Hospital go bag pregnancy
10 Best Nursing Pads for Breastfeeding Moms
Breastfeeding comes with plenty of joys but equally as many challenges, one of the most common being leaky boobs. Leakage can happen for a variety of reasons—your milk just came in, you have an oversupply or you’ve been away from your baby—or no reason at all, leaving you uncomfortable and embarrassed (and with stained clothes to boot). Luckily, there’s an easy fix, and it comes in the form of nursing pads.
Yep, that’s right: After having a baby, you’ll most likely be wearing pads in your underwear and your bra (lucky you!). Nursing pads, also known as breast pads, are small inserts that go inside your bra (either regular or nursing) or tank top to soak up any escaping breast milk. They come in different shapes, sizes and types—and just like everything else in the world of baby products, the number of options can be overwhelming.
There are three primary types of nursing pads: disposable, reusable and silicone, and each come with their own set of pros and cons. Disposables are convenient but can be costly; reusables are more economical and eco-friendly but need to be washed; and silicone pads are pricey but can prevent leaks from happening in the first place. Deciding which route is best for you depends on personal preference. Once you do, here are 10 of the best nursing pads across the board.
Disposable Nursing Pads
If the prospect of doing yet another load of laundry fills you with dread, disposable nursing pads might be the way to go. Slip them in and toss them when you’re done—it doesn’t get easier than that.
Lansinoh Stay Dry Disposable Nursing Pads
In the world of nursing pads, Lansinoh reigns supreme (at least, according to the near five-star reviews from hundreds of mamas). Lansinoh nursing pads manage to be insanely absorbent while still being relatively thin, and two adhesive strips ensure they stay exactly where you want them (day or night). The pads are also some of the softest in the disposable game, which will have your sore nipples breathing a heavenly sigh of relief.
Buy it: $28 for 240 count, Amazon.com
Medela Nursing Pads
A nursing pad’s primary job is to absorb, and few do it better than Medela. The cotton and nylon makeup of these disposable nursing pads manages to keep even the heaviest leaker dry (day or night) without being bulky or unseemly under clothes. Plus, the contoured shape works for both small and large-chested women—and the brand is one of the most affordable on the market.
Buy it: $7 for 60 count, Amazon.com
NUK Ultra Thin Disposable Nursing Pads
Nuk’s claim to fame in the breast pad game is providing one of the thinnest, most discreet disposable nursing pads for breastfeeding moms. Granted, they won’t be a match for heavy leakers—but for those looking for some backup against unwanted let-down, these can’t be beat.
Buy it: $15 for 66 count, Amazon.com
Johnson’s Disposable Nursing Pads
It makes sense that the people responsible for keeping baby’s skin soft would also have a nursing pad that soothes mom’s skin too.
Johnson’s nursing pads have a slightly domed shape to protect against nipple irritation, a lining that feels like a pillow for your breasts, and a breathable backing that protects against leaks. All in all, a solid disposable option.
Buy it: $9 for 60 count, Amazon.com
Reusable Nursing Pads
Pads you can clean and re-use can save you a bundle in the end; just make sure to stock up on several pairs, so you’re not left in the lurch when your pads are all soaked through.
Bamboobies Washable Nursing Pads
Itchy and uncomfortable these are not: Bamboobies nursing pads manage to feel like cashmere against your sore, sensitive skin—and just keep getting softer after every wash. Which brings us to our next major benefit: These washable nursing pads are not only eco- and wallet-friendly, but also low maintenance. Just toss in the washing machine and dryer, and they’re ready to go again and again.
Buy it: $35 for 6 pairs, Amazon.
com
BabyBliss Washable Bamboo Nursing Pads
Bras aren’t one size fits all, but nursing pads typically are—which can make finding the right fit and coverage a struggle. BabyBliss takes care of that by offering three different sizes of reusable nursing pads: Medium (A cup), Large (B to D cup) and Extra Large (E cup and higher). BabyBliss pads also have a contoured shape (a rarity among washable nursing pads), making the fit that much better. Need further convincing? Nearly 3,000 women rave about them in reviews—and mama does know best.
Buy it: $14 for 14 count, Amazon.com
Milkies Milk-Saver On-the-Go
Instead of using nursing pads to absorb leaking breast milk and then toss it (either in the trash or the wash), what if you could collect that liquid gold with breast pads that save milk? That’s the idea behind the Milkies Milk-Saver On-the-Go pads, which discreetly slide into your bra or tank top and collect up to an ounce of breast milk at a time.
