Hair Removal > Do you need to do this before labour?

[HappyNewMum2Be]

I normally have a wax or trim, but since becoming larger, haven't bothered, and then physically couldn't reach. I'm not particularly hairy, but thought about having a trim, but since read lots of posts where people mention being shaved in the hospital. Is this a necessity?

What do you guys all recommend?

Thanks in advance

I was told that they'd had toe nail polish marking the birthing pool too, which was a bit of nightmare to get off. I suppose that for hygiene reasons the pool has to be and look completely immaculate (I certainly want it to be!).

When I was practising at labour ward as a trainee paramedic (years ago) we had to shave women who haven't done it down around labia and bum. This had a practical reason since if the woman needed stitches, it was easier to saw things together. I reckon the hair in the way could in-grow into the wound and cause an infection. I am surprised that it is not done in this country, but I am surely going to shave myself there (hubby will have to do it for me I guess) before the birth in January. Seems more practical and cleaner.

Reading this has made me laugh! :-D
I am tempted to go for the full brazillian as close to birth date as poss! I do shave regularly but had stitches with my last birth.
So if I have stitches again, it won't itch with the hair growing back in aswell as being sore a stitchy!! :-O It drove me insane because I couldn't scratch and couldn't shave!

I had a Hollywood wax pre-due date as I didn't want matted pubes with all the lochia post-birth. However as DS was 10 days late I wasn't quite smooth as a baby's bum by the birth but still a bit easier to deal with than au naturel.

However with an episiotomy with stitches that got infected, thrush from the antibiotics for the infection and piles, no more hot wax will be going near my nether regions for rather a long time!

I just left it all alone. It wasn't a problem at all.

I had a Brazilian at 39 weeks because I didn't want to deal with lochia and pubic hair. Well worth it IMO.

As i did for the birth of my first ds I've attacked my lady garden with the trimmers as I didn't want to be caught short with a 70's porn star look going on for my impending labour. It was a bit of a contortion act but it doesn't seem like i did too bad a job and def an improvement!!
DH has painted my toe nails!
I didn't really care last time & don't suppose I will this but it takes away any need for any anxiety, just in case!

I think they used to shave in the 80's.

I went in proper 70's style.

I just left it pretty much alone, as I normally do. I used a pair of scissors to reduce the length a bit to make it less messy with the blood loss, but having a fairly normal amount of hair did not make the lochia a nightmare - if you wash down there very frequently it has less chance to get matted in your hair.

I'm going for a very short trim with beard trimmer (thanks DH!)Think will make stitches easier but want a but of camaflagoue so I don't spot any stitched bits afterwards.

I've had regular waxes, brazilians and hollywoods in the past but don't want to risk ingrowing hairs/tiny infected pores. That's why I'm not doing a close shave either.

Any midwives out there with an opinion?

i used veet - i couldn't bear to think of them looking at it all au naturel... (i know you dont need to, they wont care, but i wanted to retain some self respect - had a mani / pedi and shaved legs etc as well) plus after both deliveries i didn't want to look down there for a few weeks after so getting it all in good order beforehand was a help!!

Ooh, Veet is a good idea. But then regrowth... I don't know. 23 weeks pregnant now and have been pondering it. I had stitches last time and they weren't exactly perfectly placed. Which caused some problems afterwards. So I'm thinking, surely it's better to give the midwife a fighting chance of good needle placement by not having hairs blocking the view. I mean, if someone (as in a doctor) was about to start removing a suspicious mole of your arm or a hairy man's back and then stitch it up, I'm pretty sure the first thing they'd do is shave the area. Clean it up, better view etc.

I veeted a week or so ago but now I'm nearly a week over due it's growing back again and I really can't be arsed doing it again

Zombie thread.

OP's baby will be turning 8 this year.

"I couldn't bear to think of them looking at it all au naturel."

This is a really odd attitude, you know that?

I know it's a pretty common attitude, but honestly many women never shave, me included.

They are going to see you give birth! It's not exactly glamorous a few hairs are neither here nor there.

If you want to shave go for it, but who made you embarrassed of your own hair? It's ridiculous.

You know the current fashion for no hair comes from porn, right?

arandomname maybe you should adopt the "each to their own" view of the world and let people have their own opinions... rather than criticising them!

Do you do your hair and make up before you leave the house? I do, religiously, but I;'m not suggesting you have to too!