Before taking your newborn home from the hospital, make sure you already have a government-approved infant car seat professionally installed in your car. The car seat should be placed so that the infant is facing backward. Until the baby is strong enough to support her own head, the car seat should have special liners or a rolled-up blanket wrapped around baby's neck to support her head. If your car is equipped with air bags, be sure to place your baby in a car seat, facing backward in the middle of the back seat. Infants and children under age 12 should never sit in the front passenger seat of cars equipped with air bags, even if he or she is in a car seat. The explosive impact from a deployed passenger side air bag can seriously injure a child.