Pregnancy freebies and moneysaving tips

Having a baby can be expensive but there are ways to cut the cost

Being pregnant is an exciting time but it can be overwhelming. There’s all the new feelings in your body, plus appointments you need to keep on top of as well as all the other things you need to do and buy before the baby arrives.

If you’re pregnant with your first child, you’ll be learning as you go, and even if it’s not your first pregnancy, you might find some helpful tips in this guide you may not have known the first time round.

So here’s your ultimate moneysaving guide for pregnancy and beyond.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Free NHS prescriptions and dentist appointments

If you’re pregnant in the UK, you’re entitled to free NHS prescriptions and dental care. This continues until 12 months after you give birth.

You’ll need a maternity exemption certificate which you can get from your midwife, doctor or health visitor as soon as it’s confirmed you’re pregnant – usually at your first midwife appointment. You’ll either be sent a paper version or emailed a digital copy and it’ll include your name, the certificate number and the start/end date.

If you pay for your prescription while waiting for your certificate, make sure you grab a NHS refund form (FP57) when you pay – you won’t be able to get one later. You’ve then got three months to apply for a refund. You’ll need a FP64 form from your dentist.

Online selling groups for cheap baby stuff

As soon as the algorithms find out you’re pregnant, you’ll be bombarded with adverts for baby products you’ve never heard of.

You don’t actually need to start off with loads of baby stuff – the NHS has a list of what to buy when you’re expecting a baby that covers the essentials. 

Now, there are some things that experts and charities recommend you buy new. For example, a car seat, for safety reasons as previous damage could make them unsafe, and a mattress for the baby’s cot or Moses basket, because this reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

But there are also plenty of things you can get in good condition second hand or nearly new, such as clothing, a baby bath, and a changing mat. 

Have a scour online using sites like Facebook Marketplace, specific Facebook selling groups for baby items and local Facebook groups, Vinted, eBay, Gumtree, Next Door, Freecycle, Freegle for cheap or free baby essentials.

With Vinted and eBay, make sure you factor in postage costs as in some cases, you may find it’s cheaper or better value to buy new.

The National Childcare Trust, the leading charity for parents, also runs ‘nearly new sales’ and you might also be able to find selling WhatsApp groups in your local area on the NCT website.

Remember, anything you do buy second hand should come from a smoke and pet free home, as these can affect how clean the product is.

It’s also a good idea to look up the products online to ensure they meet safety standards and haven’t been recalled. You can do this with new items, too. The Lullaby Trust has some good advice here. 

There are also lots of baby items that are not recommended to buy – despite them being widely sold – so don’t waste your money. As per the advice of the Lullaby Trust, these include:

• Soft sided pods or nests
• Pillows, duvets or thick heavy bedding
• Cot bumpers
• Bouncy chairs
• Baby hammocks
• Bean bags
• Baby swings
• Hammocks
• Sleep positioners

Free ‘Baby on Board’ badge

It can be really stressful travelling on public transport when you’re pregnant, especially when the train or bus is packed. A Baby on Board badge lets people know and might nudge them to give up their seat (although there’s no guarantee there!)

You can get one for free if you live in Greater London or the South East – just fill in the online form on TfL’s website or by calling their customer service department on 0343 222 1234.

Save on formula milk

Breast milk is free but if you’ve decided to formula feed your baby, midwives say there’s no difference between the cheapest and the most expensive formula milk. 

If you’re tempted by premium brands that make claims about added vitamins, these are usually the ones that aren’t backed by evidence.

To give you an idea of the price difference, Aldi sells an 800g tin of own-brand formula milk for £6.99 whereas Cow & Gate costs £10.50 from Ocado and Aptamil is almost double the price at £12.80 from Tesco.

Free samples and trials

There are plenty of companies offering free or discounted samples of baby products, like wet wipes and nappies, as well as money-off vouchers.

But while this sounds great, be mindful that you usually have to sign up, handing over your email address and other personal data, which you might decide isn’t worth it for all the marketing emails you could end up receiving. Or you could set up a separate email address so they don’t clog up your inbox.

You may also need to pay for postage, which also makes the freebie less appealing.

If you sign up for Emma’s Diary, you get sent two vouchers to claim two gift bags. The ‘mum to be’ gift pack has a few vouchers in it, for example for discounted washing powder, and some samples including a tiny pot of Sudocreme and vitamins (these might be subject to change). And the ‘bump to baby’ gift bag contains a full pack of nappies. 

You’re emailed a voucher or you can access the voucher on the Emma’s Diary app and you collect the bags from Boots or Sainsbury’s, if they’re in stock.

You can claim a full size pack of newborn nappies from Aldi by filling out this online form. You’ll have to wait a few weeks but you should be sent a card by post to redeem in Aldi.

Antenatal classes

Lots of new parents swear by antenatal courses as a way to learn about what to expect in birth and beyond as well as a place to make friends with other local new parents.

However, they can be expensive. For example, the National Childcare Trust, or NCT, the UK’s leading charity for parents, charges around £269 for two people to attend five three-hour sessions (it can vary depending on where you live) and some other organisations charge more.

These classes are optional but often encouraged as a way to make you feel more confident about becoming a new parent and for creating a community of people who’ll be having babies around the same time as you.

There are often free antenatal classes run by midwives at your local hospital. These are usually one-off sessions to help you prepare for your baby.

What you’re offered will differ on the NHS Trust. For example, University Hospitals Sussex, which covers the hospitals in Brighton, Worthing, Chichester and Haywards Heath, run a general antenatal class that lasts about six hours and covers the end of pregnancy, the birth and early post-natal care, plus another three-hour class on feeding your baby.

You might be lucky enough to make friends in these sessions too and you can always suggest setting up a WhatsApp group for those who want to keep in touch and meet up when your babies are born.

