Pre-Admission Maternity Checklist

Are You Ready For Your Baby?

Congratulations! This checklist will help you stay on course as you get closer to the big day.

1st Trimester

  • Announce the upcoming event to family and friends
  • Stop smoking, drinking alcohol and using street drugs
  • Schedule your first prenatal visit with physician/midwife
  • Discuss any medications you have been taking with your doctor
  • Contact your insurance company to see if you need a pre-certification/authorization number
  • Start a pregnancy diary and a photo album of you and your expanding shape each month
  • Make sure to take prenatal vitamins with folic acid
  • Start drinking lots of fluids, particularly water
  • Begin reading about pregnancy

2nd Trimester

  • Pre-register at the hospital either in person or online
  • Bring or send a copy of your insurance card
  • Check with your employer about maternity and family leave benefits
  • Register and attend prenatal classes
  • Start thinking about baby names since you'll need to fill out the birth certificate in the hospital
  • Start reading and singing to your baby
  • Clean the house, update fire extinguishers and test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
  • Choose a doctor for your baby and schedule an introductory meeting by using our online physician finder.

3rd Trimester

  • Register and tour the hospital's Birth Center where you will give birth
  • If you are considering a tubal ligation, discuss this with your obstetrician around week 30
  • Make arrangements with your obstetrician or pediatrician for circumcision, if that is your choice
  • Discuss an advance medical directive with your physician and family members
  • Shop for baby care items
  • Prepare to breastfeed by taking a class and gathering supplies
  • Begin to think about child-care plans, if returning to work
  • Start gathering items to pack for the hospital
  • Make plans about how you will get to the hospital, night and day and take a practice trip
  • Learn to use the infant car seat (by law, you must have a car seat for discharge)
  • If you have other children, prepare them for the birth or consider a Big Brother, Big Sister class
  • Prepare and freeze some meals
  • Double check that you have needed supplies for baby and mom

For more information, contact the Maternity Center at St. Joseph’s Hospital - North at (813) 443-7000.