Do you give birth nudey?

[walkingwomb]

I know you can do what you want, but i am interested in what happens in reality. I am assuming that I will be starkers when giving birth but a lot of the videos I have seen have had people wearing clothes. Is this just coz they are being filmed?

Do I have to plan my giving birth outfit?

[belgo]

a loosefitting, button up night shirt is probably best if you are giving birth on a bed. button so you can breastfeed easily if you plan on breastfeeding.

It's a bit harder if you want a water birth. some sort of water proof top.

[Peachy]

I've always worn a short nightie- but I'm not into the waterbirth experience, so it's never occurred to me to remove whatever I've had on already tbh (and I have a fast transition / 2nd stage). have a cheapo Asda nightshirt packed for this time round, nothing I mind staining up.

it's totally up to you what you do or don't wear, as longa s you will not feel inhibited if something happens and the room fills up with med students whilst you are naked. Saying that, i don't think anyone reallyc ares what anyone thinks once labour kicks in tbh, I certainly did not.

[Indith]

Dunno really

I got in the bath when I went into labour so was in the buff. Then got out to talk to MW on the phone and never got round to getting back in the bath or putting clothes on. When she arrived the poor woman was faced with me on the floor starkers ruining a perfectly good sheepskin run with whatever I was leaking at the time

I got cold later though and ended up with a dressing gown and a duvet heaped on me (cheers dp for ruining the white duvet cover)

[Pollyanna]

I have a huge very old t-shirt of dhs' that I have used to give birth in each time. It is pretty minging now after 4 births, but I am using it again for my next labour. I would feel uncomfortable completely nude I think.

[TheBlonde]

For DC1 I wore an old tshirt of DH's, for DC2 I wore the top I had on that day plus a hospital gown, ditched the gown towards the end though

[ChopsTheDuck]

I had a big nightie which I wore for ds and dd. With dd I was naked by the end though, as I got very hot. Im pretty sure it was still on with ds1. When you consider what is going on down below, who gives a toss what you are showing off elsewhere!

[nervousal]

I had a bath in the hospital - so ended up giving birth with a very attractive hospital gown on

[JingleyJen]

I wore Pj's for the majority of the labour but then when I got in the birth pool I took it all off.
have known mums to wear tankini tops in the pool but couldn't be faffed with all that.

[GColdtimer]

It is completely to you but most people I know wore a nightie or a nightshirt. You could well have a long lead up to the time you actually give birth and you could get a bit chilly if you are wandering around the delivery room starkers . And once you have something on, you won't be thinking about removing it, unless are in and out of a birthing pool.

[walkingwomb]

At the moment I am planning on giving birth at home and maybe using a pool for pain relief. I am not particularly hung up about the nudey thing - but the getting chilly is a good point!

[belgo]

I ended up giving birth in the nude in the birth pool in my house. Because I just didn't have anything appropiate to wear. I felt uncomfortable. I'll buy a tankini for next time!

[MrsBadger]

I had a buttoned nightshirt (£3 Primark ) but I was utterly roasting and couldn't wait to get it off when I got in the pool.

[Maidamess]

No, I didn't although it was nothing to do with dignity. Just felt more comfy with my top half covered up.

Plus my nipples were huge and brown and were scaring my husband.

[pagwatch]

I am ridiculously, stupidly, irrationally prudish and would never in a million years want anyone to see me naked. I had a couple of nighties at the ready. But then as soon as labour started I could not bear the sensation of anything touching me and had no choice but to pull off what I was wearing .
It was hideous for me but I had no choice at all.
So sometimes the best laid plans .....

(DH thought it was hilarious...)

[Tommy]

with DS1 I was wearing a hospital gown
DS2, I was fully clothed although the MW managed to get my knickers off just in time
DS3, homebirth, was wearing a buttoned pyjama top which I think was unbuttoned

[funnyhaha]

Old t shirt both times. Somehow convinced me a still had a shred of dignity.
Deluded, I know.

[FourPlusOne]

Wore a big T shirt of DHs and pants both times (and bra!). Obviously whipped the pants off before the pushing stage!

Think I would have felt a bit self conscious being starkers throught the whole contractions stage, and possibly cold, though by the end all modesty was out of the window. Think that I hoisted my tshirt up once they were born for skin to skin contact.

I think I had my tankini top packed for DC1 in case I ended up in the pool, but never needed it as the pool was occupied.

I wear a bra all of the time when I am pg though as I'm paranoid about getting saggy boobs, so this didn't change even in labour.

[moodymammy]

I took a big old nightie to the hospital with me but i didn't need it cos the hospital provided their own (floral) ones. not that you care what you look like when you're in labour!

[deaconblue]

I was certain I would feel embarrassed if I was naked in labour but by the end I was so bloody hot and had lost all sense of dignity that I ended up starkers and didn't care one bit. My friend was the same, when asked if she wanted skin to skin contact with her baby she whipped her nightie off and flung it across the room! Was very afterwards though

[NomDePlume]

I did. It was August and bloody BOILING (despite being 2am). I seemed to go hypersensitive and HATED anything next to my skin when in labour. Mine was very fast and furious (3hrs from start to finish) so tbh, I didn't really give a flying fart what I looked at or what people could or couldn't see.

[pruners]

Message withdrawn

[NomDePlume]

sorry, I meant what I looked like, not what I looked at

[sherby]

Neke Neke Nekkid