🥊 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 What you need to take with you to the hospital: a list for the baby and mom 👠 🛂 ☝🏻

For every woman, childbirth is an individual and unique event, therefore, preparation for them should be timely and thorough. It is important to pay great attention to the issue of what you need to take with you to the hospital.

Perhaps it is simply impossible to prepare mentally and physically for the most intriguing event in a woman’s life. Nevertheless, prudence in everyday and material matters will help not to be distracted by various trifles and focus on the really important. Women should think in advance about what should be taken to the maternity hospital.

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

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

Necessary documents (bag to the antenatal department)

Here's what you should definitely take:

the passport;
compulsory medical insurance policy;
exchange card;
generic certificate;
pension fund insurance certificate (in the absence of a birth certificate);
referral from a women's consultation at the place where the expectant mother was observed (in case of hospitalization in the pathology department);
birth contract (for paid birth);
results of additional analyzes and examinations (if any).

Entering the hospital, the first thing a woman gets into the prenatal. If the maternity hospital is free of charge, it is usually forbidden to take a large number of things there.

What things you need to take to the hospital (bag to the antenatal department)

Experienced mothers recommend the following list:

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

If delivery is expected by cesarean section, what should be taken to the hospital? The list of things must have elastic stockings, as well as a postoperative bandage.

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

Bag at the hospital

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

Things for mom

These include:

sanitary pads, best special urological ones (with a standard three-day stay in the hospital and replacing the pads once every three hours, approximately 24 pads will be required);
disposable breast pads, postpartum bra, antiseptic nipple cream;
panties (three to five pairs, it is better to take mesh disposable panties);
soft toilet paper, disposable lining for the toilet, wet toilet paper ;
liquid soap for hands;
solid baby soap;
disposable absorbent diapers (for ventilating the perineum);
handkerchiefs, if necessary an antiseptic;
a shirt (nightdress) and a bathrobe (if the use of your clothes is allowed in the hospital);
socks;
slippers;
cosmetic bag with all the necessary care products (shower gel, shampoo, cotton pads and sticks, toothpaste, brush, comb, antiperspirant, hygienic lipstick);
cup and tableware for single use;
Trash bags;
for guests - a disposable mask;
pen and notebook (for important notes);
postpartum bandage (the sooner after the birth the woman begins to follow the figure, the sooner the tummy is pulled up and the body returns to normal);
magazines, books, tablet computer (for leisure);
an electric kettle or a boiler (if possible), the device will not only provide the woman with boiling water for tea, but also come in handy when sterilizing a dummy;
bedding and even your 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. You can use the contents of bags 3 and 4 only 10 minutes before going to relatives. Therefore, time can only be enough for changing clothes, and so a woman will have with herself all the necessary cosmetics that 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 package with 25-30 diapers is enough for three to four days);
diaper cream;
disposable absorbent diapers (for examinations and air baths);
moisturizing oil or cream;
a dummy and a bottle (may not be included in the list of things that you need to take to the hospital for the child, as they may not be useful, but just in case, it is better to take them with you);
clothes for the baby (if possible).

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

A bit about documents

If the doctors no longer see the need for monitoring the mother and baby, then it is time for discharge from the hospital. Before a woman goes to a meeting with her loved ones, she must be given the following documents (it is necessary to check the correctness of their filling):

birth certificate (registration of a baby in the registry office is based on this document);
maternal and child part of the exchange card (the maternal part will need to be handed over to the supervising doctor in the antenatal clinic, and the nursery in the children's clinic);
other documents (if any) - a copy of the VHI policy, a copy of the contract for obstetric care, a part of the birth certificate that remains with the woman.

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 discharge

Depending on the time of year, a woman must independently determine what things for the child should be taken to the hospital for discharge, and prepare them in advance. If the time of the intended discharge falls in the fall or spring, when it can suddenly get colder or warmer on the street, it is best to prepare several options for a set of things.

Among such a set should be:

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

Things for mom to check out

What do I need to take with me to the hospital for discharge? A young mother should take into account that among the things should be loose clothing, because the stomach and hips at this point, most likely, will not be in perfect condition.

Things for dad

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

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

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

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

In order not to run around the shops in search of everything that needs to be taken with her to the hospital, the expectant mother can buy ready-made bags (number one and two), in which everything is already collected.

What is better not to take to the hospital

Do not take medications to the hospital, even if they are commonplace for headaches. If necessary, the attending physician himself will prescribe all the necessary medicines. Do not self-medicate, especially in such a crucial period.

There is also an opinion that it is better for women not to use a breast pump, since 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 the inept and unjustified use of the breast pump can lead to the formation of cracks in the nipples.

A few words in the end

Summing up, it should be said that the appearance of the baby is a long-awaited joyful event, always accompanied by a lot of additional hassle, and therefore, when going to the hospital, it is necessary to check with the specialists of a particular medical institution about everything that may be required there. By the time the future 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 necessary for a particular woman.

It is worth noting that, according to tradition, maternity hospital employees usually give small gifts (cakes, flowers, sweets, good alcohol). It will be better if the young dad takes care of this (be sure to bring along a video camera, a camera and, of course, a bouquet of flowers for his beloved wife). Then the statement will be vivid and memorable.

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