Does Your Hospital ... ? - Page 2

[northwoods1995]

Yes, my kids were born at a small community hospital and the OB nurses are certified car seat technicians.

They checked the fit inside and went out to the car to check also. They give away new seats to anyone who needs a seat too.

[MacKinnon]

Originally Posted by yarngoddess

For my first 3 babies it was checked and looked over- but no one really looked at the base in the car to see if it was right. Then with my 4th my HUBBY put the seat in (roll eyes here lol) and the base was buckled, but no clip or mighty tight on it or anything! AND- this kills me- the nurse said Oh, that's ok it will be fine. I heard what was going on and got out of my car, back into my wheel chair (i wasn't walking) and had to fix the seat because I was NOT leaving until the baby was in right. DH and the nurse got a lesson in propper car seat safety

I just want to point out that in the majority of cases you don't need a locking clip and we never recommend the Mighty Tight. Mighty Tight's cause more harm then good, they damage seat belts, put too much strain on car seats, and will void the warranty of your car seat should it fail. All seat belts have been required to lock in someway since the 90's, so unless you have an older vehicle your seat belts will lock, even lap only belts. Check in your vehicle owner's manual to determine if you car seats lock at the retractor, by pulling the belt all the way out and "switching" it into locked mode, or at the latch plate, where a piece of the plastic/metal, swings/slides into place to "pinch" the belt and hold it in the locked mode.

[Equuskia]

Originally Posted by Twinklefae

They do here, and it's absolutely ridiculous. I knew a couple who lived ACROSS THE STREET from the hospital and they STILL weren't allowed to leave unless the baby was in a carseat.

Unfortunately, there are parents that say they are going to take the bus/train/taxi, and leave in a car instead, without a car seat. It would be safer to assume that if the parents leave the hospital with a car seat, they will use it, as opposed to assuming that the parents will get one later if they leave the hospital without.

[mysticmomma]

My first was born in a hospital and they asked us to bring her seat up, but it wasn't a bucket so we told them we couldn't. They didn't even look at the car when we left.

[medicmama]

Originally Posted by ilovemyavery

I just want to point out that in the majority of cases you don't need a locking clip and we never recommend the Mighty Tight. Mighty Tight's cause more harm then good, they damage seat belts, put too much strain on car seats, and will void the warranty of your car seat should it fail. All seat belts have been required to lock in someway since the 90's, so unless you have an older vehicle your seat belts will lock, even lap only belts. Check in your vehicle owner's manual to determine if you car seats lock at the retractor, by pulling the belt all the way out and "switching" it into locked mode, or at the latch plate, where a piece of the plastic/metal, swings/slides into place to "pinch" the belt and hold it in the locked mode.

GREAT INFO! And so very true.



Our hospital just made sure we had one,looked at it from across the room. I actually walked out holding DD. No one ever said anything.

[AnnaNova]

honestly, i thought it was kinda rediculous... our hospital did check it, but the baby HAD TO leave the labor floor in the car seat. we were like 'well, we have a convertible car seat that's already in the car, we cant take it out', but they told us we HAD TO...
so we ended up bringing a bucket seat that we borrowed from someone, buckle him in there, have the nurse check (that part was actually ok, she knew what she was doing, and helped my husband to make sense of it). and then we carried him to the car, unbuckled him and moved him to the convertible...

[moobiegirl]

Each time (two different hospitals) they checked to make sure there was a seat, but they did not check the straps or the seat itself.

[caemommy]

Ours just checked that we had a seat period. I am fairly certain that the volunteer helping us to the car had no idea whether the baby or the seat were properly installed.

[babymommy2]

both babies were born in the same health region, different hospitals, so the same rules apply, but had different expereinces,

first baby checked that we had a seat, and checked how the baby was installed in the seat (they don't change it if wrong, just tell you and watchyou, they can't touch it, liability issue) no one comes to the car ever, there is not extra staff for that.

Second baby, they could see that the baby was in the seat as we walked by in teh hall, nurse behind the nurses desk, I said we are ready to go, and she said, okay bye, we left.

[Drummer's Wife]

4 babies, 2 hospitals and yes, they somewhat checked. They made sure we had an infant seat, 1 I remember checked the straps a bit, and 3 times (I think) we were escorted out to our car.

[triscuitsmom]

The first time I brought the infant seat inside expecting to be asked and all they said was "Good you have a carseat" He wasn't even in it yet so they didn't know that he'd be put into it correctly or whether it was installed correctly in the vehicle.

