you to take baby out of car seat and un wrap and place baby in correctly. (it happens all the time)

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So, I have to ask... what if you don't subscribe to the whole car thing?

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You can say "no" when they ask if you have a seat in your car then sit back and enjoy watching them get in a tizz hehehe.

i was thinking the exact same thing: what about people who don't have a car. what about people who don't have a pram? or a capsule. and what if they don't even want any of this stuff. it is completely possible to raise children without these things.

Our hospital just told us we had to have a seat installed in our car. They never asked if we did or not, and they certainly didnt come out to the car and check it.

We just had a backward facing seat. You dont have to have a capsule.

If you said that you didnt have a car seat or capsule they would probably get you to call a taxi with a backward facing seat or capsule in it...

hey

our hospital didn't ask us anything at all.
they just asked us if we had any questions and gave me numbers to call if i needed help. we carried all 3 babies out.
we have a S&S seat.
for all they knew i could have been getting a bus home.

We just put bubs in the capsule and walked out no probs- they didnt even ask anything about how we were getting home etc!
but the hossy was soo slack on so many fronts anyway!

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for all they knew i could have been getting a bus home.

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The possibility has crossed my mind. I have a friend who caught the train into hospital while in labour - what a crack up! Then caught the train home with baby. Awesome.

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I have a friend who caught the train into hospital while in labour - what a crack up! Then caught the train home with baby. Awesome.

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What a trooper! That is an awesome story to tell your grandkids one day. And everyone thinks it was amazing that I went and visited family with my 4 hour old baby in my arms. (Was released from the birth centre 3 1/2 hours after DD was born, and took her straight to my In-laws house. DH's uncle and cousin were there, too and they're still telling the story). But catching the train home is way cooler.

Saša