The Ultimate Hospital Bag Checklist
Giving birth is not easy. For the delivery of your baby, you will need to stay at the hospital for atleast 24 hours for the most uncomplicated vaginal birth to around 2-4 days for cesarean delivery. Remember that you want to be as comfortable as possible during labor and postpartum. During labor, you need comfort to focus on your body and your contractions. For postpartum, you’ve gone through a huge life-changing and physical marathon. You need comfort for that too! Although your hospital will provide most of the basic things for your care, but you will need other stuffs as well, which would make your hospital stay more comfortable. If you’re a first time mom, deciding what should be included on your hospital bag checklist can be overwhelming.
When you’re in your third trimester and preparing for a natural labor and delivery, you have plenty of things to focus your mind on. Knowing what to pack in your hospital bag shouldn’t be one of them. This guide has everything you’ll actually use and need in your hospital bag so you can worry about more important things.
What does the birth center provide?
All the “absolutely essential” stuffs that you and your newborn baby would need for that couple days at hospital, would be provided to you. So, even if you don’t pack a single thing, your hospital should have your basic needs covered. But each facility is different, therefore it is recommended to ask questions and schedule a tour at your birthing facility during your pregnancy to learn more about what you can expect during your stay. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Birth centers generally provide:
hospital gowns
grip socks
birthing ball and other labor tools, like personal massager. If you would like to have your own birth ball, you can buy one from The Birth Ball
large cups for water and ice
basic toiletries — soap, shampoo, toothbrush/toothpaste
disposable mesh underwear (it’s not the most attractive, but it does the job)
thick sanitary pads
after-care items, like witch hazel pads and peri bottles
standard pillows and blankets
Hospital Bag Packing List Essentials (and a few non-essentials) for Mom:
While this list looks quite long, it should all mostly fit into a single overnight bag.
The paperwork and most important stuffs:
1. ID, Health-insurance card and Pre-registration forms. You’ll need your identification along with your insurance card and any other documents your doctor gave you for admission at check-in.
2. Prescription. You’ll probably be asked about this information at check-in and again once you’re settled. Once you’re in labor, it may be difficult to remember everything you’re taking. Therefore, it’s a lot easier to just hand over a list of medication.
3. Medications. If you’re on any common prescription medications, the hospital pharmacy can usually provide them, but might be at a higher cost than what you usually pay. And if you’re on any less common drugs, the hospital might not have any stock on hand. Plan to pack your own to avoid these potential headaches.
4. Credit card or small amount of cash. You may want to use the vending machine or get something from the gift shop or cafeteria during your stay.
Personal Items:
Birth plan. If you have a specific birth plan that you’ve drafted, bring a copy or two of it with you. Need help to prepare a birth plan? You can easily get your personalized birth plan completely free of cost from Earth Mama.
Personal hospital gown or pajamas. If you absolutely despise the gowns offered by the hospitals (which we all usually do!), you can buy your own outfit. My favorite one is the delivery and nursing gown by Frida from Honeybug. This gown provides full-back closure; full-length rear snaps for discrete coverage on the move and easy access for epidural or fetal monitor. I simply loved this t-shirt soft gown for the following reasons:
Non-skid socks or slippers. If you don’t like the hospital socks, you can bring your own. Please make sure that whatever you choose has grips for safety. My personal favorites are Silverts Best Gripper Hospital Unisex Slipper Socks. These are skid resistant and slip resistant treads for safer wheelchair transfer. These socks are terrific for patients in hospitals, post c-section and nursing homes and are great for comfortable casual use in the home and for home care settings. If you are uncomfortable walking around on the hospital floor in socks and are looking for comfortable slippers, the best way to go are these slides from Crocs. You can also customize your slippers with cute Jibbitz shoe charms.
Toiletries. You can go as simple as some travel shampoos, toothbrush/toothpaste, a brush, deodorant, and a bar of soap. I personally found the travel size Ultra Balanced Bar Shampoo to be extremely handy. It comes with a cute eZ pouch. Don’t forget stuff like hair ties, lip balm, and lotion, if you tend to have dry skin. I used this amazing kit called Mama Pouch Bundle by the Sunflower motherhood, which includes lip-balm, oil roller, hand sanitizer and a refresh mist in a portable cute pouch. If you are looking for a variety of lipbalm flavors, you can try the organic, grain-free, therapeutic natural lip balms from Ora’s Amazing Herbal.
Hair dryer. You may or may not be able to bring a portable hair dryer or other plug-in devices. Call ahead to find out the rules. If you are allowed, I am sure you may be already using one at home, which may or may not be easy to carry. If not, then I would recommend Original XIAOMI Youpin Mijia Hair Mi Dryer Mini Portable Anion HL3. As the name suggests, it is small in size, portable and very efficient power and function-wise.