The second time I had a convertible seat. I walked out of the hospital with my baby in my arms and put him in the car when I got the door... Noone even asked if I owned a carseat let alone whether or not he was going into it for the trip home or whether it was installed correctly.

[Maedze]

Originally Posted by yarngoddess

For my first 3 babies it was checked and looked over- but no one really looked at the base in the car to see if it was right. Then with my 4th my HUBBY put the seat in (roll eyes here lol) and the base was buckled, but no clip or mighty tight on it or anything! AND- this kills me- the nurse said Oh, that's ok it will be fine. I heard what was going on and got out of my car, back into my wheel chair (i wasn't walking) and had to fix the seat because I was NOT leaving until the baby was in right. DH and the nurse got a lesson in propper car seat safety

Addressing the bolded: the Mitey Tites are lethally dangerous and should never be used for any child seat in any car for any reason. They are NOT a part of a safe car seat install.

Also, if your car was manufactured after 1996, it has locking seat belts and a locking clip is unnecessary

[mamazee]

I've never had a carseat checked, at either hospital my children were born at.

Edit - I think with the second baby they might have asked about it.

[indie]

When I left the hospital with my first born they checked that she was in a seat then carried it out for me. The nurse watched me put it in the car. I don't know if she would have said anything if she saw me do it wrong.


My cousin had a baby at a different hospital. She had a donated car seat and they told her that the seat was too old so her mom had to run out and buy a new one before they would let her go. I was impressed with that, but I also left at the same time and they didn't send anyone out with her. That hospital now has a safety store that sells car seats so you'd be able to buy one on site if needed. The selection is not great though.

[snoopy5386]

We actually couldn't bring our bucket up to our room, that was considered a liability. BUT they did have the nurse come down to the car to make sure there was a seat in there.

[SparklingGemini]

When we were discharged from the hospital all that was check was if DD was in the infant carrier carseat. And we had to have her buckled in it to be wheeled out of the hospital.

The person discharging us never even peeked in the car.

Also, the discharge nurses and orderlies know absolutely nothing about car seat safety and certainly don't check to make sure your seats are properly installed.

However, our hospital does have safety checks on certain days, you just have to get it done before you ever go into labor. Thank goodness I'm a bit obsessive about carseats and carseat safety.

[2lilsweetfoxes]

Originally Posted by mysticmomma

My first was born in a hospital and they asked us to bring her seat up, but it wasn't a bucket so we told them we couldn't. They didn't even look at the car when we left.

My roommate at the hospital was in a similar situation. They made her and her husband take it out of the car and bring it up to the mother-baby unit to be checked.

They check the carseats against a list of recalls. We have a baby-bucket type--that we still use (she's tiny). I had gotten a new one for each baby--number 2 because the one we had for #1 was at grandma's house (and a good thing--he came a couple weeks early) and for #3, we had long since gotten rid of the one we got for #2--and the kids are 6 years apart.

[Anastasiya]

Originally Posted by yarngoddess

For my first 3 babies it was checked and looked over- but no one really looked at the base in the car to see if it was right. Then with my 4th my HUBBY put the seat in (roll eyes here lol) and the base was buckled, but no clip or mighty tight on it or anything! AND- this kills me- the nurse said Oh, that's ok it will be fine. I heard what was going on and got out of my car, back into my wheel chair (i wasn't walking) and had to fix the seat because I was NOT leaving until the baby was in right. DH and the nurse got a lesson in propper car seat safety

Question: Why would you need a locking clip? Do your belts not retract? No LATCH?

And I would never use a Mighty Tite...car seat techs never recommend them, either.

[Evergreen]

Originally Posted by EviesMom

They checked that we had a seat, but the nurse was completely clueless, wrapped DD up such that she couldn't be buckled into the seat and told me "oh, it's more important for her to be warm than buckled. You'll drive safe."

Grrrr. Especially since when dd2 was born we were making a left out of the hospital parking lot and some idiot ran the red light and missed us by about a centimeter. Then someone tried to change lanes when we were beside them and missed us by about an inch. That was a scary drive with a newborn.

[Smalls181]

I dont remember my hospital really doing much when my DD was born. I think they mostly just checked to see that we had one.

The town I live in now has a certified car seat tech employed in their OB unit, and she happens to be my MIL. She does a good job checking seats, but if parents are giving her a hard time about it and don't want her help, she has them sign a waiver.