Empowered Birth Archives · strength.love.birth.

Here are some tips, ideas, and a free printable checklist for your hospital bag to help you to know exactly what to pack for your birth at the hospital, what NOT to bring, plus 7 things you don’t want to forget! This is like a minimalist-meets-realist approach to packing a bag for you, your partner, and your baby at the hospital or birthing center. This list of things to pack for the hospital has all the essentials plus bonus extras to make your birth and early postpartum fabulous.

Read on to find out the basics and the extras to pack in your hospital bag that will be just what you need during your stay at your place of birth

Congratulations! You’re heading to the hospital or birthing center soon to meet your baby. (Or are you staying home? I’d pack a bag just in case and make sure you have these homebirth essentials!)

These are exciting times and you want everything to go well. I know how tempting it is to bring a few huge bags of stuff to the hospital for all the just-in-cases that might happen during your labor, delivery, and early postpartum time. But just know that the your place of birth is going to provide a lot of what you need. Plus, every place and every person is different.

I certainly can’t predict whether you’ll be cold and need an extra fuzzy blanket or too hot and just need a tank top the whole time. The important thing is to remember that you’ll be pretty close to home, right? Line up one of those people who can’t stop asking when your baby is coming to be the go-to person if you need a delivery of some items from home.

So read to the bottom of the post, grab your printable checklist for your hospital bag, and just pack your basic list (with my 7 essential extras!), then forget about it and start focusing on having the empowered birth you deserve!

The Basics: A Bare-Bones Hospital Bag Checklist

Not to be a bit too Duh! here, but you and your partner both need to pack like you’re going away for a quick weekend. Except, instead of relaxation, you get to experience one of the most intense experiences of your lifetime!

But pack like a minimalist. Don’t bring a bunch of stuff just in case. Pack like you’re only taking carry-on!

So for you and your partner, you’ll need a change of clothes (including several pairs of soft and expendable socks), your basic toiletries including makeup so you don’t look like death warmed over in your first photos after baby is born, your phone/camera (plus ALL chargers!), HAIR TIES!, and cheap flip flops you can toss afterward. You might also want a comfy robe to wear over your hospital gown or a sweet gown that replaces that ugly hospital gown, and some snacks for your partner (that double up as great snacks for hungry nursing mamas later!).

For baby, you’ll definitely want some soft, simple newborn clothes and an amazing muslin swaddle blanket. Babies don’t need much!

For your postpartum time at the hospital, definitely pack some herbal remedies for aaalllll your tender spots (including up top & down below), some cute but loose tops, and some uber-comfy maternity leggings or wide leg pants. A lot of moms also appreciate a good nursing pillow because it helps so much with positioning baby while breastfeeding.

The Essential Extras I Recommend for Your Hospital Bag (Birthing Center Bag, too!)

Liquid Energy—juice (whatever sounds good to you–I went with a yummy cherry juice that has the benefit of helping with muscle soreness and inflammation), my favorite electrolyte mix in packets, or honey sticks. You may or may not feel like eating, but you’ll definitely need to keep your energy up during labor. In early labor while you’re hopefully still at home, you should eat whatever sounds good. Later, if your energy starts to flag, these liquid energy items are perfect because they fit most hospitals requirements of clear liquids only, and they are so easy to pack.
Essential Oils for Labor—As a doula, I like to pack some single oils for either calming or energizing the mama. I also have a custom blend for labor that I’ve found works well for quiet strength and continuous progress.
Nursing Pajamas—the cutest, most comfy pair you can find. These nursing pajamas are super soft and highly rated! You will get a year or two of use out of these, so definitely an investment that is not just for the hospital.
Lip Balm—your favorite one. I’m addicted to this classic.
Birth Playlists—and a charged bluetooth speaker to play them on!
Birth Partner Book––This is a book you’ll want on hand for your support people, especially if you can’t afford to hire a doula. Make sure you birth partner looks through the special sections in this book with advice for special situations, for example a labor that is slow to start. As a doula, I carry it to every birth I attend. This book, while not as good as a trained doula, is an indispensable resource!
A nursing bra—(trust me on this one, don’t cheap out with another one on Amazon that seems like a better deal) or, my personal favorite, this nursing tank. I literally have worn one of these tanks for years of my life! I love that I feel supported up top and can nurse anywhere without my belly showing while my shirt is lifted. With this nursing tank, I feel I can nurse very discreetly with one of these tanks so I never feel the need to cover up.

What kind of actual bag should you pack for the hospital?

First of all, I recommend bringing 3 small to medium size bags to the hospital. One for you, one for your partner, and one for the baby.

Having a huge bag with everything inside makes it hard to find what you need in the moment. Trust me, digging around in a bag that appears to be bottomless, trying to find something in a dark hospital room for a mom who’s working really hard to have a baby is not a fun task!

Keep your bags separated, organized, and simple!

