Preparing For Birth – Packing Of Hospital Bags/ Home Birth Supplies

We have a lot of fans posting on our page asking about packing of hospital bags: what to pack for the birth and when to have everything ready, so we asked all the moms on our page what they packed and what they felt was really important as well as when to have everything ready by.

Most moms said they had their bags packed and ready anytime from 34 – 36 weeks pregnant. A lot of moms said they went into premature labour and had nothing packed, which added to their stress of having to get to the hospital early.

Judging by the feedback from everyone, my advice would be to have everything packed and ready by 32 weeks.

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The lists we compiled below have been made up as a combination of what the hospital requires and what moms said they feel is important, however it is important to check with the hospital you are planning to give birth at to give you a list of what you need. Some government hospitals for example won’t allow dummies or bottles. If you are wanting to breastfeed taking a dummy and bottles is not the best way to start a good breastfeeding relationship with your baby. Also bear in mind that some hospitals provide all the clothing for baby until they are ready to go home, so you only need to pack 1 outfit for going home, however a lot of moms prefer to still dress their new baby in their own clothes.

The one thing from my hospital stay that I did not take and it seemed nobody else did either, was a 2 prong charger. We had our camera, cell phones etc and the batteries went down. The hospital does not provide 2 prong adaptors to charge your equipment and we found one mommy that did bring an adaptor and we all drove her mad begging to borrow it. This time I have already packed the charger, it was one of the first things to go in the bag.

There are also plenty of other things you may want to pack with you, a good idea is to have at least a rough birth plan and from there you can add some things in. For example some moms want a birth music playlist played during labour, so you might need to bring in your own equipment to play this music, but I believe some birthing centres have cd players. We will also be writing an article on birth plans for ideas.

Mommy’s Hospital Bag

• Maternity pads
• Breast pads
• Nipple cream
• Disposable panties
• Feeding bra’s
• 2 sets pyjama’s
• Nightgown
• Slippers
• Extra underwear (socks and panties)
• 2 sets loose comfy clothing
• 1 pair comfy shoes
• Towels
• Toiletries

Baby’s Hospital Bag

• Nappies
• Wetwipes
• Bum cream
• Aqueous cream
• Surgical spirits
• Cotton wool
• 3 or 4 receiving blankets
• 2 warm blankets
• Hooded baby towel
• 3 x vests
• 3 x baby onesies
• Newborn beanies
• Newborn mittens
• Socks
• Pacifiers
• Bottles

Other NB things to make sure you have with you:

• ID book
• Hospital forms
• Medical aid authorisation code
• Copy of birth plan if you have one
• Camera and charger
• Cell phone and charger
• 2 prong adaptor
• Snacks and juice for labour for mommy, daddy and birth support partners

If you are having a home birth you should have everything above packed in case you need to go to hospital, plus here are the home birth supplies list as supplied to me by my midwife.

Home Birth Packing List

• 2 dozen gauze swabs 4×4 inch (non-sterile)
• Plastic linen savers x 20 (disposable bed protectors)
• Surgical spirits
• Castor oil 100mls
• Weeping wound and graze powder (Pharma Natura)
• Cotton wool roll (Most of the above is available from Dischem)
• Small pile of newspapers
• Plastic lined trash proof bin (for waste)
• Plastic bags/ leak proof (to put under sheet to protect mattress)
• Roll of paper towels
• 6 x clean towels
• Maternity pads
• Clean gown and panties
• 2 x receiving blankets
• Nappies
• Clean sheets
• Baby clothes – first set
• Cooking pot on stove with boiling water
• A small table for midwife to lay out surgically clean equipment
• An extension lead
• A torch
• Candles/ soft lighting
• Meditative music

Don’t forget if you are having a water birth you will probably have to hire your own birthing pool! Another nice thing to have available at your home birth is a birthing ball, I used a pilates ball and let a little bit of the air out so it wasn’t too hard.

What did you pack in your bags for your baby’s birth?