Advice & Tips
Hospital Bag Checklist: What to Pack for Mom & Baby
There comes a point in every pregnancy when that half-packed hospital bag sitting in the corner suddenly starts to feel very important.
What do you actually need? How many baby outfits should you pack? Do you need blankets? What does the hospital provide? And what are you almost guaranteed to forget?
We’ve put together a practical hospital bag checklist for moms-to-be, covering the essentials for mom, baby and your birth partner – without packing half your house.
Want to make it even easier? Download our free printable hospital bag checklist here and tick everything off as you pack.
When should you pack your hospital bag?
There’s no perfect week to have your bag ready, but you definitely don’t want to be packing it between contractions. We recommend having your hospital bag packed a few weeks in advance and having it ready from around 30 weeks.
Our advice? Start gathering things during your third trimester and aim to have the essentials packed well before your due date.
And remember that every hospital is slightly different. Before you pack, ask your maternity ward what they provide for mom and baby and whether they have their own packing list.
What to pack in your hospital bag for Mom
Comfort wins here. You’re going to want clothing that’s soft, loose and easy to get in and out of – particularly if you’re planning to breastfeed.
Pack:
- Comfortable clothes for labour
- Front-opening pyjamas or nighties
- Dressing gown
- Slippers
- Comfortable pre- and post-birth underwear
- Nursing bras
- Towel (not 100% necessary, but a nice-to-have)
- Maternity pads
- Breast pads
- Nipple cream
- Toiletries
- Hairbrush and hair ties
- Dark-coloured facecloths
- Any regular medication
- Your own pillow for extra comfort
- A comfortable outfit for going home
Don’t forget your ID, medical aid information and hospital admission documents too.
What to pack for your newborn baby
This is undoubtedly the cutest part of packing the hospital bag. Tiny babygrows. Small socks. Little hats. And somehow a person who hasn’t even arrived yet needs more luggage than you do.
We recommend around four to five sets of clean baby clothes, including vests, babygrows and receiving blankets, as well as a warm blanket.
For baby, we’d pack:
- 4-5 newborn vests
- 4-5 babygrows or sleepsuits
- Newborn nappies
- Baby wipes or cotton wool
- 2-3 receiving blankets/swaddles
- A warm blanket
- 2-3 beanies
- Socks
- Burp cloths
- A going-home outfit
Some South African maternity programmes provide nappies, wipes and baby toiletries, so check with your hospital before doubling up. For example, Discovery, Mediclinic and Netcare maternity programmes currently provide various baby essentials through their maternity bags or welcome programmes, although contents can vary.
What do you need if you’re planning to breastfeed?
You don’t need an enormous amount of equipment to start breastfeeding, but a few things can make those first feeds more comfortable.
Consider packing:
- Nursing bras
- Breast pads
- Nipple cream
- Water bottle
- Burp cloths
- Nursing cover if you’d like additional privacy
- Nursing cushion if you prefer additional positioning support
Your first few feeds are also a good time to ask for help. If you’re struggling with positioning or latching, speak to your midwife, nurse or lactation professional while you’re still in hospital.
What should your partner pack?
Yes. They need a bag too. Not an enormous one, but labour can take a while, and the last thing you need is your support person disappearing because they’re hungry or their phone is on 2%.
Pack:
- Phone charger
- Snacks
- Water
- Change of clothes
- Toiletries
- Wallet or bank card
- Important contact numbers
And perhaps most importantly: make sure they know what’s in YOUR bag and where everything is.
Don’t leave the car seat to the last minute…
Trust us, the first time you put this into the car will feel like the most impossible task of them all – but it does get easier. Have it ready and make sure you know how to install and use it correctly before the trip home.
The first time you attempt to figure out the straps should ideally not be in a hospital parking lot with a brand-new baby.
The Baby Sense hospital bag essentials
If we had to choose a few Baby Sense products that genuinely earn their place in a hospital bag, we’d keep it simple:
- Cuddlewrap Swaddle for wrapping and cuddling baby and preventing the moro reflex from waking them up constantly.
- Burp cloths for feeding and all the little newborn messes that come with it.
- DreamFeed Nursing Cushion if you’d like additional feeding support.
- Apron Nursing Cover if you’d prefer some extra privacy while feeding.
The point isn’t to take every baby product you own into hospital.
It’s to pack the things you’ll actually use. We have also created this hospital essentials kit to make the process a bit easier, it also makes a great gift.
Your hospital bag checklist
Pregnancy comes with enough lists already, so we’ve made this one easy.
Our Baby Sense Hospital Bag Packing Checklist covers:
- What to pack for Mom
- What to pack for baby
- Feeding essentials
- Labour bag essentials
- What your partner needs
- Things to organise before you leave for hospital
Download it, print it and stick it on the fridge.
Then enjoy the strangely satisfying experience of ticking off all those tiny baby things.
Because when the big day finally arrives, the only thing you should need to grab is the bag.