💼 Gear & logistics · Around 35 weeks, or earlier if advised
🧳 The hospital bag and your birth-partner kit
Pack together before the due date, with your partner choosing what feels comfortable. Nigerian hospitals differ in what they supply and their birth-partner policies, so ask your maternity team for its checklist.
Birth-partner essentials
- Phone, charger and a safely positioned cable; check whether power banks are permitted.
- Cash and your usual payment method, plus transport and parking plans.
- Water bottle and snacks, subject to hospital rules.
- A change of clothes, toiletries and any regular medicines.
- Hospital contact details and a short list of your partner's preferences. Save 112 for emergencies; routing coverage and response times vary, so keep maternity-team contacts and backup transport arranged.
Pack by purpose
1. Confirm the hospital's requirements
Ask about companion access, visiting, food, charging devices, feeding supplies and what baby items are provided. Do not assume an overnight stay or particular equipment is included.
2. Keep records accessible
Bring identification, antenatal records, appointment or admission documents and relevant medicine information. Ask the hospital which payment or insurance documents it needs. If using NHIA, state insurance or an HMO, confirm actual maternity coverage and the process for adding your newborn as a dependent.
3. Prepare a first-outfit pouch
Pack a nappy and a soft cotton outfit in suitable sizes. Include an adjustable light layer for air conditioning; do not use a hat indoors or assume baby needs a cardigan or thick sleeping bag.
4. Pack for baby's stay
Bring spare clothing, nappies and muslin cloths in quantities guided by the facility and likely stay. If bringing a sleep sack, choose a well-fitted lightweight one for the actual room conditions. Keep loose cloths out of the sleep space.
5. Support your partner's comfort
Pack loose clothes, comfortable underwear, maternity pads, toiletries and feeding-access clothing if wanted. Include prescribed medicines and glasses. Ask before adding products or a feeding pillow, which must never be used for infant sleep.
6. Organise discharge too
Keep essentials with you rather than relying on access to the car. Arrange appropriate child restraints for travel. Before leaving, confirm the child health record, jaundice follow-up and vaccination schedule with the maternity team or your local primary healthcare centre.
A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team
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Read next
- Labour Act
- Federal paternity leave
- Birth registration
- NPC registration requirements
- NHIA coverage
- Emergency services
- Marriage legislation
When in doubt, contact your doctor or midwife. For a life-threatening emergency, call 112.