Pregnancy
Hospital Bag Checklist UK: What to Pack (and When)
By Emma Whitfield · Pregnancy & Baby Writer
Most UK maternity units suggest having your bag ready from around 36 weeks — earlier if you're expecting twins or have been told baby may arrive early. The clever approach is one bag packed in three zones (labour, you, baby), plus a "top-up" bag left in the car for longer stays.
For labour
- Maternity notes — the one thing you genuinely cannot forget (or app login details if your trust uses digital notes)
- Birth plan copies, if you have one — one for you, one for your midwife
- TENS machine if you plan to use one (start it at home in early labour)
- Water bottle with a straw — you'll drink lying down more than you expect
- Snacks — flat energy drinks, cereal bars, jelly sweets; labour is long and hospital shops close
- Phone + long charging cable — sockets are never next to the bed
- Lip balm and hair ties — the two most-borrowed items on any labour ward
- Something to labour in — an old oversized t-shirt beats a gown you care about
For you (postnatal)
- Maternity pads — two packs minimum; you need far more than you think, and hospital ones are basic
- Big, cheap, dark cotton pants — a size up from usual, 5+ pairs
- Nursing bras and breast pads if you plan to breastfeed
- Nightwear that opens at the front — for feeding and skin-to-skin
- Dressing gown and slippers — wards are warm but corridors aren't
- Toiletries and a towel — hospital towels are the size of tea towels
- Going-home clothes — roughly 6-month-bump sized, not pre-pregnancy jeans
For baby
- 5–7 sleepsuits and vests in newborn size, plus one 0–3 months in case of a bigger baby
- Nappies (size 1) and cotton wool — NHS guidance suggests plain water for the first baths and early nappy changes
- A hat, and scratch mitts if your sleepsuits lack fold-over cuffs
- 2 muslins — endlessly useful
- Blanket for the trip home
- Installed infant car seat — hospitals will not let you drive baby home without one; practise the install before 36 weeks
What the hospital provides
Most NHS wards provide bedside cots, formula in ready-made bottles only for medically indicated top-ups (bring your own starter pack if you plan to formula feed — check your trust's policy), and basic pads in an emergency. They do not reliably provide nappies, wipes or baby clothes.
The car "top-up" bag
If you end up staying several days (common with inductions and caesareans), you'll be glad of a second bag in the car: more pants and pads, more baby clothes, clean t-shirts for your birth partner, coins for parking and a phone power bank.
Your questions, answered
When should I pack my hospital bag?
Have it ready by 36 weeks of pregnancy — or around 32 weeks if you are expecting twins or have been advised your baby may arrive early. Keep it somewhere your birth partner can grab in seconds.
What size nappies do I pack for a newborn?
Size 1 fits most newborns (roughly 2–5kg). Pack 15–20 — newborns can need 10–12 changes a day. If baby measures big on late scans, throw in a few size 2.
Do UK hospitals provide formula milk?
Policies vary by trust. Most NHS hospitals only provide formula when medically indicated, so if you plan to formula feed, bring a starter pack of ready-to-feed bottles with sterile teats and check your hospital’s policy at an antenatal appointment.
What should my birth partner pack?
Snacks and water, a phone charger, a change of t-shirt, loose change or a payment card for parking and vending machines, and swimwear if they plan to support you in a birth pool.
Sources & further reading
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