The Sacred Birth Bag

Lauren Derrett - 27 Jun 18

4 kids in and one of the fondest memories I have of preparing for birth (nope, it was not the waxing of the who ha) was hand selecting all the bits for my *birth bag.

I bloody loved it, I made a **list for me, a list for him and a list for baby. I would leave nothing behind, I was packing as though once the baby was out, we would stay in, with the amount of stuff I packed, you could be forgiven for thinking that we were moving into the hospital. I planned on taking in two bags: one for labour and after birth and one for a stay on the postnatal ward.

My bags looked a little like this;

A vast array of teeny tiny vest, bodysuits, hats and mitts and enough nappies to see us through the first year

Sudocrem, are you even a mum if you don’t have a miniature tub of Sudo?

Muslins, in every design – they’re just so adorable and versatile

Dressing gown – I’ve got to protect my dignity right?

Slippers, ones that are easy to get on and off  – just in case I want to, well, get them on and off easily, I don’t want to be faffing with slippers between puffs of gas and air.

Socks – I can’t imagine having cold feet when I’m trying to push a human out of my body?

My slogan nightdress ‘Made With Love’ – or something equally cheesy

Massage oil, I want to be treated like the queen I am – plus it’ll all add to my birth glow

Birth ball, in the highly unlikely event the hospital don’t have one

Lip balm, dry lips at my finest hour, no thank you!

Snacks and drinks – Never known to miss a meal, especially when I can dictate that my other half feeds me because I’m busy bringing his child into the world

Things to help me relax or pass the time, books, magazines, iPad – it’s going to be great to be able to kick back for a bit before the main event

Hairclip, I don’t want my hair to draw my attention away from my contractions

Pillows, again I’m sure the NHS have pillows but we all know how underfunded they are.

Swimshorts for him – he may want to float around in my bodily fluids with me,  the midwives are only interested in one set of genitalia, and it’s the turn of my epic vag

TENS machine, hand-held fan, Evian water face spray, essential oils, eyemask………

*my 4th bag was a homebirth, no bag needed

**These lists are not exhaustive

Meanwhile, in Malawi, their birth bags are a stark reminder of our privilege, and love of extreme materialism.

Their simple birth bags contain;

A razor blade to cut the umbilical cord, no fancy sterile, single use cutters for them.

A sheet of black plastic to cover the delivery bed to maintain their personal hygiene as the bed won’t be cleaned between births – What, no Method antibac spray?

A baby blanket, cotton wool, a sarong, a baby suit, napkins and a dish for water to wash with as there is no running water – can you imagine not having any running water at birth? That puts an end to any ideas of a pool birth.

Often women don’t even have any underwear, which means that post birth, instead of pants and the skateboard sani pads we rely on,  they’re using use rags and ash or sand to soak up blood which leads to poor hygiene and infection.

Wow, that really is an eye opener isn’t it!!

Aren’t we so #blessed?

My eyes were opened to this disparity between mothers in the world when I met Gayle Berry, co-founder of Love Support Unit, I was so moved by what she told me that I feel I need to take some kind of action to help where I can, and so I’ve decided I’m going to get as many pairs of pants to these mothers as possible, and I’d love for you to help me.

If you’re interested in donating any pants, or attending a Pass The Pants coffee morning then please sign up to my list here so I can keep you in the loop.

Be the difference you want to see in the world <3

Lauren Derrett

I'm Lauren, Founder of Wear 'em Out, reusable period pads for the empowered eco-curious. Mother of 4, Step-Mother of 2, I've been parenting for 24 years so have seen and learned a lot of stuff

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