Your Hospital Bag Checklist
Preparing for birth
Your Hospital Bag Checklist
What to pack for labour, for your recovery, and for those first quiet days with your baby. A calm, complete list you can work through in one sitting.
Your motherhood companion
Somewhere around the third trimester, the hospital bag stops being a future task and starts being a real one. It can feel like a strange thing to prepare for. You are packing for a day you cannot picture, for a version of yourself you have not met yet, and for a baby you have not held.
So here is the reassuring part. There is no wrong way to do this, and there is very little you can forget that somebody cannot bring in later. What follows is a considered list built around what actually gets used, with a little context on why each thing earns its place.
Take your time with it. Make a cup of tea. This is one of the first genuinely nurturing things you will do for the mother you are about to become.
Timing and how to organise it
Start here
Have your bag ready by 35 to 36 weeks. If you are carrying multiples, or your care team has mentioned an earlier arrival, bring that forward to around 32 weeks.
We suggest splitting it into two. A small bag for the birth suite that holds only what you will reach for during labour, and a larger bag for the ward that can stay in the car until you are settled. It keeps the room calm, and it means nobody is searching through a suitcase while you are focused on something far more important.
Store it where anyone can find it without asking. Beside the front door works well. Say it out loud to your partner at least once, because in the moment, memory goes first.
Worth knowing: Australian hospitals differ in what they supply. Most provide nappies, wipes and bedding for baby. Some provide maternity pads, and some do not. A quick call to your hospital before you pack will save you carrying things you do not need.
The labour bag
What stays in the room with you
Comfort during labour
Birth suites are warm. Labour is long. Everything here is about staying cool, staying hydrated and being able to move.
- ☐A loose nightie or oversized shirt you are happy to retire afterwards
- ☐A light robe you can throw on
- ☐Socks with gripCold feet are surprisingly common during labour, and hospital floors are slippery
- ☐Slides or thongs for the shower
- ☐Hair ties and clips to keep everything off your face
- ☐Lip balmBreathing deeply for hours will dry your lips out more than you expect
- ☐A handheld or battery fan
- ☐A drink bottle with a straw so you can sip lying down
- ☐A heat pack for lower back pressure
- ☐Unscented oil or lotion if you would like massage
- ☐Your own pillow, in a pillowcase that is clearly not the hospital's
Settling your mind
- ☐Phone with a charging cable at least two metres longPower points are rarely close to the bed
- ☐A charged battery pack
- ☐Headphones or a small speaker
- ☐Music, a podcast or a meditation track already downloaded
- ☐Snacks with staying power: nuts, muesli bars, dried fruit, electrolytes
- ☐Your birth preferences, printed, plus anything grounding such as a photo or affirmation cards
Your recovery
The fourth trimester begins here
This is the section most mums wish they had spent more time on. Once your baby arrives, attention shifts entirely, and it is easy to forget that you are also someone who has just been through something enormous. Your recovery deserves its own space in the bag.
What to wear
- ☐Two or three nursing nighties or pyjama sets that open at the frontFront access makes night feeds far less of an ordeal
- ☐Two soft nursing bras with no underwireYour size will shift as your milk comes in, so stretch matters more than structure
- ☐Five to seven pairs of briefs that sit high above the bellyEssential after a caesarean so nothing presses on the incision
- ☐Soft leggings or loose track pants
- ☐A cardigan or robe for walking the corridors
- ☐An easy outfit to travel home inAim for something that fitted you at about six months. Your body will not be back to itself yet, and that is exactly as it should be
- ☐Spare socks
Recovery essentials
Everything in this list sits in our Nurture and Recover range, made for exactly this stretch of time.
- ☐Two packs of maternity pads
- ☐Disposable postpartum briefs for the first few days
- ☐Mumasil nipple balmStart using it from the very first feed rather than waiting until you are sore
- ☐Mumasil breast padsPack more than feels reasonable. Leaking has no schedule in the early days
- ☐Postpartum recovery shorts or support wear, if you plan to use them
- ☐A Mumasil peri bottleOne of the kindest things you can pack for yourself
- ☐Any regular medication, in its original packaging
- ☐Lactation support such as tea or biscuits, if you would like them nearby
If you would rather not gather these one by one, our Nurture and Recover essentials are designed to go straight into the bag together. Nipple balm, breast pads, maternity pads and recovery wear, chosen so the fourth trimester is a little gentler on you.
Toiletries
The first shower after birth is a moment. Make it feel good.
- ☐Travel sized shampoo, conditioner and body wash
- ☐Toothbrush and toothpaste
- ☐Deodorant
- ☐Moisturiser and face wipes
- ☐Hairbrush and dry shampoo
- ☐Your own towel, in a dark colour
- ☐A little makeup if it lifts you
- ☐Glasses, contact lenses and solution
For your baby
Small, soft and simple
Newborns need remarkably little. Layers, warmth and something clean to change into. Pack two sizes, because size predictions at the final scan are just that.
