Should I Trust My Partner to Pack the Hospital Bag?

As your due date gets closer, one big question comes up in almost every household: Should I trust my partner to pack the hospital bag?

Short answer: if you like living on the edge, sure.

Let’s be real, packing for a weekend getaway is one thing. Packing for labor and postpartum recovery? That’s a whole different game.

What Happens When You Let Them Take Over

Partners mean well. Truly. But left unsupervised, here’s what you might end up with in your hospital bag:

• Three phone chargers… but no peri bottle

• A family-size bag of Doritos… but no maternity pads

• Their sweatpants… but not your mesh underwear

• A deck of Uno cards “to pass the time”

Letting your partner pack solo is basically the Olympics of trust.

Why You Should Let Them Help Anyway

Okay, so maybe they don’t know the difference between witch hazel and coconut oil—but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be involved.

Packing the bag together actually helps your partner feel prepared, and when the big moment comes, they’ll know exactly where everything is. (Translation: no digging through zippers while you’re mid-contraction asking, “Did you pack the pads or not?!”)

The Cheeky Solution

Here’s the real pro move: don’t make it you vs. them. Don’t even make it you + them. Outsource it completely.

With a pre-packed hospital bag, all the essentials are already in there, mesh underwear, pads, peri bottle, sitz bath, snacks, even a reusable weekender bag to carry it all. Everything is curated, mom-approved, and actually useful.

That way, your partner can still feel like a hero (“Look babe, I grabbed the bag!”) without the risk of showing up at the hospital with nothing but Doritos and Uno.

 

So, Should You Trust Them?

Yes… but only if you’ve got backup. Because the truth is, you deserve better than a hospital bag packed like a last-minute road trip.

Make it a team effort, laugh at the quirks, and if you really want peace of mind, just grab the bag that’s already done for you.