You might also come across other free online antenatal classes run by independent organisations (usually as taster sessions for their paid-for online courses) although some are better than others. 

Reusable nappy schemes

Disposable nappies aren’t particularly expensive but you need a LOT of them – newborn babies typically go through 10 to 12 a day. 

You might also have environmental concerns regarding their contribution to plastic waste and landfill (although reusable nappies aren’t entirely sustainable either, due to various factors including the fact you’ve got to wash them and most people will do so in their washing machine.)

However, if you did want to try reusable nappies, you might be able to try them at a discounted price or for free, depending on where you live.

A number of councils and local authorities run reusable nappy incentive schemes which significantly cut the cost. 

For example, if you live in a participating London borough, you can claim a voucher worth up to £70 voucher to put towards reusable nappies 

You can find more information about reusable nappy schemes on The Nappy Lady website, which also sells discounted reusable nappies.

Help for families on low-incomes

If you’re struggling to afford things for your baby, there are plenty of schemes to help that offer free baby essentials. You can try baby banks, which are like food banks but for baby bits, your local library and childrens’ centres.

There are also community-specific schemes that offer free baby bundles to families facing hardship, which you can be referred to by your midwife. 

If you’re 10 weeks pregnant or more, live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and qualify for the NHS Healthy Start programme you can get a pre-paid card to buy milk, fruit, vegetables and vitamins. 

Scotland has its own scheme called the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods that help towards the cost of pregnancy and looking after a child.

Baby loyalty programmes

Some shops and brands offer special loyalty schemes for new parents with extra perks and freebies. These shouldn’t encourage you to spend more – rather see them as a reward for buying things you need.

Here are some of the most popular and what you get::

M&S: The Parent Hood 

• Must sign up to M&S Sparks first (it’s free)
• Free slice of cake, a pastry or fruit pot on Tuesday mornings (9.30am-11.30am) when you buy a hot drink and scan your Sparks card. Only available in participating M&S cafes (M&S says there are over 200)
• 10% off babygros for a year
• Various monthly offers

Boots: Parenting Club

• Can earn eight points per £1 spend on baby products (excludes infant milk and prescriptions)
• Free sign up gift of either a full size Aveeno Bubble Bath or Hair & Body Wash when you load your offer on the Boots app
• Free gifts at different stages of your baby’s development
• Free welcome gift of a full size Aveeno Bubble Bath or Hair & Body Wash in participating stores when you load your offer on the Boots app. 
• Must have an Advantage card (it’s free to sign up)
• Once you’ve downloaded the Boots app and linked your Advantage card, it can take up to two weeks to get your Parenting Club app offers 

Pampers Club

• You earn points when you buy Pampers nappies and wipes and scan the code on the inside of the pack. The points can then be used to get money off future purchases.
• You can earn 200 points on your first scan, a £5 voucher with your second and 300 points on your third. 
• The value of the points depends on what product you’re after. For example, 1,000 points will get you £2 off nappies and nappy pants while 2,300 points will give you a £5 discount.

Claim Child Benefit

Once your baby is born, Child Benefit is an allowance paid every four weeks to one parent. You get £26.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.25 for any other kids.This is paid until the child turns 16 or 20, if they’re in approved education or training.

You can get the benefit if you’re responsible for the child (for example, you live with them and pay for them), they’re within the age brackets and it doesn’t matter if you’re working or have savings or investments. You can see more on eligibility here. 

However, if you or your partner earn more than £60,000 a year, you have to start paying some of the Child Benefit back. This is known as the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

This is a fee equivalent to 1% for every £200 of income above £60,000. This applies if either of you earn between £60,000 and £80,000. And once you hit £80,000 you essentially end up paying back all the benefit. 

But, there are two things here. Firstly, if you’re a higher earner you can boost your Child Benefit and other allowances, using your pension.

And secondly, it’s a good idea to claim Child Benefit, even if you have to pay some or all of it back because you’ll earn National Insurance credits which count towards your State Pension and you’ll get a National Insurance number for your child without them having to apply for one.

It’s something to get on top of early – you can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you. It can be backdated for up to three months from the date you make the claim.

Cut the cost of childcare

If you’re pregnant and thinking ahead to childcare, it’s a good idea to contact some nurseries and see if there’s a waiting list – there may be limited places depending on where you live.

You may also be entitled to free hours of childcare. From September 2025, working parents in England will be able to claim 30 free hours childcare, as part of the Government’s Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme.

You can apply from when your baby is 23 weeks old, however, you’ll not be able to use the 30 free hours until your baby is nine months old. These free hours can be claimed until your child is four.

There are lots of rules and restrictions with the scheme, for example, there are eligibility criteria and the free hours can only be used 38 weeks of the year. Plus you may have to pay for extras at the nursery, such as meals, nappies and top up hours, so make sure you read up on how the scheme works. There are also application deadlines, so make a note of them!

If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, there are different childcare schemes – see below:

• Childcare scheme in Scotland
• Childcare scheme in Wales 
• Childcare scheme in Northern Ireland

Parents in the UK can also get Tax-free Childcare in addition to the free childcare hours, if eligible. This is another government scheme that works a bit like a savings account but the money is solely used on approved childcare including childminders, nurseries, nannies, after school clubs and play schemes.

Once you’ve set up your account, for every £8 you pay in, the Government tops it up by £2. 

It means you can get a £500 boost every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your kids to use towards childcare. If your child is disabled, you’ll get £1,000 every three months (up to £4,000 a year).

Certain rules apply, so do check if you’re eligible.

If you’re on benefits or a low-income, you may be able to get help with childcare costs. Your best bet is to use a benefits checker to see what you might be entitled to.