What bag you have and what’s inside it is hot topic on all the student midwife pages. We all seek to find that perfect bag that holds all the things we need.
Each practice requires their students to have different supplies with some supplying them all and others wanting you to build up your birth kit as you go along. In my own experience, busy birth centers usually supply everything you need and smaller practices advise you to build your bag as you go along.
My suggestions are just that, mine
As a person who is not your preceptor, here are my suggestions. Make sure you ask your preceptor what you need first before investing in something that you may not need from the start.
Also, if you plan on practicing solo or the group practice you plan on working with has their midwives buy their own materials you should start buying things as you go along.
The first few clinical supplies I believe you should invest in are:
- A watch – you need this to count heart tones
- A stethoscope – to take blood pressure, listen to new babies, etc.
- A blood pressure cuff – obviously to take blood pressure
- A note book or pad to write down all your questions to ask later, remedies you want to remember, things to look up, etc.
- Any extra supplies your preceptor wants you to have on hand
School related supplies you should keep with you:
- Prenatal/Birth/Postpartum logs from your school or NARM
- Optional: a text book or two to work on school work during down times or long births.
Practical things that you should gather/buy and have on hand for your apprenticeship:
- A phone charger for your car or midwife bag – births can get long and you never know when it will die
- Spare birth clothing – in a bag in your car in case you are called to a birth while out
- Toiletries – in that bag with your spare clothing
- Deodorant – this is a toiletry but I feel it is the most important one so I have 2 in my car. 1 in the spare clothing bag and 1 in the glove compartment.
- Personal supplies – such as a breast pump or medications
- Snacks – you never know when you will have to skip lunch or how long you will be at a birth without food
Honestly, the most important thing for *me* to have on hand are the snacks. I always have a spare set of scrubs in my car but without snacks I crash.
Keep an eye out for my extensive list of midwife supplies all in one place so you can easily build your birth kit too!
P.S. The Nursemates Ultimate Nursing Bag, a 31 bags tote bag, the EZ view med bag and diaper bags are the favorite prenatal and student midwife clinical bag of choice.
What is the most important thing that you have on hand at all times? What bag do you personally have? I’ve used a 31 bags tote and currently use the nursemates ultimate bag.
