Pregnancy Checklist by Trimester: What to Do in Each Stage
Pregnancy advice tends to arrive all at once. Someone tells you about the birth plan in week six, and someone else about the hospital bag in week thirty-eight.
The problem with that is not the advice. It is the timing. Most of it is right, just not yet.
This is the same preparation sorted by when it is actually useful — first, second, third. Skip the trimester you are not in; it will still be here when you get there.
Quick answer
What should a pregnancy checklist by trimester cover?
In the first trimester, confirm prenatal care and start healthy routines. In the second, plan finances, maternity leave, and baby essentials. In the third, pack your hospital bag, prepare your home, install the car seat, and finalize postpartum support.
Key takeaways
- First trimester: care, questions and documents.
- Second trimester: money, leave, budget, pediatrician.
- Third trimester: hospital bag, car seat, meals, support plan.
First trimester checklist
- Confirm pregnancy and book prenatal care
- Ask about prenatal vitamins and medications
- Track symptoms and questions
- Review food, medication, and lifestyle guidance with your clinician
- Start a pregnancy folder for documents
- Discuss maternity leave and finances
The first trimester is about the basics: care booked, questions written down, and a record of everything in one folder. NHS guidance on keeping well in pregnancy is the right starting point to read alongside your clinician's advice, and it is where the folic acid and supplement guidance lives.
Ask your clinician which symptoms should make you call immediately, and which number to use outside office hours. Write it down now, while you are calm, rather than at two in the morning later.
Second trimester checklist
- Attend routine appointments and scans
- Research childbirth classes
- Create a baby budget
- Start a simple baby registry
- Choose a pediatrician
- Plan your nursery or sleep space
- Begin researching feeding options
This is the planning trimester. Money, leave, and appointments are less urgent than the first trimester and more urgent than anything in the third. It is also a good time to research feeding options — not to decide, but to know what the realistic options are before you are tired and feeding at 3 a.m.
On the sleep space: you do not need a finished nursery. A firm, flat, clear sleep space is the part that cannot wait, and the rest can follow the baby.
Third trimester checklist
- Pack your hospital bag about three weeks before your due date
- Install and inspect the car seat
- Wash baby clothes and bedding
- Prepare easy meals
- Set up the diaper and feeding station
- Finish the nesting checklist
- Write a simple postpartum support plan
NHS national guidance suggests getting your hospital bag packed at least three weeks ahead of your due date, and many NHS trusts say around 36 weeks. Either way, earlier is better than later: babies arrive on their own schedule, and only about 1 in 20 arrives on the due date.
What can wait
You do not need a complete nursery before birth. A safe sleep space, a diaper station, feeding supplies, and baby clothes are enough to begin.
And nothing on these lists is medical advice. Your clinician's plan takes priority over every checklist, including this one.
Sources
- Baby safer sleep adviceNHS Best Start in Life
The safest place for your baby to sleep for the first 6 months is in a cot, lying on their back, in the same room as you. Make sure there are no toys or anything else that could cover their mouth or nose, or make them too hot. For this reason we advise against using cot bumpers, pillows and loose bedding.
https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/baby-basics/newborn-and-baby-sleeping-advice-for-parents/safe-sleep-advice-for-babies/Link checked 2026-10-15 - Hospital bag checklist — when to packNHS Best Start in Life
Babies do things in their own time, and only 1 in 20 will arrive on their due date. It might be a good idea to get your hospital bag packed at least 3 weeks ahead of the due date, so that you're all ready to go if your baby decides to make an early appearance.
https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/preparing-for-labour-and-birth/hospital-bag-checklist/Link checked 2026-10-15