For mom, a rolling suitcase that is carry-on size is great, or maybe a large tote bag, if you prefer.

Baby things can go in your diaper bag (yay!). And partner just needs a small tote bag or satchel.

And now…..A Printable Checklist for your Hospital Bag

This free printable PDF is a comprehensive list for mom during labor and postpartum, for baby upon arrival, and for dad/partner during hospital stay. My ultimate wish is that this list not only eases your mind on how to pack for your stay at the hospital or birth center, but that it gives you the tools you need to have an amazing empowered birth that highlights your own strength and starts your baby’s earthside stay with love.

A Final Encouragement to Pack Light but Well

I hope I’ve encouraged you to pack a realistic small bag (well, set of bags!) with just a few touches of extras that you will definitely appreciate during labor and after baby is born.

Need a little more encouragement on this point? I’ve both seen and heard of several stories where people have to change rooms up to 3 times at a hospital during their stay. It’s a lot of work to haul huge bags from place to place in the hospital!

Simplify your life by packing just what you need and nothing more.

Don’t forget to grab your copy of the the printable checklist for your hospital bag (or birthing center!).

I promise it will give you peace of mind when you need it most.

Planning a homebirth? Wait a second! This is your first baby. Don’t you have to birth your first baby at the hospital so you can see how it goes?

Absolutely not! Home birth is not reserved for women who have already had a baby. Every birth is new every time. First-time mamas do tend to have longer labors and a longer pushing stage, But with good care, you are as likely to have a successful home birth with your first as with your fifth.

Before I was even pregnant the first time, I had read a ton about birth and talked with several homebirth moms. By the time I did get pregnant, I already knew that I wanted to have that baby at home. I remember people saying that I must be brave. To me, it felt less like bravery and more like peace.

There is nothing you can do to ensure a perfect baby or perfect birth. But the little list below shows the exact steps I took before I had my first baby. And guess what? I had a successful (looooong) labor and delivery at home. And then I did it four more times in the next 14 years. Homebirth is addicting!

If you’re ready to plan to have your first baby at home, these 5 things will definitely help:

An experienced midwife that you click with

I can’t emphasize this point too emphatically. It’s not enough to have a partner who read a book about birth, or to have a midwife that has been to 5 other births. It’s not even enough to have a very experienced midwife that gives you the heebie-jeebies or just make you uncomfortable. You need to find a good midwife with lots of experience with whom you really get along. If you don’t look forward to your prenatal meetings, you need to rethink your choice. If you’ve heard bad things about her through the grapevine and can’t have an honest conversation with her to clear those up, for goodness sake, find someone else. So find a midwife that you like and trust, and everything else will flow from that wise choice.

A supportive partner

Well, since a partner isn’t like a midwife that you can just choose, you will have to make do with the one you have! Is your partner on board for a home birth? If not, maybe a little time spent with another couple who recently had their baby at home will help him to come around. If he’s left-brained, try buying The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer and share some pertinent passages. And if he’s just not sure about how to be supportive, I always recommend The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin.

A doula, sister, or friend that you trust and adore

Women have been supporting other women throughout childbirth for eons. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost that part of our culture. The recent increase in women hiring doulas seems to indicate that many people crave the personal touch that a close female companion can bring. A doula is great, but a mother, sister, or another woman you trust can be just as valuable. Feeling nurtured and cared for during birth is more important than you might think.

The desire to read, read, read, and read some more

If you’re not giving over the whole process to a hospital, it is so helpful and empowering to know about birth. Read clinical journal articles, read hippie midwife birth stories, read everything in between! There is a lot out there. Find what speaks to you.

The 2 books I recommended for partners above are great. A few more that you might like include the classic Ina May books Spiritual Midwifery and the more modern Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth which is a nice mix of story and encouragement from a seasoned midwife.

I also found helpful tidbits in Birthing From Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way.

And if you want a fun throwback book that will open your eyes to birth in the U.S. more than 60 years ago, dig up a copy of Thank You, Dr. Lamaze. You will be engrossed and amazed at how birth has changed through the years. You’ll find good tips on relaxation, too. I have an old copy, but apparently it’s back in print!

A deep trust in the process of birth

Trusting the process is necessary. If you’re feeling fear or think that birth is a terrifying ordeal, you’re better off in a hospital. A little trepidation is, of course, normal and healthy, but out and out terror is not a good sign. Don’t have a home birth unless the idea is one that gives you peace when you visualize yourself laboring at home.

I know that birth is the unknown. But if you do your research, establish the care you need, and are settled in your soul that this is the right path for you, you can plan an amazing homebirth experience.

Homebirth not for you? Alli over at Mom Smart Not Hard has written a great piece on how to choose a hospital or birthing center.

Are you going to have your first baby at home? Or are you planning your first homebirth? Let me know where you are in the process. I’d love to hear from you.