Before baby comes
The admin and the gentle preparation, while you still have the quiet to do it.
Birth & Mother
None of this is urgent on its own. The months before a birth hold more waiting than doing, and that is how it should be. Tick a few things off whenever you have the quiet for them, and let the rest sit. By the time your baby comes the small jobs will be behind you, and you will have spent the real attention where it belongs: on rest, and on getting ready in your own way.
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.
birthandmother.comJuly 2026