What you need to take with you to the hospital: a list for the baby and mom

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

For every woman, childbirth is an individual and unique event, so preparation for it must be timely and thorough. It is important to pay great attention to the question of what you need to take with you to the hospital.

Perhaps, mentally and physically preparing for the most intriguing event in a woman's life is one hundred percent simply impossible. But nevertheless, forethought in everyday and material matters will help not to be distracted by various trifles and focus on what is really important. Women should think in advance about what to take to the hospital for childbirth.

Conditionally, by the time of childbirth, a woman should have 4 bags of things ready:

• Bag 1 - to the antenatal ward (taken for childbirth independently);
• Bag 2 - to the hospital (brought by relatives after childbirth);
• Bags 3 and 4 - formal wear for mom and baby (brought by relatives on the day of discharge).

Required documents (bag for the antenatal ward)

Here's what you should definitely take:

• passport;
• compulsory medical insurance policy;
• exchangecard;
• birth certificate;
• pension fund insurance certificate (in the absence of a birth certificate);
• referral from the antenatal clinic at the place where the expectant mother was observed (in case of hospitalization in the pathology department);
• contract for childbirth (for paid childbirth);
• results of additional tests and examinations (if any).

When entering the maternity hospital, the first thing a woman does is go to the prenatal room. If the maternity hospital is free of charge, it is usually forbidden to take a large number of things there.

What things to take to the hospital (prenatal bag)

Experienced moms recommend the following list:

• shirt or nightgown;
• tracksuit or bathrobe (depending on the woman's personal preference);
• washable slippers (so that you don't get wet in the shower, it's best to take rubber ones);
• socks;
• disposable personal hygiene wet wipes, disposable toilet pads;
• shoe covers (may come in handy if someone close to the woman needs to visit her);
• mobile phone and charger for it;
• bottle of still water;
• clothing bags (upon admission, a woman will need to change clothes, and the clothes will need to be given to accompanying persons or deposited, it will be much more convenient if clothes are folded into bags);
• razor (sometimes maternity hospitals still require shaving the perineum, in order to avoid suffering with a hospital razor, it is better to stock up on your own);
• compression stockings (compression stockings are needed to protect the legs, as they reduce the risk of complications and prevent blood clots in the veins of the lower extremities).

If delivery is expected by caesarean section, what should I take to the hospital? Elastic stockings must be on the list of things, as well as a postoperative bandage.

All of the above should be folded into a washable plastic bag.

Maternity hospital bag

The second bag is brought by relatives after the birth. It should be a special transparent bag for the maternity hospital or all the same plastic bags. So what should you bring to the hospital? This list can be divided into four categories: a bag for mom (care and hygiene), a bag for a baby, a cosmetic bag, additional things.

Things for Mom

These include:

• sanitary napkins, preferably special urological ones (with a standard three-day stay in the maternity hospital and changing pads every three hours, approximately 24 pads will be needed);
• disposable breast pads, maternity bra, antiseptic nipple cream;
• panties (three to five pairs, it is better to take mesh disposable panties);
• soft toilet paper, disposable toilet pads, wet toilet paper;
• liquid hand soap;
• solid baby soap;
• disposable absorbent pads (to ventilate the perineum);
• handkerchiefs, antiseptic if necessary;
• shirt (nightshirt) and bathrobe (if the hospital allows you to use your own clothes);
• socks;
• home slippers;
• cosmetic bag with all the necessary care products (shower gel, shampoo, cotton pads and sticks, toothpaste, brush, comb, antiperspirant, hygienic lipstick);
• cup and dishes for single use;
• garbage bags;
• for guests - disposable mask;
• pen and notepad (for important notes);
• postpartum bandage (the sooner after childbirth a woman begins to follow the figure, the sooner the tummy is tightened and the body returns to normal);
• magazines, books, tablet computer (for leisure);
• electric kettle or boiler (if possible), the device will not only provide a woman with boiling water for tea, but also come in handy when sterilizing a pacifier;
• bedding and even a favorite toy (if possible).

Among those things that you need to take to the maternity hospital for mom, there may be a cosmetic bag with cosmetics for discharge. It will be possible to use the contents of bags 3 and 4 only 10 minutes before going to relatives. Therefore, there may only be enough time to change clothes, otherwise a woman will have all the necessary cosmetics with her, which she can apply in advance, calmly and slowly.

