Quick reference
Before & after baby
The practical to-dos, in tick-list form: what to sort before, what to pack, and what to register after. Print whichever you need.
Three printable checklists · Birth & Mother
On this page
01 · Before the birth
Before baby comes
The admin and the gentle preparation, spread across the months so none of it lands all at once.
Your care and your birth place
- Find a midwife (Hebamme) as early as you can. They book up fast, often in the first trimester.
- Book your antenatal class (Geburtsvorbereitungskurs) in good time, as they fill up.
- Confirm a postpartum midwife (Nachsorgehebamme) for your home visits after birth.
- Register at your hospital or birth house (Anmeldung), around weeks 30 to 34 for a hospital, earlier for a birth house.
- Choose a paediatrician (Kinderarzt) for your baby's first check-ups.
- Write your birth preferences (Geburtsplan), even just a page.
Paperwork to start early
- Send your due-date certificate to your insurer to claim maternity pay (Mutterschaftsgeld).
- Tell your employer, and register parental leave (Elternzeit) at least seven weeks before it starts.
- If you are not married: arrange the Vaterschaftsanerkennung and Sorgeerklärung at the Jugendamt, ideally before the birth.
- Read up on Elterngeld and Kindergeld so the forms are familiar afterwards.
At home, before the day
- Pack your hospital bag by around week 36.
- Fit the car seat, or plan how your baby will come home.
- Fill the freezer, and arrange who will help in the first weeks (Wochenbett).
- Save the key numbers: your birth place, your midwife, a taxi.
02 · For the day
What to pack in your hospital bag
Have it ready by around week 36. A birth house or home birth needs less; your midwife will tell you what.
Documents (pack these first)
- Your Mutterpass
- ID or passport, for you and your partner
- Health insurance card
- Marriage certificate, or your Vaterschaftsanerkennung papers
- Your birth preferences, and your rights pocket card
For you
- A long phone charger, and your own pillow if you like
- Loose, warm clothes and a going-home outfit
- A nursing bra, and big comfortable underwear
- Maternity pads, toiletries, lip balm, hair tie
- Slippers and warm socks
- Snacks and a drink you actually want
- A TENS machine, if you plan to use one in early labour.
- Anything that comforts you: music, a speaker, oils, a photo
Your birth place usually has (so you needn't pack it)
- Birth aids: a ball, a stool, a bath, a rebozo
- Gowns and towels for labour
- Nappies and baby bodysuits for your stay
- Sometimes a TENS machine. Ask in advance, or bring your own.
For your baby
- Bodysuits and sleepsuits (a couple of sizes)
- A hat, socks, and a cardigan
- A swaddle or blanket, and muslins
- A going-home outfit, weather-appropriate
- A car seat, ready in the car
03 · After the birth
After baby arrives
What to register and apply for, in roughly the order it needs doing. Most of it can wait a few days. Rest first.
In the first week
- Register the birth at the registry office (Standesamt). The hospital often forwards the paperwork, but you confirm it.
- Order several copies of the birth certificate (Geburtsurkunde). You will need them, and some are issued specially for Elterngeld and Kindergeld.
- Book your baby's U2 check-up with your paediatrician, due within the first 10 days of birth.
- Add your baby to your health insurance.
- Welcome your postpartum midwife for the first home visits (Nachsorge).
In the first months
- Apply for parental allowance (Elterngeld) within three months, for full back-payment.
- Apply for child benefit (Kindergeld) through the family benefits office (Familienkasse). It needs your baby's tax ID (Steuer-ID), which arrives by post.
- Keep the baby check-ups (U-Untersuchungen) on schedule with your paediatrician.
- Register your baby's residence (Anmeldung) at the citizens' office if your city asks for it.
- If your baby needs a passport or citizenship papers, start that when you are ready.
A gentle note
These lists are a starting point, not a rulebook. Deadlines and details vary by city, insurer, and your own situation, so check the current word with your midwife (Hebamme), your insurer (Krankenkasse), and the offices themselves. For the full walk-through of the after-birth paperwork, see Baby Paperwork in Germany.
More to keep close
The rest of the printable library
The glossary card, your voice in the birth space, and the birth-space question bank all live alongside these.