Any midwives around? or anyone who knows about cultural adjustments in childbirth? I have a few questions...

[birthingoptions]

I have NC for this as I don't think it's very common and don't want to be linked via search engines to all my waffling on

Basically I am a baptised Sikh and will have a few additional needs at the birth of my dc. None are the be all and end all but I don't know how to approach it or what is acceptable or not.

The main one is I wear 5 items 24/7 - in laymans terms they are a knife, a wooden comb, an iron bracelet, white shorts and my hair. I don't live in a very diverse area so this is really new to a lot of people (which I understand) but it's personally important that these remain on me as much as possible in labour etc. (With regards to hair I don't remove any body hair and would like to try and stick to that unless required to remove some for stitches etc). Also generally when having procedures such as smear test I keep my "shorts" on one leg and would like to do this unless obviously an emergency arose or they were disrupting something.
Would this be acceptable? I know many people who have had no issues but I am still a little worried.

Also I would love to be able to play some religious music (low volume) in the room - would this be ok?

I am 29 weeks so a while to go yet

Yeah Sikhi is pretty cool. We don't have any teachings against anything really - we aren't anti LGBT, view women equally and aren't allowed to actively convert anyone. Technically Sikhi wasn't meant to be a religion as its against organised religion, it's just a practical way of life that's against pointless rituals or dressing like a saint but doing bad deeds etc.

I'm so pleased I bumped this it is fascinating. (That sounds rude, I don't mean it to be). The guidance also seems really clear.
I wonder if a discussion with your midwife and maybe the consultant midwife msy be useful so that your care can be planned for.

I feel enlightened and will be reading more. Good luck.

The knife thing sounds like the biggest issue to me, even if you know it's a useless as a weapon.

You could ask to speak to the head of midwifery to clarify what can be accommodated?
When i was in labour though i was like a mad woman and wanted everything OFF and ended up on all fours, on a bed raised to a workable height for the midwives, utterly starkers and even after the birth I was very irritable when they were trying to cover me up. Hormones do crazy things sometimes.
I hope it all goes well for you and that you feel comfortable and respected in labour with regards to observing your religious customs.

BirthingOptions all best wishes for your labour and new baby.
It saddens me to read that people are still having this lack of understanding (and rudeness) from healthcare workers.
Where I was working thirty plus years ago we were facilitating care for different faiths/beliefs and every hospital or health unit should have explanatory documents for the staff to read that cover the needs of people of faith whilst in their care, including birth practices.
I worked in women's health and we taped bracelets where possible, often they were too small to be removed, and the wooden comb wasn't an issue.
The knife was a problem because of metal and diathermy risk though and when explained it was usually left with the nurses and returned immediately after surgery. The pants were tied losely around one leg, usually near the ankle, so they were well out of the way but still 'on' IYSWIM...
Shaving or clipping of hair was kept to the essential minimum for safety and isn't usually necessary for vaginal delivery.
I would suggest you asked to talk to a senior staff member (Sister/Clinical ward manager) and discuss this , mentioning your previous less-than-optimum experience, and ask them to inform the staff taking care of you.

I have no experience of this in labour but I work in a hospital and have often treated Sikhs for emergency issues......... generally we would ask to remove clothing/knife etc if actually impeding care (eg if in way of X ray) but not just for the sake of it. I don't imagine most of your requests would be a problem - they shouldn't be, at least.

These are really good to hear - thankyou

I will try and speak to someone when I first go in to let them know.

It's not a given that you'd need or even be offered hair removal if you have a section. I had an EMCS and no pubes removed at all. Granted, mine was very very emergency, legging it down the corridor type thing, and also my scar is above my pubes. I'm not the hairiest person in the world. But it shows, it's a possibility. This was last year.

Midwife here, I would say get the number of one of the local supervisors of midwives and put together a birth plan of sorts with them outlining your wishes and ways this can be accommodated in labour and what is acceptable to you and not. This will help you avoid having to go over it 'on the day' as plans will be in place. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Current thinking in lots of hospitals is that hair removal INCREASES the risk of infection and it is discouraged. Good luck with the birth.