What Do I Need to Bring to the Hospital to Give Birth?

Many new mothers wonder what to bring to the hospital to give birth. Here's what you'll need for yourself, your baby, and your companion.

Many new mothers wonder what they should bring to the hospital when the time comes to give birth. In the following article, we’ll tell you everything you’ll need for yourself, your little one, and your companion.

The week in which your due date arrives, you may feel very nervous about what’s to come and anxious to meet your little one, which is why you have to have everything ready for the arrival of your child.

The first thing you have to take into account is that not only will the baby be born, but also your body will experience a series of changes that it has never experienced before and for which you have to be prepared. Nor can you forget your partner or the person who’s going to accompany you during this process, as they’ll also need certain items.

What to wear to the hospital to give birth?

It’s best to make two separate bags or suitcases and put everything necessary for those days in each one.

For your baby

It depends a lot on what the hospital or clinic itself will provide for you during your stay. It’s important to ask beforehand what they’re going to give you during your stay in the hospital so that you can take that into account while preparing your bags.

The most recommended items for your baby are:

1. Three onesies or pajamas with sleeves and pants, as babies lose heat very quickly when they’re born. The best thing is for them to have the fastening system in the front so as not to damage the skin of the newborn, in addition, this will also facilitate the handling of the baby when changing clothes.
2. Twelve newborn diapers. The hospital will probably provide a few, so you don’t need to bring more.

1. Wet wipes.
2. A cloth or muslin blanket for your shoulder to avoid getting dirty when you’re burping your baby.
3. Creams to moisturize the baby in case the clothes cause chafing if they have very sensitive skin. These creams must be special for newborn babies. As you’re going to have a short stay in the hospital, it’s best to keep a sample bottle that you’ve been given us in the suitcase.
4. Hats, gloves, and socks. It’s essential for your baby to have their head covered during the first days of life so as not to lose body heat.
5. Clothes to leave the hospital. It’s advisable to add a hat and a blanket to this set.
6. It’s also important if you’re going to use the car to return home with your baby, that you’ve prepared an approved seat.

For mom

You’ll also need to bring to the hospital to give birth certain things that will make the moment of delivery and the following days easier.

1. Personal documentation and your health insurance information.
2. Documents and analytics of pregnancy controls.
3. Your birth plan if we have one.
4. Five changes of underwear, as we’ll probably get them dirty pretty quickly. The best option is to buy disposable underwear because, in the hospital, you won’t be able to wash them and you’ll have to store them dirty until you leave.
5. Postpartum pads. The most recommended are cotton.
6. Two nursing bras, special cream for sensitive or irritated nipples, and absorbent discs.
7. Socks, comfortable slippers, and flip-flops for the shower.
8. Two nightgowns that make it easier for you to breastfeed your baby. A good option is for them to be wide-necked or have an opening in the front.
9. A small robe or blanket to keep you warm during the day if it’s cold in the hospital. It’ll also serve to cover you during visits.

1. Usual personal hygiene items in small containers.
2. Clothes for going home. You have to bear in mind that you’ll leave the hospital with some pain, and even more so if your delivery has been by cesarean section. You’ll also have to remember that your belly will occupy much less space than a few days before. Based on this, the most advisable thing is to wear loose and comfortable clothes so as not to feel discomfort.
3. Cell phone and charger.

For the companion

1. Two changes of clothes.
2. Socks and slippers to walk around the room.
3. Personal hygiene items. They can share some products with the mother and thus avoid carrying excess weight.
4. Cell phone and charger.
5. Camera and charger (if desired).

The role of your companion when you go to the hospital to give birth

Your companion, of course, must have a proactive attitude and help you remain calm before and during the hospital stay. Studies reveal that continuous monitoring by a person of their choice increases the well-being of the mother, improves health outcomes, and decreases “the rate of interventions such as less use of medications to speed up labor and even cesarean sections”.

Among their many other functions, the companion needs to ensure that the mother and baby have everything at hand and all the details covered. Check the documentation and the basic elements in terms of policies or other economic requirements.

Of course, there can always be unexpected surprises, but nothing that can’t be resolved with a minimum of foresight and a lot of calm and good spirits. Offering support, strength, enthusiasm, a positive and proactive attitude, and quick responses are virtues of the person who was selected to provide company in such a special moment.

With this in mind, the companion must review the suitcases of mother, baby, and their own well in advance.

Another task is to be ready for the requests of the mother, and in the hospital, to control the visitors that come and go. If necessary, tend to those who arrive outside to prepare the entrance to the room . In particular, provide guidance on certain practices, such as getting too close to the baby and breathing on it, washing their hands, not kissing the baby, not asking to hold the baby, waiting a while if the mom needs to rest or the baby is feeding, etc. Prudence and common sense are recommended.

In this same order of ideas,  your companion will also answer calls and messages and will monitor the taking of photographs, always with the criterion of not disturbing the intimacy of the mother and the newborn, who are establishing perhaps the deepest of human relationships.

In short, it’s about the companion anticipating, arranging, and making the mother’s stay in the hospital fluid during the complex and loving transition of childbirth.

If you forgot to take something to the hospital, ask for it

In any case, what you can’t do is fill the suitcase with the famous “just in case” items. It’s clear that you can’t take everything you’d like to the hospital to give birth. In the event that you need something that you don’t have, you must remember that you’re in a hospital and you can ask the staff or a close friend or family member to find whatever it is you need.

At the same time, if your stay in the hospital is finally extended due to circumstances beyond your control, you shouldn’t panic. All you have to do is ask someone to go home for the things you need and wait patiently until everything is in order for you to be discharged.