Underwear. You’ll be wearing pads, so consider sizing up and choosing full coverage styles. Although the hospital provides mesh underwear but my experience with them are terrible. Guess what? They are itchy and they don’t fit the sanitary pads properly, hence leak is inevitable. Not that you may care, since they are disposable. But trust me; you will thank yourself for getting the super-comfortable and reusable ones from Ollie gray. And it would fit your menstrual pads perfectly. With ultra-soft fabric, low compression, multiple colors, this underwear will change the way you heal and feel in those first few days and weeks after giving birth.
Pads. The hospital provides thick pads. Even then, my experiences with those were again terrible. If you are up for some great highly absorbant pads that are contoured for comfort and are leak proof, you can get Medline Super-Absorbent Contoured Postpartum Pad. If you are looking for organic eco-friendly options, you can try Eco Certified Extra Heavy Overnight / Postpartum Pads from Genial Day. You shouldn’t use tampons after delivery.
Breastfeeding cover and pads. If you are expecting guests or feel more comfortable to cover yourself while feeding your baby, you may want to get a nursing cover. These Multiuse covers from KeaBabies come in pretty prints. Let your baby sleep in peace and undisturbed while you enjoy your shopping or day out along with providing you 360 -all-round privacy while you breastfeed in public. If you are scared of leaks, you can trust these KeaBabies nursing pads. Not only are they comfortable, these pads are made of organic bamboo which makes it safe for your baby to latch on anytime. Bamboo also reduces odor from leftover milk, keeping you clean and fresh all day long! The unique contoured design allows the breast pads to stay in place inside your nursing bra.
Nursing Pillow. You may even want to bring a breastfeeding pillow for support. I would strongly recommend the ones from Boppy. Support for you and baby with plush, hypoallergenic fiber fill. The original award-winning Boppy Pillow with a removable cotton blend pillow cover. Ergonomically support while nursing or bottle feeding. Versatile to grow and support baby during supervised awake time through first year milestones. Feeding (0+ months), propping (3+ months), tummy time (6+ months) and sitting (9+ months). Designed for your baby's supervised, awake time. This product is not for sleep.
Going home outfit. Going home with your baby will definitely be a super-special occasion for you, and you would want to celebrate that in so many ways. Therefore, don’t forget your going-home outfit. Make sure to keep the weather into consideration and choose one that fits when you were about 6-months pregnant. There are some awesome maternity dresses from Frances Hart. They are not only comfortable but also look so pretty. They also got all the weathers covered. If you are thinking about matching your dress with your baby’s, to make it fun, you can find some beautiful matching dresses from PatPat. They are super cheap but super pretty!
Books/ Magazines and song list to keep you entertained. A list of your favorite songs on your Ipod would also help you to relax during your contractions and delivery.
Cell phone and charger. Depending on how fast or slow everything goes, you may want some entertainment or even the option to call a friend while you’re laboring. And you know your social media friends would love updates! You can also store your music or audio on your phone.
Glasses and/or contacts. They may be the last thing on your mind, but you’ll also want to bring glasses and contact lens supplies, like a case and saline solution.
Support underwear. You may want to bring some C-section recovery underwear. After surgery, these support and recovery underwears from The Baby Cubby will come to your rescue with targeted compression to help reduce swelling, gently protect the site of incision, support core muscles and promote mobility. It’s silver-infused fibers that can help eliminate bacteria and odor. The fabric is comfortable and breathable that helps keep you cool. Make it stand out
Loose clothing. You may be more comfortable wearing clothing items, like nightgowns versus pants, that don’t rub against your incision. Again, for fun you and your baby can dress up matching with each other with these cute and comfortable matchy-matchy robes from Ergopouch. This gorgeous bamboo viscose robe drapes over the body for the ultimate in stay-at-home comfort - great as a luxuriously soft women’s maternity robe for the hospital. Ideal as part of your hospital bag checklist, for night feeds or just wearing around the house, these Matchy Matchy Robes will become your new favourite lounge wear. Pair yours with matching baby swaddles and layers!
Special snacks. Beat post-surgery constipation with snacks that contain plenty of fiber, like an apple or instant oatmeal with dried fruit. You can get plenty of healthy snacks option from GoOats.
When to pack your bag
Very few percentage of babies are usually born on their actual due date. In reality, your baby may arrive a couple weeks before or after your due date. Consider packing your bags at least a month before your due date. This gives you a bit of time for the unexpected. If your doctor gave you any indications about your possibility to go into preterm labor or otherwise have your baby on the early side, you may want to pack up your bag even earlier.
What to AVOID packing in your hospital bag:
Any expensive items including:
wedding rings and other jewelry
laptops and tablets
loads of cash
Just avoid bringing anything that you’d miss if you accidentally lost it. I can attest to the fact that these items won’t be in your mind when you hold your little bundle of joy for the very first time!
This is a comprehensive list of things a mom would need at the hospital. There are stuffs which will be required by the new baby, non-pregnant partner or the siblings at the hospital. Stay tuned to learn more!
