Embarrassing: What is ettiquette re grooming of lady garden?

[sunnyside]

I know I sound bonkers but when it comes to giving birth what sort of state should my lady garden be in?! Don't want to look like I don't pay it any attention like some hairy earth mama but equally don't want to give it full strim and look like I'm prepubescent!!!!

I've asked my friends but basically we all end up screaming laughing and not really getting a straight answer!

I had emergency cs first time and did not give my pubes a second thought beforehand. I am usually an 'au naturel' sort of person... HATED the dry BIC shave in hospital (worse than a catheter going in), really didn't like someone weilding a crappy nhs issue razor round my bits and it definately made my scar even more uncomfortable afterwards: sooo itchy and sore . The last thing you need. Also agree with the dripping gunk issue re: dangly hairy bits.

So, next time (planned cs 19 Oct) I am going to cut off all dangly bits of hair as short as possible and apply Nair to all frontal section, well below previous scar line. The way I see it: it's got to go anyway and I'd rather do it MY way! Oh, and it probably won't actually be me doing it (too huge/can't see properly etc) I have a lovely hubbie who has said he'll help... another bonding experience . I suppose he won't get chance to spend much time with that part of me for a while afterwards...

I'm a surgeon and I have to say that we do notice, and occasionally talk about afterwards, things that are a bit out of the ordinary! I would definitely get a beautician to tidy things up before the event- nothing too extreme though!!! Personally I had all my bits waxed before both my kids were born...and went for a manicure, pedicure and hairdo in labour before going in to hospital!!!

azur,

I laughed so much I cried, literally. Thank you for that!!!

saka

i didn't think about Those Bits at all but, after 24 hours of labour and finding myself being strapped into stirrups which mwives were having trouble assembling, leaving shins waving about infront of my nose - definnitely wished I'd had my legs done rather than brush with two week old black stubble . . . .

Good lord Alison, I bet your tea room makes for interesting listening Now we're all paranoid!

Dd came 5 weeks early, didn't even know I was in labour until I was at the hospital 8cm dilated! (Hard to believe I know but there you go!) Legs unshaven for 2 weeks and lady-garden untended for blushingly long time but midwives great. I even appologised to be told not to be so stupid and they'd have been very surprised if all was neat and tidy!

god - this is sooooo funny. y'know i'm just so impressed by anyone who can reach round under their bump in later pregnancy to see what's going on, let alone do something about it. i couldn't even get pants on in the latter days - i did have twins though (my excuse and i'm sticking to it)

Hello there! Sorry to but in, but I was just browsing and came across this thread.....oh my god, the things we do!!
When I had my DD I INSISTED that I must have a wax before hand so booked into my local salon a couple of weeks before due date. When DD was born, she ended up being an emergency C section so they obviously gave me a shave. However, cos of the waxing a few weeks earlier, my whole lady garden ended up growing in the wrong order, as in the previously waxed sides grew back before the main foliage and I ended up with what my friends affectionatly call my "reverse-pubes"! In fact, one of my friends even uses this story as a funny tale to tell complete stangers down the pub........
P.S. I am not actually at the childbirth stage again yet (still TTC) but due to previous issues, etc, etc, I am doing some investigation very early on!

Following the birth of Ds2, I had my legs in stippups for nearly 45 minutes, while some 16 year old trainee midwife stiched me up.

I had 3 other midwives in checking her work too, all staring intently at my lady garden.

I had given it a little trim and hoed the edges, but clearly not enough.

When I plucked up the courage to have a good feel, not only had she transformed my vag to pre-pubescent proportions, she had also stitched all of my rouge pubes into my fanjita!!!!

Took the next three weeks, to prise them free!! Not a pleasant experience.

Moral - take heed and trim your ladygarden well.

I'm due my 2nd next week and have never even thought about what to do down there but now you've all got me thinking! I got my hair and eyebrows done so I'll look faintly human in the photos after but down there never even occured to me - thanks!

Asur, I haven't had such a good laugh in ages, I think I'll have to direct some of my friends to this thread.

Good luck to all who are due soon no matter what you do with your bits!

After reading this thread at home this morning I have just gone out in my break at work and purchased batteries for my ladyshave (use Venus for legs and armpits - but not putting razor near my best bits) so I can groom and smarten - I am due in Dec with baby no.2 and never gave it a thought for baby no.1.

Guess I will have to stand over a mirror to see what I am doing!

alison - that's scary that you do notice and comment... I was hoping someone in the profession would come on and say 'don't be stupid, we're all too professional to even notice'

I have no idea what mine looked like though - I tried to trim but couldn't see anything so was probably very uneven... I'm sure all the folk looking down there noticed too as I was checked loads and watched pushing but baby wasn't coming that way (he was happy where he was) so all they were looking at was my ladygarden!

glad everyone enjoyed the story about wax but I have to say again, it wasn't me - was told the story by my sister who apparently heard it from a friend.... honest

Lol at this thread. I kept worrying about how I looked down there whilst pg and dh would help to 'tidy'.
I remember a friend telling me that she had had a bath and a shave whilst going into labour and the story stuck with me. I always made sure I was 'tidy' throughout pg!
I had an emergency c section and I remember them looking and saying 'this one doesn't need a shave!'

