Are you prepared for labor?
You’ve spent months preparing to welcome the new love of your life – you baby. Here’s a checklist to help you prepare for labor, delivery and your hospital stay.
Hospital and Delivery Center Checklist
Prepare Your Birth Plan: your plan tells your doctor and nurses your preferences about a range of things from pain medication to cord blood banking to breastfeeding. Review our article on Developing Your Birth Plan for more ideas.
Documents: when you check in, the hospital will require personal identification such as your driver’s license, plus your insurance information. You may be able to take care of this by pre-registering your admission.
Clothes and Shoes: the hospital will give you one of those open-back gowns, but once your baby is delivered, you can slip into something more comfortable. Pack your own sleeping gown and robe; soft, stretchy shirts and pants; and a nursing tank top or robe.
Delivery Room Company: decide ahead of time who you want in the delivery room with you. For example, your partner, a close friend or a doula/birth coach. It’s a good idea to also have a backup person designated just in case your primary VIP can’t get to your side right away.
Cell Phone & Accessories: remember your cell phone and charger because you’ll want to announce your good news share photos and receive messages about your new bundle of joy. Having your favorite music ready to play can help you focus during labor, and soothe you and the baby after delivery.
Post-Delivery Delectables: Labor and delivery will be a work-out for you, so prepare a treat ahead of time, or ask a friend or family member to delivery your favorite meal(s) and snacks.
Hospital Birth Paperwork: The hospital will provide a registration form for your baby’s birth. Some hospitals allow and encourage parents to come in before the date of birth and fill out hospital forms just before contractions become strong and regular. Once completed, the hospital or birthing centre will often accept the form on your behalf. However, if you forgot to submit them in the hospital, you can give it to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or a local Magistrates Courts office.
There are things to consider upon making legal paper works done and it includes:
- Decide on your baby’s name. This information is necessary in order for some of the paperwork to be legal.
- A complete name of the mother and father as well as their places of birth is important for the birth certificate.
- Parent’s social security numbers. These numbers is required when you fill out the form to apply for your child’s social security number. You can ask assistance from the hospital staff if you need it.
