Was just wondering if anyone out there know what you need to have for your baby before you can take your baby home from the hospital.
Some people say a car seat, but as we don't have a car we are not going to get any. Will we be allowed to take the baby home in just a baby sling / carrier?

Are there any defined rules on these things???

Thanks...:\?:\?:\?

Our maternity hospital won't let you leave with the baby unless its in a car seat. I was lucky and got a car seat with my stroller. So wasn't expensive. Find out if you can hire one from the hospital if you really don't want to buy one. I have a car seat for my four year old I bought in September he's only used it three times. Feels wasteful but its the law for him to be in one. Dont know about babies. (the cheapest car seat I've seen was for ??39.99. I think it was fisher price and grey and red.)Sorry if this doesn't help much xx

Good Idea!

if you are using a taxi some companys have seats that you can use

why not see if you could lend one off a friend? we didn't have a car for our first 3 babies but we still bought a car chair. it's the law now.
if you are walking home it's not a problem as you just take a pram in, but they won 't let you leave with out a car chair.xxx

i read about a woman who lived directly opposite the hospital she gave birth in, so she and her husband were going to walk the baby home in the pram they had bought. however, when the husband came to walk them both home the hospital told them by law they werent allowed to leave the hospital unless the baby was in a car seat!! to me this sounds ridiculous, but if thats what they say then what can you do?? x x x

That is pathetic. The mind boggles sometimes xx

how can they stop you takin your own baby home just because you dont have a car sat? what if you cant drive? am i meant to sit in the hospital and wait until someone lends me a bloody car seat just because i dont dive? i dont like this country lol

they will not let anyone walk home you have to go in a car with baby in a car seat which i think is stupid as so many people don't drive but the best thing to do is borrow a carseat and see if you can get a family member or friend to pick you up from the hospital, if not you'll have to go in a taxi and borrow a car seat. it's a joke honestly i had to wait at the hospital last time for my sister who lives 30 miles away just to go home which is a 5 minute walk from hospital.

haha what if.. you have no friends or family and all the cab companies are fully booked? haha what u gonna do then? haha i know mymum will be takin me home or my grandad or my dad or someone and i will be gettin a carseat for in my mums car but its really stupid.

my oldest was born christmas day so i had to stay overnight but if he had been my 2nd one i couldn't have taken him home the same day but can you imagine trying to get a lift on xmas day who'd be sober enough to take you and i would not pay taxi prices i'd rather stay at the hospital and and annoy the midwives a bit more.

annoyin people is my speciality!

suggest you call & ask the hospital first as a friend had her son last year in E.London & neither she or her husband drove so they walked the baby home. No one stopped them & when she explained they had no car it wasn't an issue.

Not all hospitals will enforce the car seat rule if no car is being used ot go home in & I saw a tv show yesterday where a couple who had triplets walked out with one in a car seat & 2 in slings.

So best to check.

you could always get a car seat from carboot? if its just to use the once or whatever,when i had my daughtr 5 yrs ago now, you were supposed to have a car seat, but i didnt drive then, so my dad picked us up, and one of the nurses carried chloe out to the car (ins purposes!) i can remember thinking,please dont look in the car lol luckily she didnt, but as i drive now, i bought travel system which has a car seat with it!!

we dont have a car yet, but our car seat came with our pram as its a travel system and we are hopefully getting a car after babys born. but it is stupid that they try to enforce the car seat rule cos lots of people have no need for them. but i wont have that problem anyway as im having the baby at home thus ruling out any need to bring the baby home from hospital in a car hehe x x x

I remember how when I had my little boy that I thought the car seat rule was a good thing. However it did not occur to me until I no longer go about in cars (except taxi's) what a pain it is. I have only been in a car 3 times this year. I'm lucky mine came with stroller really as they are sooo expensive! xx

I left hospital with my baby last Saturday and my hubby asked the mw the same thing. She said although it's the law that they must be in car seats it's not up to them to enforce it and they can't refuse to let u take your baby home although no one in their right mind would take their lo in a car without a car seat i suppose.