The hospital where you give birth will provide you with a list of what you’ll need to bring with you in your hospital bag for mum and baby. The hospital bag checklist nhs may vary slightly from hospital to hospital.
It’s always better to pack your bag a little in advance. Not only for your own peace of mind, but also to help prevent you from overbuying maternity bag items that you won’t actually need.
In the following paragraphs, you‘ll find a comprehensive hospital bag list of those maternity and newborn essentials you’ll need while you and your baby are in hospital.
Let's start with a couple of tips:
- It’s more practical to pack everything for mum and baby in one single bag, however in order to help you find whatever you need easily, it’s much more helpful if you separate your newborn hospital bag items from mum’s personal belongings. This is super easy with Koala Newborn bags!
- Don't worry too much about the weather outside, as the temperature inside hospitals is well controlled by powerful air conditioning or stifling heaters, therefore, it's best to pack clothing which is neither too heavy nor too light.
Hospital bag baby: when should you pack your hospital bag?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer: some mums prefer to start packing bag for hospital as early as when they’re seven months pregnant, this way they feel organised and ready – just in case!
Others, who are a little more superstitious, prefer to wait until they reach the ninth month of their pregnancy.
In general, it’s advised to have your hospital bag for delivery ready at least one month before your due date, as not all babies wait until your 40th week to come into the world!
What to pack in hospital bag for mum?
When we think of packing our bag, our thoughts automatically go to essential items we’ll need for our baby, however you should also be thinking about all those things that mum will need during labour and her stay in hospital.
Let's start with you. Here’s our list of hospital bag essentials for mum.
- 2 or 3 nightgowns or pyjamas that open at the front, facilitating breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact with your baby
- A dressing gown or light jumper for keeping warm and comfortable
- 2 or 3 pairs of cotton socks
- Slippers or flip flops for the room
- Flip flops for the shower
- Sweaters, joggers, or loose comfortable clothing for the journey home
- Towels and bathrobe for the shower
- Maternity pads for postpartum leakage
- Breast pads to prevent your clothes from being soiled with milk
- Silver nipple shields to prevent sore cracked nipples, such as Koala Silver Cups
- Comfortable nursing bras
Also don’t forget to pack your washbag with personal toiletries, such as:
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Intimate cleanser
- Face moisturising cream
- Body moisturising lotion
- Hairbrush
- Dry shampoo
- Hand cream
- Hairband
- And why not, some make-up too, if you like!
You will also need those small essential items, such as:
- Mobile phone charger
- Tissues
Documentation needed to take with you:
- Your birth plan and hospital notes
List for hospital bag for baby
Now let's move on to what you’ll need for your newborn baby.
As we said earlier, the hospital will provide you with a list of what you will need to bring for your little one. Keep in mind that each hospital has slightly different requirements, however you can find the nhs baby hospital bag list here.
The checklist may only be provided to you in the last few weeks before your due date, so in the meantime you can plan ahead by getting ready:
- Nappies
- 4 or 5 short-sleeved cotton bodysuits or vests
- 4 or 5 sleepsuits or two-piece suits with long sleeves
- 4 or 5 pairs of cotton socks
- A few cotton hats
- A few bibs
- A blanket to keep them warm
- Natural intimate cleanser, such as Organic Diaper Change Cleanser
- Soft baby towels or cotton muslin cloths
- A nursing pillow for comfort, especially at this particular time when mum needs to recover physically from childbirth
How to organise your maternity bag: Koala Newborn Bags
The best way to organise your hospital bag?
Koala Newborn Bags, the cute maternity hospital bag organisers which will make even the tidiest and most organised of mums envious.
Transparent so you can see at a glance what's inside, each pouch has a unique design: an adorable animal and a special motivational phrase just for mum.
You can personalise them by writing your name on the baby organiser bags with the marker pen included in the pack.
Use one bag to hold a full outfit change, you’ll have some left over for spare bodysuits and nappies, which you can never have too many of!
Reusable, these practical pouches will also come in super handy in the future for your baby’s essentials and clothes, e.g., for nursery.
