Packing your birth bag is a practical way to get ready for meeting your baby. Having the essentials organised means you and your birth partner can find what you need and spend less time searching through bags.

This birth bag checklist covers labour, your postnatal stay and the trip home. Use it as a starting point, then adapt it to your plans and the advice from your midwife or maternity team.

When should you pack your birth bag?

Plunket suggests having your bag ready about a month before your due date. Speak with your midwife if you may need it earlier. A packed bag is useful for a planned home birth too, in case you need to transfer.

Start with items you can pack now and leave a short list on top for everyday things to add later.

Check what your hospital or birth centre provides

Supplies vary between facilities. Before buying extras, ask what is provided and what you need to bring for yourself and your baby.

If you are planning a postnatal stay at Birthcare Parnell, check Birthcare's current packing information. If you will move between facilities, check both places.

For labour and birth

Your birth preferences and any maternity notes or paperwork your team has asked you to bring.
Comfortable clothing you can move in, plus a spare outfit.
Lip balm and hair ties.
A drink bottle and snacks, following your maternity team's guidance about eating and drinking.
Your phone, charging cable and headphones.
Glasses and any other everyday items you rely on.
Your regular medicines, with details of what you take for your maternity team.

Choose clothing that feels comfortable to you. See what to wear on your birthing day for ideas.

Your hypnobirthing comfort kit

Choose a few familiar things that support the techniques you have practised. You do not need to recreate a particular room or bring lots of equipment.

Relaxation recordings downloaded to your device and tested without Wi-Fi.
A birthing playlist, if you enjoy music.
Your partner's prompt sheet or a short note with the words and support you prefer.
An optional eye mask, familiar pillow or small picture to focus on.

Let your partner know where these items are and how to play your recordings. Agree that you can change your mind about music, touch or prompts at any time.

Ask your birth facility before bringing larger equipment, scented products or extra lighting.

For your stay after birth

Loose clothes and sleepwear, with easy access for feeding if needed.
Comfortable underwear and maternity pads.
A comfortable bra and breast pads if wanted.
Toiletries, a hairbrush and shower footwear.
A going-home outfit that feels comfortable around your tummy.
A bag for used clothing.

If you expect a longer stay or have a planned caesarean, ask your maternity team about any additional items that would be useful. You can also leave spare clothes ready at home for someone to bring in.

For your baby

Several changes of clothing, with layers suitable for the weather.
Nappies and wipes if your facility asks you to bring them.
A blanket or wraps as advised by your maternity team.
An outfit for going home.

If you will travel by car, have a suitable infant car seat correctly installed before you need it. Practise using it in advance so both you and your partner are familiar with it.

Discuss your feeding plans with your midwife and ask whether there are any feeding supplies you need to bring.

For your birth partner

Food, a refillable bottle and any regular medicines.
Fresh clothes and personal toiletries.
A charged phone and charging cable.
Overnight essentials if staying is arranged with the facility.

Your partner can help pack and label the bags. Knowing where everything is gives them a useful job and means you can ask for something without explaining which pocket to search.

Read the birth partner's role in hypnobirthing for more ways to prepare together.

A final check before you leave

Keep labour essentials near the top or in a separate small bag. Add your everyday items from the list you left out, and check the route, arrival entrance and parking arrangements beforehand.

If your maternity team tells you to come in, follow their advice rather than delaying to finish packing. Someone can bring forgotten items later.

Prepare your skills as well as your bag

A packed bag takes care of the practical details. Practising breathing, relaxation and partner support gives you familiar actions to draw on during birth.

Confident Hypnobirthing offers clear, step-by-step guidance so you and your partner know how to use these tools together.

View Auckland hypnobirthing classes at Birthcare Parnell.
Explore the online hypnobirthing course to prepare at your own pace, anywhere in New Zealand.

For another New Zealand checklist, see Plunket's hospital bag guide. Your own maternity team can help you tailor your packing to your care.