Free personalised UK checklist
Pack for birth with one less thing on your mind.
Answer five quick questions and we’ll build a practical hospital bag list for you, your baby and your birth partner.
- Takes 2 minutes
- Personalised to you
- Save, print or email
Your birth. Your way.
Your list, shaped around your plans
For you
Comfort, recovery and the practical essentials.
For baby
Clothing, feeding and changing essentials.
For your birth partner
The things they need to support you both.
Before you start Hospital bag essentials at a glance
The NHS suggests having your hospital bag packed at least three weeks before your due date. Start with these essentials, then use the builder to adjust clothing, quantities, feeding supplies and partner items.
- Maternity notes and birth preferences
- Medication, phone, charger and power bank
- Comfortable clothing and maternity pads
- Drinks, easy food and toiletries
- Nappies, baby outfits, muslins and blanket
- A correctly fitted car seat for going home
Your personalised list
Your hospital bag checklist
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Documents and essentials
Keep these together somewhere that is easy to reach.
Documents and essentials
Keep these together somewhere that is easy to reach.
For labour
Clothing, drinks and small comforts for the birth.
For labour
Clothing, drinks and small comforts for the birth.
After birth and recovery
Comfortable, practical things for the postnatal stay.
After birth and recovery
Comfortable, practical things for the postnatal stay.
For baby
Changing, clothing and cosy layers for the first days.
For baby
Changing, clothing and cosy layers for the first days.
Feeding
Items based on your current feeding plans.
Feeding
Items based on your current feeding plans.
Birth-partner bag
A separate mini bag helps your support person find their own things.
Birth-partner bag
A separate mini bag helps your support person find their own things.
Going home
Final items for the journey home in the expected season.
Going home
Final items for the journey home in the expected season.
Get this checklist by email
We'll send your personalised checklist and a link back to it — no account needed.
Save this checklist for later
Your progress saves automatically in this browser. Copy the link below to open the same answers and ticks on another device, or share it with your birth partner.
A quick safety note
This is a general planning tool, not medical advice. Your maternity unit may provide some items or ask you to bring specific feeding supplies, so check its current guidance before packing.
Checklist guidance checked against: NHS hospital bag checklist , NCT hospital bag checklist , South Tees NHS colostrum guidance , Kettering NHS partner-stay guidance.
What this personalised hospital bag checklist covers
Your list adapts for the season, your planned type of birth, the likely length of your stay, how you expect to feed your baby and whether a birth partner needs their own bag. Quantities adjust automatically, and relevant items connect to products in our real-world baby catalogue.
The practical notes come from what helped during our own hospital stay, with the core checklist checked against current NHS and NCT guidance. Always confirm the latest instructions from your own maternity unit.
Hospital bag checklist FAQs
When should I pack my hospital bag?
The NHS suggests packing it at least three weeks before your due date because babies do not always arrive when expected. You can prepare the main bag earlier and keep a short last-minute list for items such as your phone and medication.
How many hospital bags should I take?
There is no fixed number. A main bag plus smaller labelled bags or packing cubes for labour, baby and the birth partner can be easier to carry and search, especially when moving between hospital areas.
What will the hospital provide?
This varies between maternity units. Check its current guidance for towels, maternity pads, nappies, feeding equipment, formula supplies and food facilities rather than assuming they will be available.
What should be kept close after a caesarean?
Keep a long-straw water bottle, phone, charger, medication, easy snacks and toiletries in a small bedside bag. Put nappies and complete baby outfits at the top of the baby bag so somebody else can find them without lifting or searching.
Can my birth partner stay overnight?
Partner-stay rules vary by hospital and sometimes by ward or room. Confirm whether an overnight stay is allowed and whether meals, showers, bedding or a suitable chair are provided.
How should expressed colostrum be brought in?
Follow your maternity unit’s instructions. Common NHS guidance is to label every syringe or container with your name and collection date and time, transport frozen colostrum in an insulated cool bag with ice packs, and tell the maternity team promptly when you arrive.
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