10 Tips You Should Know Before You Head To The Hospital To Have a Baby

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You're in the home stretch of your pregnancy and you finally feel ready. It feels good but a little scary, right? Are you wondering if you've actually checked everything off of your to-do lists? Are you really ready? Work through these tips from a labor and delivery nurse. They will remind you of some important tidbits before you head to the hospital to have a baby.

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What to Know Before You Go to the Hospital

At this point you've already taken a prenatal labor course, had your baby shower, answered all of your pregnancy questions, and googled enough to write a book.

But now, there are a few specific things that you may need a reminder about before you head the hospital to have a baby.

1. Your First Trip May Not Be Your Last

Ok, so, this might be a touchy subject but I'm going to give it to you straight. 

Just because you think you're in labor doesn't mean that you are in labor. I know! It's painful to hear it, but the truth is that it is very common to be sent home once, twice, or even three times before actually being admitted to labor and delivery. This is because even if you’re having contractions, if your cervix isn’t changing, then you aren’t in true labor just yet. That’s not to say that it isn’t coming. You might be back later the same day to have your baby but most hospitals will send moms home who are in prodromal or early labor to continue laboring at home before getting admitted to labor and delivery. 

• Related Read: What NOT To Do When You're in Labor for the First Time

Because of this truth, my advice to you is this:

Don't haul all of your things onto the labor and delivery unit right away. Make sure that they are packed up and safe in your car before you head to the hospital. Just leave them in the car until you get admitted. 

If you think you're in labor or you're questioning whether or not your water broke, it might be a good idea to come to the unit with minimal luggage like maybe just a small bag of labor essentials and leave the rest for your partner or other support person to bring up once it’s official that you’re staying. There's nothing worse than walking onto a labor and delivery unit, birthing ball and pregnancy pillow in towe and then have to drag everything back out to your car when you're sent home. 

On the other hand, if you're in obvious active labor, you're gushing out fluid, or are otherwise certain that you'll be admitted, by all means, make one trip. 

2. Your Hospital Stay is Mostly Post-Delivery

Unless you're being induced or are admitted for a long-term antepartum stay, you'll likely spend the majority of your hospital stay in the postpartum unit. 

In most hospitals, after the triage process, you get admitted to a labor and delivery room where you will be for labor and birth and then you'll be transferred into a new room in many cases. 

The reason why I bring this up now is because most of the things that you pack are for postpartum. You've probably been googling what to pack for labor and delivery but in reality, you don't need a whole lot for the labor and delivery portion of your stay. 

Keep this in mind when you bring your things in from the car. You're going to have bags full of stuff that you won't even touch in labor and delivery. Anything that has to do with nursing or baby care won't be used until after you most likely transfer to a new room.

Here's a quick list of what you'll actually in in the first part of your stay (labor): 

1. Your own labor gown (optional)
2. A portable fan
3. Essential oil diffuser 
4. Hairties
5. Chapstick
6. Phone Charger
7. Birthing ball / peanut ball (if your hospital doesn't provide them for you) 
8. Your Birth Plan & Birth Affirmations
9. Maybe some pain coping tools like a comb, stress balls, a tennis ball, or other tricks that your birth course taught you about. 

That's it! Everything else that you pack in your hospital bag will be used after you have your baby and things slow down a whole lot. At this point, your partner or support person will be able to leave and come back if you’d forgotten something or left something in the car.

• Related Read: What Every Mom Needs To Know About Packing Her Hospital Bag – What NOT To Do

As always, there are situations when you'll be staying in labor and delivery longer such as an induction. Either way though, the point is that you won't need everything in your hospital bag right away. You won't even be thinking about most of that stuff until a couple hours after the baby is born.

3. Install the Carseat Before You Leave the House

Although you definitely don't need to bring the car seat and stroller up to the hospital room, you do need the car seat to be installed in the car before you go home. 

Do your due diligence to find a safe carseat  and make sure you read the manual that came with the carseat and your car manual. Make sure you understand exactly how to safely and properly install your carseat on your own because the nurses and hospital personnel are probably not qualified or even allowed to help you with installation. Plus, you’ll want to also take a look on how to adjust the straps for a baby that is bigger or smaller than what the straps are at when you take it out of the box. Make sure you’re comfortable adjusting the straps and the headrest to fit your baby perfectly.

I actually experienced this struggle when I had my third. My first baby was a “bigger” baby and fit his carseat like a glove, my second was an average 7 pounder and I didn’t really have to think twice about the straps because they fit him perfectly but then I had my daughter who was this little nugget who seemed to be swallowed up by her seat. It took us so much time in the parking lot trying to figure out how to re-adjust the straps to fit a smaller baby. It was a lesson learned for sure. 

