What should mum pack in the hospital bag?
Short answer: 24 items, from camera or spare phone storage cleared through to your own tea bags or coffee sachets. The complete Hospital Bag — Mum checklist is written out below — and the exact same 24 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The Hospital Bag — Mum checklist — all 24 items
- Camera or spare phone storage cleared
- Cardigan or wrap for baby
- Coins or card for hospital parking
- Dressing gown
- Earplugs and eye mask (postnatal wards are noisy)
- Extra phone battery pack
- Flip-flops/jandals for the shower
- Going-home outfit for baby
- Going-home outfit for you (not just baby — you're still pregnant-sized)
- Hair ties
- Lip balm (delivery rooms are dry and hot)
- Maternity notes / Well Child book
- Maternity pads
- Muslin cloths
- Nappies (a few, hospital usually supplies but don't rely on it)
- Nightgown or top that opens down the front
- Notebook and pen (for questions, feeds, times)
- Own pillow (from home, so it's yours in the chaos)
- Panadol/Nurofen (check what's allowed, ask your midwife)
- Phone charger with a long cable (hospital beds are far from the wall socket)
- Snacks for after — you'll be starving
- TENS machine if you're using one
- Togs/underwear (dark colours, a few sizes bigger)
- Your own tea bags or coffee sachets
Somewhere around 36 weeks, the hospital bag stops being a someday job and becomes a tonight job — because babies read no calendars. The bag has to serve three people through an unpredictable stay: you in labour, you afterwards, and a brand-new human with strong opinions and no wardrobe.
This checklist packs all three: the labour layer (maternity notes, TENS machine if you're using one, lip balm for the dry delivery-room air, your own pillow), the recovery layer (front-opening nightgown, maternity pads, dark oversized underwear, snacks and your own tea bags), and the baby layer (nappies, muslin cloths, and the going-home outfits — for baby, and for you). Pack it by 36 weeks, park it by the door, and let the due date do its thing.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "going home outfit" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What should mum pack in the hospital bag?
You need 24 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from camera or spare phone storage cleared through to your own tea bags or coffee sachets — and the same 24 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=hospital%20bag%20-%20mum opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this Hospital Bag — Mum list (24 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.