Infant capsules un-safe?

[AislinCarys]

I'll admit that I knew nothing about car-seats when DD was born, and the capsule we got from friends, turned out to be over 10 years old. So we started researching, and bought the Brio Zento, at the time the only ERF seat in Ne Zealand.

My friend has a 4 month old, and told me yesterday that she hates to have her son in the infant capsule, "because it isn't safe", but he has to go there when he sleeps (they also have one of the convertible seats common here, they rear-face to only 12 or 13 kg). She told me that she and her husband researched this before baby was born, and that infant capsules aren't tested like the real car-seats, and are just convenient, but very un-safe.

I've never heard this! I know when we bought the Brio Zento, the dealer (franchise-owner? Not sure, we bought it from Baby on the Move, an online-company, but they are very good, and the dealers or whatever they are are trained to install the different seats and will do it for you. And they give lots of great info on their web-site) asked us how old the baby was, because if she had been under 3 months, she would have rented us a capsule for free, as the Brio Zento, despite being approved for newborns, isn't a good fit for them. And she knew quite a lot about car seats, and used the Brio Zento for her own kids, as her husband worked for LTNZ (organization responsible for things like car seat regulations etc).

Please tell me about this! Is a car-seat much safer than an infant capsule and why? Why would we keep our most precious, vulnerable little ones in the least safe seat?

[an_aurora]

I'm not sure what the testing is like in NZ, but here in the US the infant bucket seats are tested just like the convertible seats are.

[sapphire_chan]

And why would the baby have to go in a different seat while sleeping? Don't your convertibles recline? Especially since young babies fall asleep so easily and so often, the seats would have to be designed for that.

Is your friend using part of a stroller as a car seat or something? Like somehow she doesn't know about infant car seats available in your country?

[AislinCarys]

No, she uses the capsule when he's sleeping in the car because he doesn't transfer well when asleep. In the capsule she can bring him in the house and he'll keep sleeping.

And I don't think NZ tests many car seats themselves. All the car seats are imported, and NZ accepts European certified car seats straight off. There is combined Australia/NZ certification, which appears on all Aussie seats. And American car seats, apart from American certification, must also have a special NZ certification.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by AislinCarys

No, she uses the capsule when he's sleeping in the car because he doesn't transfer well when asleep. In the capsule she can bring him in the house and he'll keep sleeping.

And I don't think NZ tests many car seats themselves. All the car seats are imported, and NZ accepts European certified car seats straight off. There is combined Australia/NZ certification, which appears on all Aussie seats. And American car seats, apart from American certification, must also have a special NZ certification.

So she takes the capsule seat along for in case he falls asleep while they're out? Gotcha.

Well, if the seat is certified then it's safe, but I'm sure her life'll be easier when she doesn't have to worry about that any longer.

[moondiapers]

I'd just use the baby seat until she/he outgrew it then. No need for two seats in the same car for one kid. They are just as safe as convertibles, even safer for smaller babies in many cases.

[AislinCarys]

Thanks, that's good to know.

I guess I had just assumed baby capsules were at least as safe as as a convertible for a newborn. Does anyone know any studies or anything to read about this? My friend's husband, like mine, is a scientist, and he says he researched this, and came to the conclusion capsules are less safe than the convertible car seats.

And also, what is the case in Europe? Because I know that Aus/NZ looks to England entirely, for everything, really, so if the capsules there are checked, and safe compared to the other seats, the ones here should be too.