Once you’ve gotten the hang of how your specific carseat works and it is secured in you car, don't bother taking it out when you get to the hospital. It’s just another thing that’s taking up space in your labor and postpartum room that you won’t need. Your baby will be carried out to the car in your arms and the next time you'll take the carseat out of the car is when you're finally walking into your home with baby sleeping in that very seat. I bet you can't wait for that moment!

4. YOU Won't Be Any Help Carrying Things In or Out of the Hospital.

Hear me out. Hopefully, if you're heading to the hospital, you're in labor. If that is the case, you likely won't be helpful carrying anything in to the hospital. You'll be too focused on managing your labor pains to do that. Keep that in mind when getting everything ready before you head to the hospital to have a baby. Make sure your partner can be fully independent in knowing what to grab, where everything is, which bags are most important, where you labor and birth essentials are located, AND he can carry everything in by himself.

Hey, maybe you’ll be lucky and you can help him out and you fully plan on at least being in charge of one bag, Ok, that’s great, but let’s PLAN for you not helping just in case. If your partner can’t carry everything in and out of the hospital on his own without your help, you might have over-packed. 

While you're at the hospital, be careful accepting gifts or flowers from family because you won't be able to help on the way out either. Ask family to bring their offerings straight to your home to avoid have excess to pack, transfer between rooms and carry after your stay. When being discharged from the hospital after birth, you'll be escorted out in a wheelchair while holding your new baby in your arms and your partner will be tagging along, carrying everything out in his arms in one trip. 

5. Your Partner Isn't the Patient

Lucky for everyone, your partner is not the patient and will be able to come and go as he/she pleases.

Take advantage of this when you can.

Your partner can leave to grab food, coffee, or anything else that you need and may have forgotten.

If you stay in the hospital ends up being longer than expected, or you're craving that favorite meal immediately after you give birth, send him out! Unlike you, your partner doesn't have to stay in the hospital room for the entire time.

6. There Are Many Reasons to Go to Labor and Delivery

When you walk onto the unit, ready to check in, you might be asked why you're here. 

I know, it seems obvious. You might even look around to make sure you're in the right place. Like, isn't it obvious? I'm pregnant walking into a labor and delivery unit. I'm obviously in labor…and I want to deliver. 

The reality is, though, that pregnant women walk onto the labor and delivery unit for so many reasons I could not even begin to list every single one of them. Here is just a few: 

1. Labor / contractions
2. Water broke / leaking 
3. Bleeding during pregnancy
4. Decreased Fetal Movement
5. Persistent headache
6. Pelvic pressure
7. Cold / flu symptoms 
8. High blood pressure
9. Abdominal or back pain

So, be prepared to explain what it is that you're checking in for. There is a different triage process depending on your reason for being there. Not every pregnant patient is assessed and evaluated the same way. It all depends on your situation. Depending on why you’re checking in, you might have a short wait before getting a room, you might be rushed back right away, you might be sent to a small, shared space called a “triage” unit where they expect you to stay for a short time before getting sent home. Depending on why you’re there you might be told not to eat or drink anything while they evaluate you or they might ask you different questions to get a full story about what’s going on. 

So whenever you go to the hospital, offer up as much information to your nurse as possible. For example, when your contractions started, when they became more intense, how long you’ve been leaking for, what the bleeding looks like, or what “decreased movement” means to you. All of these details can help you get the care you need as soon and as swiftly as possible.

7. Most of the time it’s best to wait to alert the media.

When you are ready to go, bags are packed and you're about to leave, my advice to is you to not call your friends and family before you go to the hospital to have a baby. 

Like we talked about earlier, you may or may not stay at the hospital once you get there. 

If you call your people and say something like “Hey Mom, I'm on the way to the hospital. The baby is coming”, they are sure to head to the hospital too. Even if you ask them not to. At the very least they will be up all night texting you for updates. 

So, Instead of alerting everyone of the exciting news that they have been waiting for for weeks, keep it between you and your partner (and your doula if you have one) until you hear the sweet words “we're admitting you”. 

If you wait until you are admitted to the hospital, you avoid getting everyone excited and worked up just to go home and wait some more. 

You might even want to wait to announce your news for a few other milestones depending on what your family's role will be in your birth process. For example, 

• You might want to wait until after you get your IV and get settled in if you feel like having your visitors in the room will be distracting and you’d rather have a few things checked off the list before inviting people into your space. 
• Until after you get an epidural if you're planning on getting one so that you can be comfortable before having people see you when you’re at your most vulnerable. 
• Wait until after you deliver if your family and friends don't have specific roles that will help you through your labor.