The spout design makes it easy to then transfer into a breast milk bag or bottle, so that no ounce of precious liquid is wasted.
Buy it: $15, Amazon.com
EcoNursing Pads
These washable nursing pads have you covered (literally), no matter your level of leakage. The velvet flower-shaped pads are perfect for lighter leaks, while the round organic bamboo pads tackle heavy let-down with ease—but both feature a leak-proof backing and can be washed and dried in the convenient mesh bag. (No more hunting through the wash pile for rogue nursing pads.)
Buy it: $14 for 10 count, Amazon.com
Mother-Ease Reusable Cloth Nursing Pads
The washable nursing pads from Mother-Ease cover a lot of surface area (5 inches in diameter), making them a favorite among women with a larger chest. But women of all bust sizes appreciate Mother-Ease’s neutral coloring (no showing through clothes) and fabric choices (organic cotton, bamboo terry and stay-dry cotton)—none of which will stick to your already sensitive skin.
Buy it: $18 for 3 pairs, Amazon.com
LilyPadz
A nursing pad that prevents leaky boobs sounds too good to be true—but thanks to LilyPadz, it’s a reality. Rather than absorbing any leaking breast milk, LilyPadz are made of medical-grade silicone that places pressure on the nipple to stop any leakage in the first place. You stay dry and your milk doesn’t get wasted—the ultimate win-win.
Buy it: $20, Amazon.com
Published October 2018
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.
Plus, more from The Bump:
21 Best Maternity and Nursing Bras
12 Ways to Make Breastfeeding Easier
The Best Breast Pumps for Every Type of Mom
How to Write a Birth Plan
The ideal scenario for any birth is that things go smoothly and everyone is healthy.
But there are a lot of different ways to give birth, and your version of things “going smoothly” could be different from someone else’s.
A birth plan defines your version of an ideal birth scenario and communicates it to your care team, ensuring everything goes as smoothly as possible. But what does a birth plan look like? Read on for a step-by-step guide to creating yours as well as real-life birth plan examples and a downloadable template.
What is a Birth Plan?
A birth plan is a document that lets your medical team know your labor and delivery preferences in regards to things like pain management, postpartum care, newborn procedures and even the vibes of the delivery room (lights, aromatherapy, etc.).
Think of your birth plan as a guideline or even a map. You have your destination (healthy baby and healthy you) and your preferred path for getting there, and your healthcare team will stick to that path as much as they possibly can. But keep in mind that there might be detours along the route—sometimes things don’t go as planned.
While it can be scary to think about something unexpected happening while giving birth, it doesn’t necessarily mean your birth plan goes entirely out the window. Your care team still has your and your baby’s health, safety and comfort top-of-mind while tending to an unexpected event, and including a space on your birth plan for things like emergency C-section (there are options for that!) and other delivery interventions will help guide them.
What goes on a birth plan?
Almost anything you want can go on your birth plan. But we emphasize almost, because the available options may vary by location. So before you start writing out your preferences, research your options ahead of time:
- Location. Will you be giving birth at a hospital, a birthing center or at home? If at a hospital or birthing center, which one? Tour the location and find out their procedures and practices, and request a list of all their available options for pain management and labor tools.
Ask about what you’re allowed to bring with you and if there’s anything they can’t accomodate. - Delivery options. Vaginal and Cesarean are the delivery methods everyone knows, but hospitals also give the options for assisted vaginal delivery (with tools like foreceps or vacuum) and vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC). Keep in mind that if you’re planning to give birth at a birthing center or at home, your delivery options may be limited.
Once you’ve researched the most important details, it’s time to customize your options! And try to keep it simple. Your birth plan doesn’t need to be exhaustive—make it short and easy to read at a glance. There’s typically a lot going on in the labor and delivery department, so your care team will appreciate not having to read through multiple pages of your birth plan. Keep it to one page and use bullet points or highlighting where you can.
Introduction
This doesn’t mean write an About Me report, but you will want to list important medical info.
It might happen that you arrive at tbe L&D ward and there’s a doctor on call whom you’ve never met. This is also true for your labor and delivery nurses.
While medical conditions should be on your patient chart, it’s a good idea to list them in the same place as your birth preferences as well. Include things like:
- What kind of delivery you’re planning for
- If this is your first, second, third, etc. time giving birth
- Any medical conditions, especially gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, high blood pressure, STIs, anemia, high or low amniotic fluid, placenta previa or if you’re positive for Group B Strep.
