The car seat is an essential piece of child-safety equipment that you’ll need the moment you leave the hospital with your new baby. But with the growing number of car seats to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which one to buy. Before you begin to feel overwhelmed, here are a few guidelines to help you choose the right seat for you.

You’ll first want to decide if you want an infant only car seat -- which typically carries a baby up to 30 pounds -- or a convertible car seat, which begins as a rear facing seat and later can be transitioned to face forward.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age 2 use a rear-facing car seat. There is no difference in safety between the two types of seats, as long as they are properly installed and a child is correctly seated and belted based on height and weight requirements.

See also: How to choose and use a car seat for toddlers

No matter what type of car seat you choose, all car seats meet the same safety standards so the more expensive seats are not necessarily safer, according to Gina Duchossois, an injury prevention expert at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Chair of Safe Kids Southeastern Pennsylvania.

“It’s a balance of picking the right car seat that works for you and is easy to use,” Duchossois said. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides car seat ease-of-use ratings that can help you evaluate how easy certain car seat features are before you buy a seat.

Once you’ve chosen the car seat, correctly installing it is one of the best ways to prevent injury during a crash.

The safest place to have a car seat is in the rear center of the vehicle since it is the furthest distance from any impact, said Duchossois.

“If you have to go to one side, one side is no safer than the other,” said Duchossois. 

The car seat should be rear facing and tightly strapped in so it cannot move more than one inch from side to side. Every car seat includes an angle indicator which helps you recline the seat to the appropriate angle. The harness belt should also be set at the right level depending on the child’s height and weight.

Duchossois recommends that parents take the car seat out of the box and practice using it before baby arrives.

“You don’t want the first time to use the car seat to be when you’re taking baby home from the hospital,” Duchossois said.

If ever in doubt, visit a local car seat inspection station to make sure you have properly installed the seat. Technicians at the station can walk you through installing the car seat and using it, oftentimes free of charge.  

In some communities, your local hospital, police department, or fire department may also help you install it.