Baby on the way? Top additions to elevate your hospital bag and nurture the new mama

The wellbeing-boosting additions to your hospital bag that you’ll thank yourself for.

Packing the essentials is easy, but what is truly going to help you feel at ease in your first 24 hours postpartum?

As I rolled into Sheffield’s Jessop Wing maternity unit back in 2018 for the arrival of my first child, contractions at full pace and slightly anxious about the totally unknown experience that lay ahead, I think I apologised to a midwife - “I’m so sorry if I’ve got too much stuff”. It was actually just a pretty compact little wheelie bag plus a holdall for baby, that imminent whole person who I felt deserved to lay claim to her own luggage.

The midwife kindly assured me I had nothing to worry about - a lady had apparently come in yesterday with a giant suitcase that contained, among other things, a 24-pack of crisps. Good on her, I thought - we’re perpetuating the human race here, not catching a Ryanair flight.

Thanks to the myriad of online blogs and Pinterest click-throughs, I had everything I needed for that particular stay - even though it was longer than planned and had a little more drama than I needed. But in hindsight, to be honest my hospital bag felt a bit too spartan, and I resolved that next time (if there was a next time - this was a hard-won IVF baby) I deserved a little more… maximalism.

So I thought with care about the packing list as I approached the elective Caesarean booked for my second child, complete with the lens of being a seasoned acupuncture-geek, second-time mama and a newly-committed comfort seeker having journeyed through pregnancy in a pandemic. Here are the extras I packed - shared lovingly here with you in case I can help your perinatal experience be a little gentler, kinder, and more comfortable.

For warmth and comfort

Maternity wards can feel strangely chilly for spaces that home hours-old small people - or maybe its just the sheer depletion of birthing them that brings the chill. In Chinese medicine, keeping warm and supporting the body’s yang energy is vital to health and especially so immediately postpartum, when your mama body is in transition and susceptible to the ‘invasion’ of cold or other pathogenic factors.

Keep warm and protect your vital qi in those soft hours postpartum with warm socks (like this deliciously warm cashmere pair from The White Company) or slippers, and a warm knit or shawl to go over your nightwear - remember to take account of access for breastfeeding, if you plan to do so.

For rest and a peaceful mind

So perhaps sleep is not the first thing you may associate with labour and your first hours with a newborn. This makes rest, in whatever form it can be taken, even more important to nurture and dare I say protect (I’m looking at you, fellow mama loudly on Skype with no headphones at midnight in the postnatal ward: true story).

Pack your headphones and a playlist that fills your cup - even if it’s hard to fully plug in, one ear full of sounds you love is good for the soul. And to support your rest, an eye pillow or mask can help block out the stark hospital lights and sights and allow your nervous system to rest. I have this tactile, reassuringly weighted pillow from Blasta Henriet which I love, or this iconic tiger print eye mask from Desmond & Dempsey would also be just the ticket to elevate things when you’re very possibly wearing disposable maternity pants.

Team with some acupressure ear seeds (I provide these to my patients to ‘take away’ at that final appointment before due date) to maximise the feeling of restfulness, even in the absence of a proper sleepy recharge.

For restoration and hydration

The perinatal period (before and after childbirth) is something of a ‘gateway’ for the female body, a deep transition in which your body draws on huge physical resources to gestate, birth and sustain another being. Naturally, the postpartum period is a liminal and vulnerable phase and we must nurture the mother as much as the baby.

This can start before you enter the maternity ward, with whole nutrition, movement and, for example, ensuring you support the Blood by building your iron stores as your blood volume grows at pace in the third trimester.

When it comes to your hospital back, think ‘no time like the present’ to begin with nourishing and restoring your body following labour. For me, this looked like a large Thermos of warmed bone broth (heated and poured into the thermos on the way out of the house) - the most soul-restoring thing you can possibly consume in those hours after birth, I would argue even better than the NHS tea and buttered toast that I am also devoted to. You can make your own bone broth, I use a simple recipe from Emma Cannon’s book Fertile, or an easy alternative is something like this rich broth from Borough Broth Co. (available from Ocado, WholeFoods and other supermarkets).

I’d also recommend taking your own travel mug or similar - I love my KeepCup - with a selection of teas that you find comforting and warming (ginger, cinnamon, and so on have a ‘warming’ energetic from the Chinese medicine perspective). This makes it easy to always have a drink to hand and keep hydrated; simply ask for regular top ups with boiling water. In a time where avoiding cold and warming the body are important, this is also a great way to stay hydrated without chugging cold water. This hydration is also a great help in supporting your milk if you are breastfeeding.

On the subject of hydration, the depletion of body fluids and blood that can come with childbirth combined with the dryness of a postnatal ward can leave lips and skin feeling dry - a distraction and discomfort that just isn’t needed! You’ll know all about packing Lanolin for nipples, but you can also use this wonder-stuff for cracked lips or upgrade to their nourishing Lanolips, available in a boggling range of variations. Their lemony-fresh ‘Lemonaid’ salve that is the best I’ve used.

I will also confess to having gone full luxe and taken my bottle of Nuxe ‘Huile Prodigeuse’ in my hospital bag; a seeming luxury, I had this and L’Occitaine’s ‘Almond Supple Skin Oil’ (one was a gift) in tandem for bump care through pregnancy and beyond, and neither has yet run out months later - they go a long way.

For recovery

You will be in good hands postpartum (god love our incredible midwives), but there are still things you can do to start taking your postpartum recovery in hand - this is one of the most important things you’ll ever do. Remember to keep going on your good quality perinatal supplements, and consider having a good quality iron supplement on hand especially if you know the tablet form bungs you up (such as this nifty BetterYou spray).

You may also find yourself tackling some degree or form of pain immediately postpartum, whether from minor tearing, early breastfeeding discomfort or c-section, planned or unplanned. There is growing evidence for the capacity of acupuncture and auricular therapy to address pain; and, fun fact, if for any reason you’ve needed anaesthesia in delivery such as during a c-section, acupressure may also help with post-operative ileus (bowel motility, so, slowness to pass gas or stools) and post-operative nausea and vomiting.

I had the foresight of a planned Caesarean second time around, and with it the luxury of reading a dozen studies and going fully armed with acupressure points and ear seeds already applied (having consulted with the midwives, I was told these were fine to keep on throughout). Talk to your acupuncturist about acupressure points that can pack a punch or easy to apply ear seeds to add to your hospital bag; and of course the powerful acupressure points that are said to support pain relief and progress in labour.

So, there you have it - my take on additions for a thoughtfully elevated hospital bag. Not simply for comfort, but your head start in that most essential work of nourishing the new mama and supporting her recovery. Share it with a friend who is packing their own hospital bag soon!

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If you would like to learn more about how acupressure and auricular therapy with ear seeds can support labour preparation and perinatal wellbeing, you can book a consultation here - appointments are available in-person in Sheffield, or via online consult with bespoke resources mailed out to you if you are further afield.