Sorry to butt in (and with my first posting too!) but I had to warn you. If you've never removed it all - and I mean ALL - be aware that you may find the overall look kind of disturbing.

After a bout of complete paranoia over crabs (long story, friend of a friend stayed over at my house and we found out later, etc etc) I decided to shave the lot off to be absolutely certain there was nothing lurking. Now I'm a chubby, baby faced type, like Matt Lucas from Little Britain in many ways. With no pubic hair the general impression was of an enormous child with a terrible ageing disorder. I swear any pictures would have made the Weekly World News. Not sexy, not nice, never again.

Not that I'm implying that you are equally Lucas-like or anything but might be best to leave a little landing strip or whatever. Just to be on the safe side

Just to warn you all a friend of mine was paranoid about her ladygarden when pg & decided to try & trim it her self using scissors & a mirror. Well, she managed to cut her self & bled LOADS.....but even worse had to explain to her male consultant why she had this huge ugly scabby wound when he wanted to examine her 'down there'!!!!!!!

I had a homebirth with my lil lad, so wasnt as worried as there was only 2 MW to see, but I did get DH to shorten everything for me with his clippers

This is so funny. Just cream sides and trim underneath usually but hadn't once I'd lost sight down there. My cuz advised Brazillian for hygiene after, not for the midwives sakes! I booked a brazillian at 39 weeks when bored and dd came a week early and I had to ring and cancel in early labour. Ended up with 4 degree tear (so the whole lot had to be recreated) and no comments from midwives or surgeons. Do what suits you and good luck!!

LOL pant moustache/beard

Have to confess that my Sister, who's an anaesthetist, did mention to me during my first pregnancy that the medical staff do notice whether someone has bothered to make herself tidy, or not.... With this in mind I tried to make sure that I was always vaguely tidy too (waxed at salon) and will do the same again this time. That said, am only 25 weeks and already can't see down there....

Have just suggested to DH that he might wish to assist with trimming and he's told me to continue getting waxed....

Hi this is the first time I have been on this site and would like to add my piece. I am due my first child in 3 weeks and feel ladygarden etiquette is quite relative. If you can put a towel under yourself on the bed you can trim yourself VERY VERY carefully. My hair has hardly grown at all whilst pregnant, however, I have still booked in for a bikini wax next week.
I just feel that it is more hygenic, easier to keep yourself clean, less liable to catch on sticky maternity pads and surely it must be somewhat easie for doctors/midwives to see what is going on when you are nice and neat down below?

I would recommend bikini waxing all round!

What a funny thread! I was so big when preggers that I couldn't see anything anyway, and would have been impossible to do anything myself with that bump in the way. I was horrified though after giving birth at how mature the forest had become! Could have made a terrific mohecan though!

have just come upon childbirth chat at 36 weeks pg & have been laughing so hard at this thread am in danger of another premmie birth. Am also going to sort out neglected ladygarden tomorrow having read some of the comments...

I use dh's rechargable beard trimmer. Lean mirror up wall, sit on floor with legs propped up wall. stretch the skin tight with one hand, trim with the other and go for your life!! Can pretty much get it all off - no ingrowns and it feels lovely and velvety after(tmi?). Harder when you've got a big bump - get dh to help (a bit scary at first but it gets easier and you'll probably have a right laugh!) Good luck!

I had an elective c-section with ds and was told by the hospital to have a shave before going in. DP was not around at the time and I had no idea how to achieve what the hospital had requested. Was discussing it with my mum and she only piped up and offered to do it for me Now I don't know how close other people are with their mums, but would anyone out there really let their mum do this for them!?!? My poor mum looked mighty releived when I turned her down, saying I'd manage some other way.....!

Who the heck cares what your pubic topiary is going to look like??? Give it a quick trim if you really have a forest down there

Asur, that's one of the funniest stories I've ever read - I nearly peed my pants!

I've noticed that over the last few weeks my pubes seem to be ... er ... spreading northwards towards my belly button. I'm not an especially hairy person but this is somewhat disconcerting - is it normal in pregnancy? And does it go away afterwards?

On the subject of trimming/waxing/shaving/Veet-ing and all other methods of hair removal, I am mortally embarrassed by this but I have big lips "down there". They tend to hang down and if I remove a lot of hair they're really obvious. I've seen women on "designer vagina" cosmetic surgery programmes have "bits" like this surgically neatened so they look more like those of a porn star, but I'm worried that a) anyone who looks at my bits during labour will be horrified and b) that they'll get somehow 'stretched' even more when I give birth and will end up hanging down even more. I feel deformed - not even sure if I'm normal!!