I honestly think that your birth space is sacred. And anyone invited in should be there to help you and assist you rather than just watch for the sake of being a part of something or for their own gain or experience.

Really take a look at the list of people you want near you during your labor, birth, and postpartum experiences and think about how their personalities or their quirks are going to help you or hinder you in these sensitive moments where you’re vulnerable, you’re trying to focus on yourself, you’re trying ot make good decisions, you’re exposed. And if thinking of these people seeing you naked, or if you don’t believe that they will be helpful to the process in some way and the only reason you’re allowing them into your space is because they “should be there” or they “deserve” to be there. Rethink it. This experience isn’t for them. It’s yours. And it really does matter.

So with all of that being said, if you don’t want someone in your room with you, don’t let them know what’s happening in real time. If you don’t want text messages all night long, fill them in after the fact or when things are getting further along. 

• Related Read: How to Manage Visitors in Labor and Delivery

8. There is a Process for Everything

Before you head to the hospital to have a baby, make sure you understand what the process is going to be on your journey to actually having the baby. 

I talk about this a lot when discussing birth plans because sometimes we get so caught up with the biggest bullet point on our plan that we forget the process that gets us there. For example, someone might know for certain that they want an epidural. And so their whole plan is “get an epidural”. But think about the process that gets you to the point of requesting an epidural or to the point where you’re being admitted because remember that most hospitals aren’t admitting you in early labor. And if they are, does that hospital allow early epidural before active labor? What are you doing, feeling, and experiencing during this process before you get your epidural? 

• Related Read: Timing Labor Contractions: How to Know for Sure That It's Time to Go to The Hospital

And it doesn’t just apply to those that want an epidural either. Some women have the plan to have a water birth. But think about the process that’s happening before you get into the water. There is a process to everything. 

When you imagine your birth, if you’re like many new moms, you picture the hight of it. The exciting parts. But there are those in between parts that sometimes trip us up or send us for a loop. Let's say that you're laboring at home for a bit and you've decided that it's time to head to the hospital. Well, what do you hope happens next? You get to the hospital and push out your baby? In that case you should be planning on laboring at home for quite a while. Do you hope that You get to the hospital and get an epidural? Well, think about the process that you’ll have to go through before the epidural is in and working. You’ve got to think about:

1. Drive time. You think you're uncomfortable now? Wait until you get in the car. When deciding whether or not you're ready to head to the hospital to have a baby, consider the fact that you're going to have to drive to get there. What's the drive going to be like? How are you going to manage that discomfort and stay calm in the car? You should have a plan for that. 
2. Triage. When you walk onto a labor and delivery unit, no one can just sense how dilated you are. There is a process of assessment to determine whether or not there is a reason to keep you now or send you home to come back later. So what are you going to do and how can you stay calm and comfortable while you’re in this waiting process of getting assessed and determine whether or not you’re dilated enough to be admitted. 
3. Admission. Most of the time there is a whole admission process to go through before you are left to labor in peace or until you can get your epidural or move into the tub. There is usually monitoring involved, getting an IV, lots of questions that your nurse has to go over to get you admitted formally in the computer, stuff like that. 
4. The actual Epidural process. If you are planning to get an epidural or you choose to get one once you're there, asking for one is only the first step. Once you ask for an epidural, you'll need the anesthesia provider to come assess you, you’ll have to have an IV, to have received a certain amount of IV fluids, and have certain lab results in your chart. Once you're ready for an epidural, getting one is a whole process of it's own. You have to get into a certain position and hold it while a person inserts the needle into the perfect place. It’s not like a regular shot in your arm. It’s a process. 

I could continue on this way for anything, really. Whether you’re going unmedicated or not, whether you’re being induced or not, whether you have a birth plan or not, you’re going to experience more than just the hight of labor and delivery most of the time. There will be processes that surprise you sometimes. There might be waiting periods that frustrate you. So it’s important to prepare for them and have a plan for how you will make sure you’re not suffering through these processes but instead you’re working through them in a way that keeps you feeling calm, safe, and empowered through the process. 

9. Prepare for Limited Sleep

In a hospital, we do our best to make you as comfortable as possible and allow for as much sleep as we can. Unfortunately, quality sleep is near impossible in a hospital setting for many people. 

Before you head to the hospital to have a baby, make sure that you are getting your rest as much as you possibly can and sleep in the comfort of your own home while you still can in early labor. Labor can be a long process and then having a new baby definitely limits your ability to sleep. 