Clothing
- ☐Four to six bodysuits in 0000 and newborn
- ☐Two or three singlets
- ☐Socks or booties
- ☐Two soft beaniesNewborns lose heat through their heads quickly
- ☐Scratch mittens
- ☐Two muslin wraps and one heavier wrap
- ☐An outfit for the trip home, weather appropriate
Practical
- ☐A small pack of newborn nappies as backup
- ☐Water wipes or cotton pads for the early days
- ☐Nappy cream
- ☐Two bibs and two burp cloths
- ☐A capsule or car seat, professionally fitted and installed in advanceYou cannot be discharged without one, so book the fitting well before your due date
- ☐Bottles and formula, if that is part of your feeding plan
- ☐A dummy, if you intend to offer one
For your support person
They need looking after too
- ☐A change of clothes and a warm layer
- ☐Board shorts or swimmers, if they may join you in the shower
- ☐Toiletries and a towel
- ☐Their own snacks and water bottle
- ☐Card or coins for parking and vending machines
- ☐A separate phone charger
- ☐Pillow and blanket if they are staying overnight
- ☐Something to occupy the slow hours
- ☐An agreed list of who gets told, and when
Documents
Keep them in one pouch
- ☐Medicare card
- ☐Private health cover details, if applicable
- ☐Your pregnancy record or handheld notes
- ☐Completed hospital admission forms
- ☐Photo identification
- ☐Printed copies of your birth preferences
- ☐Relevant scans, referrals or test results
- ☐Emergency contact numbers written on paper
Commonly forgotten, always appreciated
- An extra long charging cable. The most quietly useful item in the whole bag.
- Your own pillow. Hospital pillows are thin and covered in plastic.
- Overnight snacks. Hunger after a feed at 2am is real, and the kitchen will be closed.
- Dark towels and underwear. One less thing to think about.
- A fan. Rooms run warm and windows often do not open.
- Loose clothes for going home. You will still look pregnant. Every mother does.
Better left at home: valuables, jewellery, cash, strong perfume and candles. Newborns are sensitive to scent, and open flames are not permitted in most wards.
Before you close the bag
You do not need to get this right. You need to feel prepared enough to walk in without a running list in your head, and that is a much lower bar than perfect.
If you are packing tonight and feeling more emotional than you expected to, that makes sense. You are preparing for the biggest transition of your life. Be as gentle with yourself as you are about to be with your baby.
Printable checklist
Print or screenshot
Labour bag
- ☐Loose nightie or shirt
- ☐Light robe
- ☐Grip socks and slides
- ☐Hair ties
- ☐Lip balm
- ☐Handheld fan
- ☐Drink bottle with straw
- ☐Heat pack
- ☐Own pillow
- ☐Long charging cable
- ☐Battery pack
- ☐Headphones and playlist
- ☐Snacks and electrolytes
Recovery
- ☐Nursing nighties or pyjamas
- ☐Soft nursing bras
- ☐High rise briefs
- ☐Soft leggings
- ☐Outfit for going home
- ☐Maternity pads
- ☐Disposable briefs
- ☐Mumasil nipple balm
- ☐Mumasil breast pads
- ☐Recovery shorts
- ☐Mumasil peri bottle
- ☐Regular medication
Toiletries
- ☐Shampoo, conditioner, body wash
- ☐Toothbrush and toothpaste
- ☐Deodorant
- ☐Moisturiser and wipes
- ☐Hairbrush and dry shampoo
- ☐Dark towel
- ☐Glasses or contacts
Baby
- ☐Bodysuits, 0000 and newborn
- ☐Singlets
- ☐Socks or booties
- ☐Beanies
- ☐Scratch mittens
- ☐Muslin and warm wraps
- ☐Outfit for going home
- ☐Nappies and wipes
- ☐Nappy cream
- ☐Bibs and burp cloths
- ☐Car seat, fitted
Support person
- ☐Change of clothes
- ☐Toiletries and towel
- ☐Snacks and water
- ☐Parking money
- ☐Phone charger
- ☐Pillow and blanket
Documents
- ☐Medicare card
- ☐Health cover details
- ☐Pregnancy record
- ☐Admission forms
- ☐Photo identification
- ☐Birth preferences
- ☐Emergency contacts
Comfort and care for the days ahead
Nipple balm, breast pads, recovery wear and the thoughtful essentials that make the fourth trimester gentler. Explore the Nurture and Recover range.
Explore Nurture and RecoverThis article offers general guidance only and does not replace advice from your midwife, obstetrician or GP. Please check your own hospital's guidelines, as what they supply can vary.
