Do They Check Your Carseat When You Leave the Hospital?

In every "Deliver My Baby Story" episode on television, there's the scene where dad is trying to figure out how to install the infant car seat at the last minute so that the family and new addition can head home.  According to television and every baby preparation class I took, the hospital will not release your baby until they check and determine that the baby seat is installed properly in your car.

Is this true?

Well, maybe.  In my personal experience, the answer was no.  Before my wife and baby were discharged, the nurse did ask if we had an infant car seat.  And we did. That was pretty much it.  Clark was born on Good Friday and we left the hospital the next day.  So, it was a Saturday and technically a holiday weekend.  A very young woman (too young to be a nurse) wheeled my wife and baby (in carrier) down to my awaiting car.  I inserted the carrier with baby into its base in the center of the backseat.  My wife then joined Clark in the back.  Then we drove home.  No one checked that the base or car seat were correctly installed.   Is this an anomaly, I don't know.  I've only had one baby.  I've never picked up any other newborn baby from the hospital.

Maybe it's just a scary story designed to scare new parents into putting in the effort to be prepared when a newborn is picked up from the hospital. I don't understand how you could not be prepared for leaving the hospital.  There is so much down time.  Why not peruse the manual or check your seat installation while your wife is feeding the baby or herself (food is usual available for moms, you have to fend for yourself).  As a dad, you're not really required, but usually appreciated.  A short absence by you to take care of the car seat will barely be noticed.


In case you were wondering, yes, I did properly install my seat ahead of time. It's not very tough, as I wrote in a Putting the Car Seat in Shouldn't Require a PhD.  Actually, I wasn't that worried about passing the child seat test, I had backup plans.  I only live about a mile from the hospital. If need be, we could say we were "taking the bus home".  Not everyone has car and since buses don't have seat belts,  I assume at that point they just let you walk away.  Heck, the hospital was actually close enough to walk home.  I don't think my wife would have appreciated it, but it was an option.  Either way I was taking Clark home that day.


         - Clark's Dad