- Your primary support person. Whether it’s your partner, a family member, a friend or a birth doula, include their name, phone number and relation to you in case they need to be contacted.
Labor Pain Management Options
The labor question that gets all the attention: are you planning a medicated or unmedicated delivery? This Pain Medications Preference Scale by physical therapist Penny Simkin is really helpful if you need assistance articulating how you feel about pain management in labor.
Medication: The typical medication options for labor are an epidural, a spinal block, opiods via IV, local anesthetic and nitrous oxide.
Non-medicated options: Non-medicated (also called non-pharmacological) pain relief options include breathing techniques, hot and/or cold compresses, massage and counterpressure, aromatherapy, hyrotherapy (bath or shower), meditation and movement as well as “labor tools” like a birthing ball, peanut ball or squat bar.
Delivery Room Preferences
To some extent, even in the hospital, you can make decisions on what your birthing environment looks like. Let your healthcare team know your preferences on:
- Who else you want in the room. Some places have restrictions on how many people can be in the delivery room, so be sure to ask about that. List your support person/people, and let the hospital team know whether or not you’re okay with having medical students in the room for training purposes.
- Lights, either dimmed or bright.
- Music or a sound machine.
- General noise level, including speaking voices.
- Clothing (a hospital-provided gown or your own clothes).
- Touch, especially from the care team.
- Fetal monitoring, either constant or intermittent.
- Movement.
- Having clear fluids to drink.
Delivery Options
Besides your preferred method of delivery (vaginal, assisted vaginal, C-section or VBAC), add some preferences about positions for pushing, if you have them. Some options are lying on your back, lying on your side, squatting, standing or leaning, kneeling/on all fours or being in a birthing tub.
Other delivery options that might go on a birth plan are a mirror to see the birth as it happens, who will be cutting the cord and preferences for skin to skin after the birth.
In the Event of the Unexpected
No one wants to think of what could happen during labor and delivery, but it’s important to plan for the unexpected, or at least to list your preferences.
If you’re planning for an unassisted vaginal birth, there’s a chance your doctor might tell you that some assistance tools will help things go more smoothly. If case this happens, write on your birth plan how you feel about the use of forceps, vacuum or an episiotomy.
If you’re planning for a vaginal birth but end up needing an emergency C-section, there are still some options you can request for your own comfort, including:
- Vaginal seeding.
- Drape options: full drape with no view of the birth, lowered drape so you see the birth but not the rest of the operation or clear drape so you see everything going on down there.
- Monitoring devices (computers) placed out of your field of vision.
- Gentle Cesarean.
Newborn Procedures
Hospitals and birthing centers have several procedures just for newborns, and they’re also important to include on your birth plan. Write down your desires for:
- Baby’s first medications: Vitamin K shot, Hepatitis B shot and Erythromycin eye ointment
- Bathing baby (or delaying baby’s first bath)
- PKU testing
- Plans to breastfeed, give baby formula or donor milk or a combination
- Circumcision (if applicable)
- Where baby will sleep (your recovery room or the nursery)
Other information to include are baby’s pediatrician information, including their name, clinic and phone number, whether you will be banking the cord blood and whether you will be keeping the placenta.
Once your birth plan is finished and printed, highlight your main preferences on it for fast reference. That way if a care provider only has time to glance at it, they’ll easily be able to spot the most important parts of your birth plan.
Bring your birth plan to one of your doctor appointments and discuss it with them so they understand what you’re hoping for during your birth. Then include a few printouts in your hospital bag so you’ll have it with you on the big day.
Birth Plan Examples
Every birth plan will look different, and not just the preferences. Birth plans come in all types of formats. Here are some examples (from real people!) of what birth plans can look like, from basic word processor documents to visual-based templates to spreadsheets.
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 3
EXAMPLE 4
Babylist Birth Plan Template
Ready to write up your birth plan? Here’s a template (specially made for you by Babylist!) that you can download, print and fill out.
Download this template.
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WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU TO THE Maternity Hospital WHEN ADMISSIONING FOR BIRTH
What should be the bag in the maternity hospital? The main requirement 一 is that the bag must be washable. From a cloth bag or suitcase, you will be asked to transfer things to bags or transparent plastic bags. At the onset of labor or the outflow of amniotic fluid, a list of what to take with you to childbirth should be prepared in advance.
