The question of the correct transportation of a newborn arises for most parents already on the 4th day of a child's life, because in order to deliver him with his mother home from the hospital, transport is often required.
Newborn in a shell
According to the Traffic Regulations, children under 7 years old, including newborns, must be transported in a car using a special restraint device that ensures the safety of a small passenger.
What you need to transport your baby in a car
To ensure the safe transport of a child from 0 to 7 years old, special child seats are required. All models and types were divided into age groups according to the number of months and according to the weight of the child.
Why you can't carry a child in your arms
Not so long ago, there was no description of the correct transportation of children in the traffic rules. It was customary to put the child on the lap of an adult accompanying person, that was enough. Therefore, today a completely natural question arises as to whether it is possible to transport an infant in a car by hand. Especially when the trip is necessary to move the newborn home from the hospital.
Parents often believe that the baby is still small, he sits in a chair early. The decision to carry the baby in her arms is mistakenly made. Previously, this was possible because the traffic load on the roads was not the same as it is today. In addition, the car is officially recognized as the most dangerous form of transport. The lion's share of the number of accidents falls on cars.
A woman, thinking that in the event of a collision, she will hold the baby, is greatly mistaken. The weight of a newborn is really small, and one might think that an adult is able to cope with the restraint of a child during sudden braking. However, several factors will not give a single chance to cope with ensuring the safety of the infant in your arms:
- The force with which inertia will pull the baby out of the mother's arms is equal to the product of its weight and the speed of the car. That is, a 3-kilogram baby in a car moving at a speed of 60 km / h will tend to move from the hands towards the windshield with a force equal to 180 Newtons. Keeping a baby in this situation is more difficult than lifting a load weighing 100 kg.
- An emergency situation always comes suddenly, you cannot prepare for it and grab the child tightly. The surprise factor plays a decisive role.
- At the time of emergency braking or a sudden stop, the adult himself can be injured and become unable to ensure the safety of the baby.
Important! Only technically sophisticated equipment can save the life and health of a child in an accident.
Variety of seats
Is it permissible to be transported in any vehicles
Modern parents are ready to travel long distances from the first days after discharge. Today service in roadside hotels, trains and planes only contributes to this. Almost every gas station along the motorways has a full mother-and-child room where you can perform hygiene procedures, change clothes and swaddle your baby.
The train is convenient when the whole family redeems the compartment and travels without strangers. When buying a ticket, it is important to consider whether the carriage has air conditioning when the trip is planned in the summer. For medical reasons, there is no age limit for travel by car or train. Together with a newborn, you can travel on this transport without fear for its condition.
Aircraft are contraindicated for children under 14 days of age. The danger lies in the imperfection of the child's body. The pressure fluctuating rapidly during takeoff and landing can be very dangerous for a newborn. The safest time to fly is after your baby is one month old.
Attention! The danger of traveling by public transport also lies in the fact that a newborn finds himself in a closed room of a small area with strangers who can be carriers of infectious infectious diseases from which the baby has not yet been vaccinated.
Is it possible to carry children under 1 year old in the front seat
Traffic rules do not regulate the name of the seat in which children under 7 years old can be transported in a car. If you have a child car seat, you can transport children not only in the front seat of a car or SUV, but also in the cab of a truck.
Do I need an adult in the back seat
The traffic police regulations do not describe situations in which an adult accompanying person must be present in the back seat if a child car seat with a child is installed in the second row seat.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake parents make is improper installation of child restraints designed to transport newborns and children up to 13 kg. The design of devices in this category assumes a reclining position of the infant. Such a bent position of the back is very necessary so that the load during sudden braking is evenly distributed over the spine, and not concentrated on the cervical spine.
That is why cradles-shells should be installed against the direction of movement of the vehicle. That is, the child should sit with his back forward, and not face. In doing so, pay attention to the device label. It contains very important information that, when placing the shell in the front seat, it is imperative to turn off the airbag, since its impact on the back of the car seat is traumatic for the child.
How to transport a baby from the hospital in a car
Every responsible parent should think about how to transport a newborn in a car even before it is born. It is most reasonable to choose the right car seat with your wife so that later there will be no disputes about the color or pattern on the product.
Important! The newborn is unable to sit. Up to 7 months, it is not safe for a baby to keep his back upright for a long time. Therefore, from birth to 7-8 months, the baby can only be transported in a lying position.
To ensure safety and to avoid vertical load on the spine, it is necessary to transport babies up to 7-8 months old in a cradle-shell. Its design is arranged in such a way that the child is located in it reclining, securely fixed with seat belts.
The Most Suitable Newborn Chair
Today on the market you can find three types of devices in which a baby can ride:
- cradle-shell, focused on weight up to 13 kg;
- a transforming chair that adjusts to the weight and age of the child, from 0 months to 7 years;
- removable carrycot from the stroller.
Transporting a month-old baby in a stroller can become one of the most inconvenient devices, just because it takes up two passenger seats when installed in a car.
Carrycot from the stroller
A transforming chair may be the most rational choice, because although this is a considerable financial investment, it is a one-time one. Parents do not have to change the car seat when the child reaches a certain weight or age. In addition, these models have side protection, which users call the ears of the chair. They are able to protect the child in a side collision.
How to choose the right car seat
Before you start choosing a restraint for a newborn, you should find out what type of mounts the car has. There are three types:
- isofix;
- latch;
- regular seat belts.
Additional Information! Seats that are secured with regular seat belts often have an additional type of latch fixation.
When choosing a chair, it is worth thinking about what kind of stroller the child will have. If the parents decide on 3-in-1 models, there is no need to buy an additional autocushy, since it will already be purchased with the stroller.
Features of the infant car seat
The advantage of the infant car seat is its mobility - if the baby falls asleep on the road, and the journey has come to an end, the shell can be easily unfastened from the mounts so that the sleeping passenger can be transported where needed.
How to choose the safest carrycot
The safety of the device is determined not by the price, but by the certificate of conformity of the Unified European Standard. Models that have successfully passed the crash tests are entitled to have the "ECE R 44/04" symbols on the tag of each product. This is a marking on the compliance of the device's safety level with the European standard, edition 2019-2020.
Transportation of a newborn in a carrycot from a stroller
Not every mother, having a removable cradle by the stroller, knows how convenient it is to transport her newborn in the car according to the rules with its help. When transporting a newborn to another city, this is especially convenient, because the baby has the opportunity to lie in a flat cradle, like in a crib, all the way.
Additional Information! The disadvantage of strollers is the lack of belts that secure the baby to the device.
Winter transport tips
In winter, the traffic police recommends removing thick outerwear from children before wearing seat belts. Even a system of fines is being planned, regulating the thickness of the layer of clothing that can be between the child's body and the belt. The presence of a jacket significantly complicates the functionality of the belts.
In order for the baby to not be cold, the interior should be warmed up in advance. In winter, the car also needs to warm up the engine. Therefore, 10-15 minutes before the child appears in the passenger compartment, the car must be started, the stove must be turned on, choosing the direction of the air flows into the passenger compartment.
Newborn in the front seat
Interesting! In summer, the same procedure for preparing vehicles for transporting children must be carried out by changing the inclusion of the stove to an air conditioner. Overheating due to being in a hot interior is very dangerous for a child's health.
When preparing things in the hospital, it is better to take care of the choice of a car seat in advance in the case when the delivery of the mother with the baby home will be carried out using a car. If the superstitions of the parents do not allow this, then the mother, when making a list of necessary purchases for the father, must definitely indicate that the letter of the envelope must have a special hole for the seat belt. It is more reasonable to calmly and without haste to figure out which model will guarantee the safety of the newborn on the road.
