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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To have this first world problem?

203 replies

Happyandhungry · 27/02/2017 20:12

So my first baby is due in a few weeks. I am about to book in for a pre birth hollywood wax Shock but i also planned on having a pedicure and manicure just to feel nice. Everyone is saying ooh no i wouldn't in case you need an emergency c-section! They'll literally stand over you and make you take all the nail polish off before theatre?! Is that true?! I planned on having shellac on fingers and toes which i couldn't get off even if they stood over me so what should i do? I am not hugely vain etc i just wanted to feel nice before going through child birth. AIBU?

OP posts:
shelllouise · 02/03/2017 08:44

I had 2 emergency sections and they removed all the nail polish from both hands before I went in the operating room. When I had my 3rd child by elective section, I was told beforehand to make sure I didn't have nail polish on.

Mustang27 · 02/03/2017 10:09

Wadafuq!! I had a French polish as a pre mummy Mother's Day gift from my mil/sil (I know) and it all chipped off in the pool and I felt utter crap about it, i offered during labour to clean the pool afterwards 😄.

Datun · 02/03/2017 10:34

I had to have a sudden emergency C section and two nurses hurriedly took my nail polish off in the lift on the way down to the theatre. My nails looked awful with bits of the polish they had missed. But I only noticed that the next day. At the time I didn't care at all.

Last year when I had keyhole surgery on my shoulder, I was told no polish, no jewellery, no make up, not even any moisturiser.

I absolutely would not have a wax. Little cuts and abrasions that you don't notice can prove quite dangerous when delivering a baby.

Have a mani and pedi but just to be tidy. No polish.

aliphil · 02/03/2017 10:51

I am curious as to why people feel it matters what they look like to give birth. I can see it mattering afterwards if that's your bag, when you have visitors and/or need something that's about you not just the baby. But in labour there's likely to be amniotic fluid, poo, blood, sweat and possibly tears around, none of which are especially flattering, and the medical staff won't care what you look like anyway.

Mustang27 · 02/03/2017 10:55

70s bush all the way 😂😂

HicDraconis · 02/03/2017 12:10

I'm an obstetric anaesthetist - I have never removed nail polish, shellac or gel for a caesar whether elective or emergency. We have ear probes for monitoring oxygen levels and on the rare occasions they don't work, the finger probe works perfectly well turned sideways. I have warned people they may have a chip on the finger we use but I've not actually damaged any manicures yet!

If a mani/pedi will make you feel good, go for it. I wouldn't get waxed though, it'll hurt like hell and it does give an increased risk of infection.

Drinks there are pulse oximeters that give a continual readout of haemoglobin levels as well as sats, it's very possible to pick up anaemia this way. Anaemic patients can also have poor peripheral perfusion leading to artificially low sats although not all do (100% sats of half the usual circulating Hb is still 100% saturated!)

TENSHI · 02/03/2017 12:21

Do people still wax down below despite knowing how dreadful the side effects are in causing infection?!

I thought only porn stars/sex workers did that?!

WatchHowISoar · 03/03/2017 06:56

Be careful waxing. I had a massive episiotomy and tearing, hair regrowth would have just added to the torture. My beautician was honest enough to warn me not to do it and after her stories and the trauma I'm so glad I didnt.

What happens if you are overdue? Won't it be wasted?

Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 07:04

tenshi you mean you think the only people in the world who wax ever are porn stars? Who do you think goes to all those WAX shops all over the world? Or are there millions of porn stars i don't know about? Infection risk for hospital yes, not so much day to day life. I've been waxing since I was 16 - I do it myself at home with wax pot and never had an infection. Just sayin.

reallyanotherone · 03/03/2017 07:41

Sugar the only infection risk is not just for hospital. It's more likely there, for various reasons, but waxing/ shaving at home or at a salon is still a far bigger infection risk than not removing hair.

Just because you haven't had an infection doesn't mean it's not a risk or won't happen- like a long term smoker saying "i've never had cancer", doesn't mean the risk isn't there...

Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 08:21

really yes but it isn't a sensational / huge risk. None of my friends / family members have ever had an infection from waxing. Seriously - I cannot take some of the stuff on here seriously. 'Dreadful' and 'only porn stars' - twee silly little view. Irritates me. Unlike waxing.

Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 08:22

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TENSHI · 03/03/2017 11:12

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TENSHI · 03/03/2017 11:13

*prepubescent

Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 15:22

tenshi 😂No one cares if you find it offensive - it is a choice people make, sometimes even if they have no DP! Shocking I know! I like it - I think it is cleaner and looks nicer. But even then it isn't going to strike me down with an infectious disease. And a lot of women do wax, you sound sweet and like you live a very sheltered life. Liking no hair doesn't make men paeodos - just means they don't want a ton of hair in their face. Have a biscuit and don't get over excited for yourself about waxing - it is basic, do or don't, not radical Biscuit

Floofborksnootandboop · 03/03/2017 15:38

I find it incredibly offensive if women who are not sex workers or porn stars feel the need to wax down there to feed the paedo desires of a man.

I wax because it's what I like and feel more comfortable with, my DH couldn't care less what I do. Sorry that me doing something to my own body that makes me feel more clean and comfortable offends you! 🙄

witsender · 03/03/2017 15:39

I'm with Tenshi tbh.

Donth8procreate · 03/03/2017 15:43

I find it incredibly offensive if women who are not sex workers or porn stars feel the need to wax down there to feed the paedo desires of a man.

Why do you want to look like a prepuscent girl down there?! Horrifying.

But each to their own. Thank god I don't have your dh or dp if that is what he insists you look like!

I don't have a DP, I'm single and haven't been with a man for a good few months. I still prefer to wax. For me it feels cleaner and looks better. It has nothing to do with a man and his "paedo desires" because, well, I don't have a man!

I am so ever so sorry that my vagina offends you though.

IamFriedSpam · 03/03/2017 15:47

I really don't care what people do either way but waxing particularly for giving birth does bemuse me somewhat - mine was a horror show down there after childbirth a little bit of hair was the least of my concerns, I also thought there was increased risk of infection after childbirth which would just be an unnecessary hassle when you've got a new baby and more important things to worry about.

yumchoc · 03/03/2017 16:02

No they don't it's a emergency I had been painting had to pop for a scan and they said we need this baby out I had paint splattered on my hair as I forgot the time when painting and run out of white sprit so had to go to the appointment embarrassing and acrylic nails on

TENSHI · 03/03/2017 16:20

Well it's even sadder that you feel that the only way you will feel CLEAN and therefore confident down there if you have to look like a prepubescent girl!!

Even if it is for your own self esteem and no one else's.

What a sad indictment of modern women today!

Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 17:36

tenshi please, stop embarrassing yourself - you sound more painful than the actual waxing, getting your knickers in a twist over hair / no hair. I am cringing for you. You are the only one mentioning men and looking like a child. If women want to wax that it up to them - it doesn't need a deep seated analysis. It is just a fucking wax. Doesn't sound like it takes much to phase you, god love you seriously!

Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 17:37

And modern women do what they want - I can tell you are the furthest thing from a modern woman. Can just picture you blushing at thoughts of porn and tutting away at these comments.

Happyandhungry · 03/03/2017 17:54

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Sugarlumps333 · 03/03/2017 18:00

happyandhungry yeah she is - might start an anal bleaching thread just to finish her off. The infection risk does apply in hospital though - the little pores where the hairs were are open so you have a slight increase of infection from the germs and viruses other people present to hospital with that you wouldn't normally be exposed to - but general rule of thumb is that if you want hair removal before any hospital / surgery: wax up to 3 days before, if you leave it later then shave. Good luck X