These are the following documents:
- exchange card (the main document of a pregnant woman)
- passport, compulsory medical insurance policy, SNILS (if available)
- birth certificate (provided that it was issued to you by the LCD),
- medical documentation not included in the exchange card (ultrasound data, consultations of other specialists, extracts, etc.).
You can take with you to the hospital when you are admitted to the maternity ward:
- washable slippers
- mobile phone with charger
- compression stockings
- ml.)
All medical care in the maternity hospital is provided free of charge in accordance with the medical and economic standards (MES) of Moscow. There is no need to come to the maternity hospital in advance before the start of labor activity in the absence of indications.
Scheduled hospitalization in the maternity hospital is carried out if there are indications in the direction of the doctor of the antenatal clinic.
Emergency hospitalization is carried out in the presence of emergency indications by the ambulance team (AMB), or in case of self-treatment with complaints to the emergency room of the obstetric and gynecological center.
Post-natal items You must bring after delivery, when you are transferred to the post-natal ward.
List of things for the mother and newborn in the postpartum department and for discharge.
The postpartum department of our maternity hospital provides the most necessary for the mother and her child. After childbirth, relatives and friends can give you the following things in a bag or in a light small bag made of polymer materials:
- disposable pants - 1 pack
- postpartum pads - 1 pack
- small cotton body towel
- soap, toothbrush and toothpaste
- rubber slippers for shower
- postoperative abdominal bandage (required for patients after caesarean section)
6 list for a child in the postpartum ward:
- diapers - 1 pack (from 2 to 5 kg)
- wet wipes
- baby soap or gel
- protective diaper cream
If the child is discharged during the summer, depending on the air temperature outside, the child will need an undershirt, a bodysuit, a cap, and a light blanket.
Discharge items must be brought on the day of discharge from the maternity hospital.
List of documents required in the postpartum department:
- copy of the certificate of incapacity for maternity leave (maternity leave)
- copy of SNILS
- copy of passport and policy
- for foreign citizens - translation into Russian of the passport and , notarized
- birth certificate (if issued) and exchange card (if issued)
Maternity hospital checklist Download
Maternity bag to the hospital, what should I take with me?
Pregnancy is a special stage in the life of any woman (which does not mean that she is always and in all cases beautiful). A woman has to deal with many physical changes, but the emotional changes are much stronger. Feelings on the surface and everything related to baby expectation becomes incredibly exciting .
And, perhaps because of this emotion, they realize purchases that are really not needed and not very useful for the birth of a baby .
There are a lot of expenses, so don't go overboard with your purchases, because in reality, during the first weeks of your baby's life, the only thing he will need is, in fact, his mother's hands. No wish list yet?: Create your free birth list
But if you are close to meeting the baby, you will probably find yourself preparing a maternity bag to take to the hospital. It is normal that all women have doubts about this, although they will most likely give you some advice when teaching motherhood. Don't skip this list of essentials to be ready when it's time to go to the hospital.
Index
- 1 What to take with you in the delivery bag to the hospital
- 2 For the mother
- 3 Documentation and other necessary tools
What to bring in the delivery bag to the hospital
You don't have to prepare the bag months in advance, a couple of weeks before your due date is enough.
In the hospital bag you will have to carry baby and yourself, so is best to use a good size bag so that you do not have to carry two suitcases. Usually, the hospital will give you everything your baby needs, such as diapers, special sponges to clean your baby every shift, and even newborn clothes. But don't stop carry certain items in case they are needed for example:
- First Clutch Moult : That is the first clothes your child will wear when he leaves the hospital to go home. Make sure it's something very comfortable and easy to dress, as dressing a newborn can be a little tricky in the early days.
- Hat and socks : It is very important to keep the child's temperature warm by covering the head and feet at all times.
- sedator : You may need to calm your baby down at certain times when you can't hold him to your breast. So it never hurts to carry a pacifier in a hospital bag.
- Cotton muslin : To protect the baby's face when held.
Mom
Most things you need to carry These are for you, take note.
- Front slit nightgown : For comfortable breastfeeding without opening too much.
- Dressing gown : You will be more comfortable than wearing only a nightgown.
- Disposable underpants early days
- Nursing bra
- Toiletry bag : with basic hygiene items such as toothbrush and toothpaste, toothbrush, facial moisturizer, lip balm, etc.
- Loungewear : Be sure to wear comfortable clothing as you will probably feel uncomfortable for several days.
- Zapatillas be at home
Documentation and other necessary tools
Don't forget to put all the necessary documentation in your hospital bag, preferably even carry it with you.
