The best snacks for your hospital bag

A compact sized cool bag is a great buy. You’ll already have a hospital bag and your pregnancy notes to carry – you don’t want to lug in the enormous cool box you use for family picnics! This smart cool bag has plenty of room (it fits 12 standard drinks cans) for some snacks and drinks. It has a carry handle and a shoulder strap, too. The lining is leak-proof and there are extra storage areas on the inside of the lid and there's a handy front pocket.

Rice cakes are a great snack option. They are not messy and will keep you going, plus they are fairly bland if you aren’t feeling up to eating strong flavours. These cakes are made from organic rice with no salt, as this might make you thirsty during labour. They are also gluten free.

We all know that a bowl of porridge is filling and satisfying and might make a great first meal after you have given birth – and all you need is a kettle. You could even take some boiled water with you in a flask if you’re not sure of the hospital’s facilities. Add some jam or a spoonful of honey to give you a sweet boost.

Want a cup of tea? Longing to eat that porridge? Well, last thing before you leave the house for the hospital, ask your birth partner to fill this generous 1-litre thermos with boiling water. Take a couple of tea bags and a small screw-top jar of milk and you’re all set up for your favourite brew, whether you need it during the early stages of labour or for that first, magical cuppa after your baby comes along. In summer, this can be used for iced drinks too. This will keep things hot or cold for 24 hours and has an easy pour stopper.

If you are a fan of fresh veg and think snacking on some crudités would help you with your labour energy, there are plenty of packs of supermarket sticks you can buy. And of course, you can cut your own and have them in a good storage box in the fridge, all ready to go. This Ocado pack has lots of different types of veg including carrots, sugar snap peas, red pepper and baby tomatoes and comes with a couple of dips too. You can also look for packets of pre-prepared fruit like grapes and mango.

Pack your veg, fruit, sandwiches and more into these handy storage boxes. Their seals keep food fresh for hours and they stack when not in use. Of course, they’re ideal at home too, for lunches and leftover food storage.

A good quality energy bar with plenty of protein and whole grains, plus not too much sugar, is great for keeping your energy levels up during all that pushing. These have peanuts for sustained energy and are flavoured with vanilla and chocolate. Yummy!

When you’re in the active stages of labour, you may be hot and thirsty but you can't stop to have a drink. That’s where ice pops or lollies are fabulous. Your birth partner can get one out for you and hold it for you to cool and refresh yourself and stave off thirst. Make your own at home with these clever ice lolly moulds and pop them in your cool bag, along with an ice block, as you leave for the birthing unit. Use flavoured water or fruit juice and you can even include small pieces of fruit.

Refreshing and calming, a good selection of herbal teas is ideal along with your flask of hot water. Some mums swear by raspberry leaf tea to help labour progress and even though it might not be scientifically proven to help, it certainly can’t hurt! Don’t drink this before the 32nd week of pregnancy though.

You do need to keep hydrated during labour, so some small bottles of water or juice are ideal kept cool in your cool bag.

If you prefer to take a drink in a reusable bottle, these have a twist-up spout that means you can sip as often as you like. They come in a pack, so you could have one for water, one for juice and another to put your milk in for that first cup of tea. They’re great for travelling and for kids’ lunchboxes too, so they’re always going to be useful and will last years and years.