The hospital checklist

1Before the birth

• Talk to your birth team about the adhānTell your doctor or midwife that, soon after the birth, the father or another family member would like a quiet minute to say the adhān softly in the baby’s ear. Add it to your birth plan. (The first hours)
• Ask for the privacy you wantIf you would like women caregivers where possible, or a moment of privacy to cover before people come in, say so now and write it on your birth plan.
• Plan the taḥnīkDecide who will do it and pack a few soft dates. Tell the team you would like to put a tiny trace of softened date on the baby’s palate, and ask whether there is any medical reason to wait. Mash it with a clean spoon or fingertip rather than chewing it, since pre-chewed food can pass infections to a baby. Never use honey: the CDC says not to give honey to a child under one year old. (The first hours)^1,2
• Ask about circumcision optionsIf you have a boy: does the hospital offer newborn circumcision, who does it, on which day, with what pain relief, and what will it cost with your insurance? If you plan to wait, ask for a referral now. (Khitān)
• Ask about halal foodAsk whether the hospital can provide halal meals. If not, ask for vegetarian options (meat that is not halal is not made acceptable just by being pork-free), and whether family may bring food in.
• Think about the nameSome families name on the first day, some on the seventh. Ask the staff who handles the birth certificate what happens if the name is not ready before you leave. (Naming)
• Pack for the soul as well as the bodyA prayer mat, modest and loose clothes, a scarf or hijab, a phone with Qurʾān, dates, a water bottle, and a printed copy of this page.
• Save the numbersYour doctor’s or midwife’s after-hours line, your baby’s pediatrician, and (in the US) the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), call or text, any hour. (For mothers)³

2For the hospital team

Thank you for caring for our family. We are Muslim, and a few small things matter to us:

• The call to prayerSoon after the birth, when it is safe, a family member would like to say the adhān (the call to prayer) softly in the baby’s ear. It takes about a minute and needs no equipment.
• A taste of dateWe may wish to put a tiny trace of mashed date on the baby’s palate (taḥnīk). Please tell us if there is a medical reason to wait. We will not pre-chew it, and we will not use honey.^1,2
• Privacy and modestyThe mother would prefer women caregivers where possible, and a knock and a moment before anyone enters.
• FoodHalal meals please. If halal is not available, vegetarian meals, with no alcohol or pork gelatin in the food.
• CircumcisionIf our baby is a boy, please talk to us before any circumcision is scheduled. We may choose a particular day or doctor.

3In the first hours and days

• Adhān and taḥnīkWhen mother and baby are settled. (The first hours)
• Rest the motherVisitors can wait. During nifās (the bleeding after birth, up to her school’s limit) her prayer is lifted, and she has nothing to make up. (For mothers)
• Ask for a lactation consultantOn the first day, before you need one, and get a number to call from home. (For mothers)
• Make the circumcision decisionIf you have a boy and chose the hospital, confirm the day and ask the aftercare questions before you leave. (Khitān)
• Before you go homeAsk for the list of warning signs, the after-hours number, and the dates of the baby’s and the mother’s follow-up visits. If the mother has a fever of 100.4°F or higher, heavy bleeding (soaking a pad in an hour or less, or clots bigger than an egg), a headache that won’t go away, chest pain, trouble breathing, or any thought of harming herself or the baby, get care straight away; in an emergency call 911 (US) or your local emergency number. (For mothers)⁴

4On the seventh day

• Work out the dateUse the seventh-day calculator for the 7th, 14th and 21st days. (Tools: seventh day)
• Name, shave and giveThe baby’s name, if not given yet; shaving the head and giving the weight of the hair in silver to charity (the schools differ about shaving a girl’s head; see the seventh-day page). (Seventh day; Naming; Tools: silver)
• The ʿaqīqahArrange the animal and who will share the meat. (Seventh day)
• Khitān, if you chose this dayThe schools differ about the first week; see what each says. (Khitān)
• Check on the motherIf her low mood lasts more than two weeks or feels severe, call her doctor today, or (in the US) the maternal hotline on 1-833-852-6262. If she has any thought of harming herself or the baby, get medical help straight away; for thoughts of suicide, call or text 988; if anyone is in danger now, or she is seeing or hearing things others do not, call 911. (For mothers)^3,5

Sources

1. CDC, “Preventing Botulism” (updated 26 February 2026) “Do not feed honey to a child who is younger than 1 year old.” Honey can carry the bacteria that cause infant botulism.
2. CDC, MMWR 60(9), “Premastication of Food by Caregivers of HIV-Exposed Children: Nine U.S. Sites, 2009–2010” (2011) Premastication (chewing food before giving it to a child) has been documented to pass HIV, hepatitis B and group A streptococcus to children, and is associated with other infections.
3. HRSA, National Maternal Mental Health Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). For anyone pregnant or who has just had a baby: free, confidential, 24/7, in English and Spanish; call, text or chat.
4. CDC, HEAR HER: “Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms” (updated 15 May 2024) “Seek medical care immediately” for: a headache that won’t go away or gets worse; dizziness or fainting; changes in vision; fever of 100.4°F or higher; extreme swelling of hands or face; thoughts about harming yourself or your baby; trouble breathing; chest pain or a fast-beating heart; severe nausea and throwing up; severe belly pain that doesn’t go away; after pregnancy, heavy vaginal bleeding (soaking through one or more pads in an hour), passing clots bigger than an egg or tissue, or bad-smelling discharge; severe swelling, redness or pain of a leg or arm; overwhelming tiredness. These apply during pregnancy “and in the year after delivery”; tell the clinician you were pregnant within the last year.
5. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Available 24/7/365, free and confidential; call, text or chat 988. “Take care of a friend, a loved one, or yourself.”

Read next

• The first hoursThe adhān in your baby’s ear, taḥnīk with a date, the first duʿāʾ, and how to congratulate, with each ruling sourced in the four schools.
• The seventh dayThe ʿaqīqah, shaving your baby’s hair and giving its weight in silver, and how to count the seventh day, with each ruling from the four schools’ own books.
• Choosing a nameWhen to name your baby, the names the Prophet ﷺ loved and the ones he changed, names to avoid, the kunyah, and spelling it for a US birth certificate.
• Khitān: circumcising your baby boyCircumcision for your son: why it is part of the fiṭrah, what each of the four schools says about it and about timing, and how families arrange it in the US, from the hospital to the paediatric urologist.
• For mothers: your first forty daysFor the new mother: the rulings of nifās in the four schools, nursing and rest, the warning signs that should not wait, and where to call if your heart grows heavy.