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I am planning a 1.5-hour ride with my 1-month-old baby girl. I've heard that extended time in a car seat can be harmful for newborns. Should we take breaks during the trip to ensure her safety and well-being?

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These seats are designed to be newborn-friendly. Any of them causing any physical damage to a child is unthinkable. Such seat should never have been made and accepted for sale. Unless you bought the cheapest seat on a flea market, you're going to be ok.

Long trips are discouraged because your child is restricted to the same position for their duration. If a baby is placed in an unnatural, non-physiological position, it is going to stay in that position for a certain time. You should make sure the baby is placed in the seat comfortably, that it's back and head are supported, that there are no unnaturally bent legs or hands. If something is wrong, your baby is most likely going to let you know - through crying, of course.

If you're really worried, make 5 minute stops every half an hour.

1,5h is not that long time. I've friends who made 4h trips on a weekly basis which started when their son was about (less I think) one month old. Their LO is 2 years now and has no seat-related health problems.
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I've done a similar car rides with my daughters at that age several times. I don't remember there ever being any incident, nor damage to the girls. They are now 5 and 7, healthy as can be.

The infants are in their cribs napping for far longer, in a more "dangerous" position (less spinal support, danger of choking on vomit - not danger in the trauma sense). If the infant burps up in the car seat, clean it to ensure that the airway is clear.
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