What you need to take to the hospital for the baby

Here's what young moms recommend:

• wet wipes;
• diapers (one pack of 25-30 diapers lasts three to four days);
• diaper cream;
• disposableabsorbent pads (for examinations and air baths);
• moisturizing oil or cream;
• pacifier and bottle (may not be on the list of things to take to the hospital for a baby, as they may not come in handy, but just in case, it's better to take them with you);
• baby clothes (if possible).

As a rule, after the appearance of the baby, he is dressed in a hospital gown, but after the transfer of mother and child to the ward, you can change clothes to your own. If the baby can be dressed in his clothes right away, then it must be prepared in advance.

A little about documents

If doctors no longer see the need to monitor mom and baby, then it's time to be discharged from the hospital. Before a woman goes to meet her loved ones, she must be given the following documents (it is imperative to check that they are filled out correctly):

• birth certificate (registration of the baby in the registry office is carried out on the basis of this particular document);
• the maternal and child part of the exchange card (the maternal part will need to be handed over to the supervising doctor at the antenatal clinic, and the child part - to the children's clinic);
• other documents (if any) - a copy of the VHI policy, a copy of the contract for obstetrics, part of the birth certificate that the woman retains.

These documents may be useful in the future in case of complications, as they confirm the fact of the provision of medical services.

Things for the baby to be discharged

Bdepending on the time of year, a woman must independently determine what things for a child need to be taken to the maternity hospital for discharge, and prepare them in advance. If the time of the expected discharge falls in autumn or spring, when it can get colder or warmer outside, it is best to prepare several options for a set of things.

Among such a set should be:

• diapers (better take two just in case);
• underwear (jumpsuit or romper and blouse, bodysuit, thin cap);
• suit;
• warm thin diaper (when swaddling);
• outerwear (overalls, envelope or blanket with ribbon and corner, warm hat);
• car seat - if the trip home takes place by car.

Things for mom to discharge

What should I take with me to the hospital for discharge? A young mother should take into account that among the things there should be loose clothes, because the stomach and hips by this moment, most likely, will not be in perfect condition yet.

Details of what is best to pack in a bag 4:

• underwear (it will need to be worn while still in the ward);
• corset (optional, but its presence will help to hide figure flaws in the tummy area in photographs);
• clothes (what kind - only the young mother herself decides, but it is most convenient in this situation to wear a dress);
• outerwear depending on the season;
• shoes (of course, it will be more comfortable in shoes without a heel, but if you really want to, you can still wear heels,especially if dad will carry the baby);
• jewelry and cosmetics (it's better to put on makeup in the ward, and jewelry can be put on at the discharge office).

Things for dad

Nowadays, joint birth with a spouse is gaining more and more popularity. Here's what you need to take with you to the hospital for the future dad:

• passport;
• test results (a specific list of necessary tests and the period of their delivery must be specified in a particular maternity hospital);
• change shoes and sterile clothes;
• sterile surgical kit;
• personal hygiene items if the spouse stays in the hospital (shaving accessories, change of underwear, clothes, towel).

If a woman's husband and relatives visit her in the postpartum ward, shoe covers and masks must be prepared.

It is important that loved ones have all the necessary information on how to contact the maternity hospital and the woman's doctor, so she must provide them with the appropriate contacts.

In order not to run around the shops in search of everything you need to take with you to the hospital, the expectant mother can purchase ready-made bags (numbers one and two), which already contain everything you need.

What is better not to take to the hospital

You should not take medicines to the hospital, even if they are trite for a headache. If necessary, the attending physician will prescribe all the necessary medications. You should not self-medicate, especially in such a crucial period.

There is also an opinion that women are betterdo not use a breast pump, as the recommendation to express milk to increase its quantity is hopelessly outdated. Milk is produced as much as the baby needs and even more. And inept and unjustified use of a breast pump can lead to the formation of cracked nipples.

A final word

Summing up, it should be said that the appearance of a baby is a long-awaited joyful event, always accompanied by a lot of additional trouble, and therefore, when going to the hospital, you need to check with the specialists of a particular medical institution about everything that may be required there. By the time the expectant mother leaves for this institution, all bags should already be collected. The proposed lists of things are the most complete, but can be supplemented with items needed by a particular woman.

It is worth noting that, according to tradition, it is customary for employees of the maternity hospital to give small gifts (cakes, flowers, sweets, good alcohol) when they are discharged. It would be better if the young dad takes care of this (be sure to take a video camera, a camera and, of course, a bouquet of flowers for his beloved wife). Then the statement will be bright and memorable.