While in the hospital, your sleep may be interrupted for a number of reasons: 

• Pain
• Receiving Medications
• Getting your Vital signs checks
• Having your fetal Monitors adjusted constantly
• Provider rounding
• Shift change
• Assessments and procedures
• Noise outside of your room
• Beeping or noise within your room
• Lights outside your room
• Constant lights on monitors and computers in your room

Quality, restorative sleep once you get to the hospital is rare. So if you have the opportunity to rest, do it. While you’re at home in labor, make rest a priority and then once you get to the hospital, if you have the chance to sleep because you’re being induced and not much is happening yet or because you have an epidural and you’re not having pain anymore, rest at appropriate intervals. 

I think it’s really natural and normal to feel so excited to be in labor that you keep yourself up. It’s really common to get admitted to the hospital at 11 pm and then just stay up all night because you’re just so pumped that it’s all finally happening and you want to call everyone and socialize with your guests, and do all of the things. But the reality is, many times, the one thing that’s going to benefit your physical and mental health during labor and birth the most…is rest. 

Since you’re not going to get long stretches of solid sleep anymore, get rest while you can, dim the lights, turn off the TV, and close your eyes. It can really make a difference in your outlook on the hospital experience, your tolerance to the rest of your labor process, and your emotional health as labor progresses (or doesn’t progress the way you hoped or thought it would). 

10. Being at the hospital doesn’t change anything

This one sounds worse than the way that I mean it. Here's what I'm getting at with this one…

Getting to the hospital doesn't change much when it comes to your labor process.

Many people have a fear of labor that makes them feel like they want to be in the hospital as soon as they start having painful contractions. Whether they want to deliver unmedicated or hope for an epidural, many new moms feel uncomfortable laboring at home and want to be admitted to the hospital right away.

But here is a little secret for you.

Simply being in the hospital and being in the presence of a labor and delivery nurse does not progress your labor any faster, help your pain any more, or make you feel any more in control.

In order to progress your labor faster, you have two options: do it yourself or have medical intervention. If you don't want to be augmented or induced, you're going to have to help yourself in making sure your labor continues to progress. This means, getting up, walking, moving, resting when you need to, and fueling your body.

In order to manage your pain, you need to have a plan. Are you going to request pain medication? Or are you going to use your own pain management techniques? Simply being in the hospital and telling your nurse that you're in pain will not take away the pain. You need to have an idea of how that pain will be managed.

If you're intimidated by this, you might benefit from more labor and birth education. The Empowered Birth Academy prenatal birth course is opening for enrollment soon. Join me! Sign up for the EBA waitlist now to be sure you don't miss enrollment.

Bonus: You Might Be Better Off at Home

If you have fear of labor or birth, being in the hospital does not take that fear away. The only way that you are going to get rid of that fear is by educating yourself in childbirth, having a solid understanding of what is going to happen during your labor and birth process, and have a plan for what actions you're going to take to have the birth that you want. Being in the hospital doesn't take away labor, make it go by any faster, or make it any more tolerable.

If you aren't concerned that something is wrong or if your provider hasn't recommended that you go to the hospital right now, you might actually give yourself a better experience by staying home a while longer than you think.

You have more freedom at home. Freedom to move, change positions, eat, drink, be loud, be silent, get in the bath, or anything else that your heart desires. When you get to the hospital, even with incredible nurses, a highly competent team, and an excellent relationship with your labor support people, that kind of freedom isn't typical. You'll still have to talk to the nurses, doctors, and anesthesia providers. Your diet will be restricted. And depending on how easily you're monitored, your nurse might be adjusting your fetal monitors frequently.

Think of the hospital as a place where you will get something specific. For example it's a place that will give you:

• Help when there is a concern with you or baby
• Pain relief when labor has progressed to a point where you need a break or no longer want to manage it by yourself
• Medication when you require medical intervention 
• And a team that can safely help your baby out while YOU do the work and they simply guide them out safely into the world

Before You Go to The Hospital to Have a Baby

Before you head to the hospital to have your baby, I hope you remember this one extra tip that may just be the most important one yet: You've got this.

These last moments of your pregnancy might be scary or intimidating but I know something that you might not: You have the ability to have the birth that you have been imagining. YOU can do this. Don't be afraid. Birth is nothing to be scared of. It's something to embrace, look forward to, and eventually look back on with a smile.

I wish you all the best!

What did you do before you head to the hospital to have a baby? Let me know in the comments!

What To Read Next:

• My Unmedicated Birth & the Secrets Behind It
• The Birth Plan Checklist: What You Need to do Before You Start Writing
• 6 Common Misconceptions About Giving Birth in a Hospital
• How to Manage Visitors in the Hospital When You're Having a Baby
• 25 Ways to Prepare for Labor and Delivery for a Better Birth Experience
• Timing Labor Contractions: How to Know for Sure That it's Time to Go to the Hospital
• Early Signs of Labor That Let You Know the End is Near