Does it really matter? Unshaved/waxed during birth

[sushee]

I was au naturale for all four births, but I'm not very hairy to begin with (thank you, Asian genes!) Even if I wasn't I probably wouldn't have done anything about it, just coz esp in the third tri, I forgot all about that area coz I couldn't see it anymore!

[Inanna]

Wow that's so interesting Tanya... Pubic hair hasn't even crossed my mind at my births... I am quite comfortable that my pubic hair is there for a good reason and it will stay put. Yes, I do wax in summer for bathers - but certainly not for my midwife!
I am a leg waxer - so that happens fairly routinely and I always plan to have it done just before my due date so that I don't need to do it for a while...

Interestingly in the not so distant past the shaving of pubic hair was routine in birth - it de womanised the woman and made her more of a girl... Less sexual... It certainly isn't necessary and in fact shaving this area with the very real risk of knicking can introduce bacteria.

Each to her own and what you feel comfy with... I like my pubic area to look like a pubic area oersonally!

[Yael]

I only waxed there because of stitches, and i thought it would make it better and less itchy...My other problem is eczema there, so waxing helps a lot!

But i would never do it for anyone other than me, i don't really care what people think of my hoo-haa... how often am i going to see them again anyway?

[Edensmumma]

i agree each to their own... its good to chat about it tho caz i know of some woman who stress alot about it, how nice we have a place to safely discuss it... i did a neaten up wax- one suitable for bikini bottoms(i live on the gold coast and swim ALOT) caz i was using the pool for pain relief heaps in the third tri... im still extremly proud of myself for even being able to conduct a self bikini wax at 30 weeks!!! LOL... but hair regrowth at that stage is a joke... it grows back faster than ever...
i think i would like to be a little trimmed down there as if you have heavy blood loss after and for a long period of time it makes life a little easier.(so id be thinking for after care not labour- from the nudist who nearly walked butt naked up the hall of the hospital).. but this too depends on your hair situation... some of us are hairier than others...
I think do what makes you feel good within urself, afterall its all part of your preparation for one very exciting event.....

[paradise lost]

I have to say i have stopped visiting all but one US site because i find them all so uptight and they think i'm just revolting! LOL. I was attacked as a suspicious person a few months ago for saying i thought it was fine that both XP and i occasionally bath with DD (she was just 1 then). They felt that i should be encouraging modesty - in a ONE YEAR OLD? FFS! And also that her daddy bathing with her was, and i quote, "wierd and wrong". *rolls eyes*....

Anyway. I usually keep my underneath bare and let my little triangle grow but keep the edges neat. But XP LOVED hair and wouldn't let me shave - even my pits! When we broke up i shaved EVERYTHING lol. I'm blonde anyway so it's not a huge issue - you can hardly see the thinner growth!

But by the time i was 11 days overdue with DD i could not see, could not reach and did not care what it all looked like. When she was a week old i shaved again and realised it had been at least 6 weeks.

My midwives didn't seem perturbed by my vagina, so i can only assume it wasn't too frightening! LMAO!

Thing is, unless you have an epidural and have time to think about these things, when your brain is still your own enough to think about that stuff in labour it's still early on and no-one is looking, byt the time they look to do VE's etc. you're too deep into labour to care what they see. That was my experience anyway.

Bec

[Snacks]

When I went into labour with Erin, I got DH to do it just before we left LOL.

LOL, Sherie, that's commitment! I don't think I could keep still for the amount of time it would've taken to tidy me up when I was in labour

[Snacks]

They felt that i should be encouraging modesty - in a ONE YEAR OLD? FFS! And also that her daddy bathing with her was, and i quote, "wierd and wrong". *rolls eyes*....

OMG, Bec! What a shame that our society is so screwed up that something so innocent should be received so negatively.

But XP LOVED hair and wouldn't let me shave - even my pits!

Crikey, isn't that a bit unusual? I wish DH were like that... cause I'm so LAZY! And I rarely go swimming, LOL. I'd still do the pits, though - they're quick and easy and get too stinky otherwise

[Shanti]

My fiance is a nurse (used to be anyway) and he worked with all the midwives etc and i asked him and he said they don't care and they don't talk about it... so don't worry! They see it ALL the time... diff shapes and sizes, different hair lengths etc the lot!

