Preparing for labour and birth
Planning where to give birth, what to pack, and how to arrange transport before labour starts.
- Confirm your birth facility and transport by 36 weeks
- Pack your bag with your record, ID and baby clothes
- Discuss pain relief and birth preferences with your midwife
- Keep counting movements until birth
From about 32 weeks, start making concrete plans. Decide where you will give birth and how you will get there at any time of day or night, including who will take you and a backup plan. Save the clinic and ambulance numbers on your phone.
Pack a bag with your ID, clinic card and Maternity Case Record, comfortable clothes, underwear and sanitary pads, toiletries, a towel, and clothes, nappies and a blanket for the baby.
Think about who will support you during labour, who will look after other children, and what you would prefer for pain relief. Discuss your preferences with your midwife — plans sometimes change for safety reasons, and that is normal.
Learn the signs of labour so that you know when to go in, and keep counting your baby's movements right up until birth.
This information is general health education and does not replace advice from your nurse, midwife or doctor. In an emergency go to your nearest facility.