What to pack in your hospital bag for delivery

Pack by about 36 weeks, and ask your hospital what it provides before you buy anything. Private packages often include pads, diapers and baby clothes, while government hospitals usually expect you to bring more. What people most often forget is warm layers for a cold ward, a long phone cable, and both parents' MyKad.

When should the bag be packed?

By around 36 weeks, because labour does not wait for a convenient day.

The NHS lists the signs worth knowing: regular contractions that get stronger and closer together, a show, your waters breaking, and backache or period-like cramps that will not settle. Any of those with a packed bag by the door makes for a much calmer evening.

Pack two bags if it helps. A small one for the labour ward with what you want within reach, and a bigger one left in the car or brought up afterwards.

What does the hospital provide?

It depends on the hospital. Government and private differ a lot.

Private hospitals usually sell a delivery package, and many include maternity pads, newborn diapers, a few baby clothes and toiletries. Government hospitals often ask you to bring your own pads, diapers, baby clothes and a towel. Your hospital will usually give you a list during an antenatal visit. If it does not, ask.

Checking takes five minutes. It saves a bag of duplicates, which matters when you carry everything home again with a newborn in your arms.

For labour itself

Keep this one small.

• A long phone charging cable, because the socket is never near the bed
• Lip balm, a hair tie, and a water bottle with a straw
• Slippers for the shower
• A light shawl or cardigan
• Snacks for whoever is with you, who may not be able to leave easily
• Headphones and a playlist, if that helps you
• Your antenatal record book and your birth plan

Ask your hospital about eating and drinking during labour and how many companions can stay. Policies differ, and it is better to know in advance than to find out at 2am.

For your own recovery

• A few loose, front-opening nightdresses or pyjama sets
• Nursing bras, and breast pads
• Plenty of maternity pads, if your hospital does not supply them
• High-waisted cotton underwear you will not mind throwing away
• Socks and a cardigan, since wards run cold
• Your own toiletries, including a gentle cleanser, lip balm and a comb
• Dry shampoo for the days before you feel like a proper shower
• A tudung or scarf that is easy to put on, if you wear one, for when visitors arrive
• Loose clothes to go home in, sized for the bump you still have

Hospital soap can leave skin feeling tight, so a cleanser you already like is worth the space. Our Gentle Face Wash is a sulfate-free, fragrance-free gel formulated for pregnancy and breastfeeding. In a Mama's Choice satisfaction survey of 128 mothers in Indonesia (2022), 96% felt their skin was more moisturised and softer after using it.

Nipple skin can dry out in the first days of feeding, so put our Intensive Nipple Cream in the small bag. It moisturises and protects nipple and areola skin, helps prevent cracked nipples, and does not need wiping off before a feed. Both are halal certified by BPJPH, Indonesia. If feeding hurts, ask a nurse or the hospital's lactation team to check the latch before you go home.

A wire-free bra with clips you can open with one hand makes those first feeds easier. Our Maternity Nursing Bra is soft, absorbs sweat and has 3 rows of hooks for the changes in size over the first weeks.

For your baby

Your baby's skin meets a diaper around the clock from day one. Our Baby Diaper Cream leaves a light, non-sticky layer that moisturises and helps protect the diaper area from wetness between changes. It can be used from birth and is halal certified by BPJPH, Indonesia.

The NHS list of what a newborn needs is shorter than any shop display, and the hospital stay is when that is most obvious. You need nothing for bathing, since the nurses handle the first bath and show you how.

Leave the car seat until the last minute and you will regret it. Child seats have been required in private cars in Malaysia since 2020, so fit it in advance and learn the straps while you are not holding a newborn in a car park.

Documents and birth registration

• Both parents' MyKad, or passports if either parent is not Malaysian
• Your marriage certificate, original and a copy, if you are married
• Your antenatal record book and any scan reports
• Your insurance card or the guarantee letter for a private hospital
• Admission papers, if you pre-registered

In Peninsular Malaysia, you must register the birth with Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) within 60 days. Some hospitals have a JPN counter, so you may be able to do it before you go home. Otherwise, take the birth confirmation form from the hospital to a JPN office. Sabah and Sarawak have their own rules, so check with JPN there. Your baby's birth certificate is the document you will need for almost everything that follows, from the first vaccinations to a MyKid.

If you have booked a confinement lady, confirm her start date and give her your expected discharge date. She usually starts the day you come home. Mixed-up dates make a stressful start.

What you can leave at home

• A full make-up bag
• Anything valuable, including jewellery
• More than a couple of changes of clothes, since someone can bring more
• A breast pump, unless your hospital or doctor has asked you to bring one
• Large bottles of anything, since the bathroom shelf is small
• Strongly scented products, in a room with a newborn
• Your own pillow, which everyone suggests and nobody has space for

One more thing worth packing that lists tend to miss is a pen. You will be filling in feeding charts, signing forms and writing down what the paediatrician said, and there is never one in the room.

For the weeks after you get home, our guide to diaper bag essentials covers what to carry on outings. Our pregnancy trimester timeline sets out what to sort before the birth, and what swaddling is and when to stop is worth reading before the first night home.