Kimbaz! re: your leg hairs being long enough to plait! haha that's what mine are always like and probably will be when i give birth hehehe I shave them once every 2months pretty much!!

[Bathsheba]

Snacks, many European men prefer hair under armpits, especially the French. I generally prefer to shave (pits) but I don't mind if in winter it grows back a little bit because my DH quite likes it too (and no he is not a hippy LOL he is a banker ie generally a conservative kinda guy). When I think back over past boyfriends the intelligent/sensitive ones were the ones to like/not mind it.

Also i tend to associate waxing "down there" with men who like porn... don't wish to offend... just a personal observation of the men in my life. However I totally understand a need to wax down there 'for yourself'... I have often wondered if it would feel cleaner... but in the end decided that keeping it trim was the cheapest, easiest, most comfortable (psychologically and physically) option.

[Trillian]

I prefer to go a-la-natural and only do it for a change. I think it is just overdone really and it is quite refreshing to see a picture of a woman without it done.

Bec, I think that it's sad that they can't see the natural-ness of bathing together as a family unit. My 6yr old DS still sees me naked and the girls still shower with their father from time to time - it only becomes seen as something ilicit when it is encouraged to hide it

[Jac]

Well, I got a full brazillian wax literally hours before going into labour (3 days before due date) so my body must've been waiting for that wax!! I would have been most put out if I went into labour before getting waxed - however, I prefer to be waxed all year round so I think it's just a personal decision based on how you generally "keep" that area.

[MantaRay]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I had tidied up just a bit for Jack. Then Tom came 3.5 weeks early. I hadn't touched that area for ages - couldn't see it so didn't really care. I was going to tidy up later but didn't get the chance. My entire labour was 3 hours, no time for doing it then. So it was au natural for me too. And after the birth when I could see my nether region again I got such a shock - it's a wonder Tom found his way through! Oh well - I'm not sure what the ob and midwife thought but too bad!

[Karina]

It crossed my mind to wax there but I just never got around to it, so I ended up have hairy pubes and very hairy legs when I gave birth! I am sure they have seen everything anyway, and at the time I didnt care and didnt even think about it. I wouldnt have been able to do it myself - couldnt see it by the end of my pregnancy. I guess I could have done my legs though, they were shocking and still are!

[castle]

LOL, when I had PPROM last year and was admitted to hospital, all I could think of was that I was missing my leg waxing appointment that day!!
I'm sure the midwives and doctors don't care...it's just whatever makes you feel comfortable.

[Olive]

i usually just keep the area trimmed but i did really wish i'd done it more often as sherie mentioned having stiches things got caught and i swear half my pain came from hair been pulled during healing and perhaps actually caught in stiches!! ouch!

[Coolabahdee]

Well being in the staff room I can tell you that that really doesn't come up. I have never heard a Midwife ever comment on someones pubic area, except for this one woman who didn't want to remove her c ring, lol that's a whole different story. I've never heard anyone in handover say for example Rm 3 Tanya, 30 gravida 4 Para 3 nasty never regions, lol. I think it's a personal thing, I've certainly never judged anyones never regions.

[Alan]

Personally I don't think it makes any differance bald or hary we still know where the baby is going to come out. And as for talking about your lack of or excess of pubic hair, well we don't, so do what feels right to you.

[Tanya]

I've never heard anyone in handover say for example Rm 3 Tanya, 30 gravida 4 Para 3 nasty never regions, lol. I think it's a personal thing, I've certainly never judged anyones never regions.

PMSL!! Too funny!

And hoobley, that is ridiculous re the bathing thing. DP baths with the girls etc (not the eldest) and he often tells me how some of his Mates wouldn't because the feel like it may be inappropriate... I can't understand how it's inappropriate...

But anyway, back on subject.

Thank you all for your input. It was great to hear from those of you in the medical profession.

I am glad it's not only me who isn't concerned by my own pubic hair. And tbh, I really don't want it all hanging out... the more coverage the better (and trust me I have a lot of coverage!!) LOL.

Thank you all so much for your honesty too

Tanya