What to wear

**Redhead** · July 12th, 2011, 04:15 PM

Hi there,
Perhaps this is an odd question, but what do you pack to wear while in labour/giving birth??
All going well, I am having baby in a birthing suite with a bath & shower and will be moving from place to place a bit.
I am shy

so don't want to be naked in the bath or shower if I can avoid it, but I also get VERY sweaty just doing exercise so can imagine I am going to sweat buckets giving birth!

So, what do I pack?
Big t-shirts? Nighties? Bathers? Socks? Do you wear UNDIES until the crucial moment??

Any advice from those who have been there would be appreciated!

**little_mrs** · July 12th, 2011, 04:25 PM

I packed a comfy tank top and belly band (so it would cover bits but not get in the way of access lol) to labour and birth in coz I wanted to be clothed. They lasted about 3 minutes after I got to hospital and from there on getting in and out of the shower I just didn't have the time between contractions or the energy to get dressed! Not even a hospital gown

**Redhead** · July 12th, 2011, 04:34 PM

I packed a comfy tank top and belly band (so it would cover bits but not get in the way of access lol) to labour and birth in coz I wanted to be clothed. They lasted about 3 minutes after I got to hospital and from there on getting in and out of the shower I just didn't have the time between contractions or the energy to get dressed! Not even a hospital gown

Forgive my ignorance, but what's a belly band??

**catherinemoses** · July 12th, 2011, 04:36 PM

Forgive my ignorance, but what's a belly band??

Like a boob tube for your belly, I used one to cover the gap in my pants while pg and then to hide my belly while bf

**catherinemoses** · July 12th, 2011, 04:28 PM

IMO you won't be worried what the heck you are wearing while you are labouring. You might feel most comfortable in a crop top/bikini top and some comfy shorts. If you are in and out of the shower you might not want wet clothes on.
None of your support or midwives will care what you wear (they will expect your partner to be fully clothed LOL!)
I ended up being naked for both of my births, I had a t shirt on but it felt like it was choking me and couldn't stand it the first time and second time my water broke, not a trickle but a flood and I had a shower after that and it progressed so quickly there was no time for drugs let alone clothes! Good luck!

**LionsandBears** · July 12th, 2011, 04:29 PM

According to Lulu, you wear a pink sparkly dress

Last time I wore my clothes, changed into PJs then went starkers, occassionally wearing my dressing gown. The time before, an ugly hospital gown. Or nude. Expect to be nude a fair bit.

Find something comfortable and stretchy that wont get too hot. And a dressing gown and fluffy socks so you dont get too cold. Some disposable slippers are great too - my DH appropriates them from hotels for me when he's travelling.

**Miss.September** · July 12th, 2011, 04:35 PM

I started with a nightie and then into the hospital gown. By the time it was all happening I had no idea or no care about what I was wearing.

**Redhead** · July 12th, 2011, 04:38 PM

According to Lulu, you wear a pink sparkly dress

Last time I wore my clothes, changed into PJs then went starkers, occassionally wearing my dressing gown. The time before, an ugly hospital gown. Or nude. Expect to be nude a fair bit.

Find something comfortable and stretchy that wont get too hot. And a dressing gown and fluffy socks so you dont get too cold. Some disposable slippers are great too - my DH appropriates them from hotels for me when he's travelling.

Thanks Tashy, lovely to hear from you. x
Lookes like I am gonna have to get over my issues of shy-ness quick smart!
Maybe I will pack a couple of dressing gowns then and a couple of pairs of slippers, I am likely to sweat thru just one set!

**Mum2Romone** · July 12th, 2011, 04:45 PM

I wore a large maternity top. that covered my butt , just

I may wear the same one next time. I dont want to be totally naked, but i dont really care either. but i was comfortable as you can expect to be in labour

in my large top , the neck was v neck and loose soft material.... I havent even worn it yet this pregnancy... will have to fish it out I think

BTW I hated feeling wet ( using the shower etc) in labour so it didnt bother me ....

**misty** · July 12th, 2011, 04:57 PM

I tend to wear a daggy T-shirt and my bra (it always ends up covered in goo and blood, so definitely just a daggy one). I have my top half being naked - it just feels uncomfortable (not sure why, but I hate the feeling of my boobs and shoulders being exposed to air).

**TeniBear** · July 12th, 2011, 04:58 PM

Ianto, I had a summer top on and PJ pants til I *needed* them off.

Amelia, I was fully clothed til I got to the birth room and ripped my top off

Somewhere along the line my pants came off but I can't remember it happening

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**helle** · July 12th, 2011, 05:00 PM

I went in wearing singlet and a long skirt and that gave me the ****s pretty quick and I ended up stripping to just a singlet and knickers. Once DS was born the singlet came off for skin to skin and his first feed so I was starkers bar a sheet on my bottom half.
Don't do anything fancy, just comfy. And don't worry about being shy, you'll get over it

**Cranky Kitten** · July 12th, 2011, 05:39 PM

I wore a hospital gown for DD - and was glad it was their stuff being covered in blood and muck not mine. Mind you, this was in a hospital that didn't really do skin to skin (and was 9 years ago) and I was a naive 21 year old.

This time I don't really care, I am suspecting it won't be that long before I'm starkers anyway.

**PumpkinZulu** · July 12th, 2011, 05:15 PM

I went in via ambulance so it was just what I was wearing as we planned a homebirth. I was wearing pj pants, a singlet and a big baggy jumper. Jumper came off quick smart, followed shortly by pants, undies and singlet. I left a crop top on, as I have big boobies and didn't want them unconfined and getting in the way lol!! I really couldn't have clothes or anything touching me in labour, and plus I was soooo hot! I thought I'd care how I looked but I didn't. Hairy unshaved legs, crazy hair and all

**LionsandBears** · July 12th, 2011, 05:24 PM

My mum once overheard a midwife saying to a woman who came in to birth the same time as Mum, wearing a full face of makeup and pearls "you leave your modesty at the front door and pick it up again when you leave hospital".

There's space in birth for modesty but your definition of it changes. I've got the pictures to prove it.

**luna moth** · July 12th, 2011, 05:24 PM

A nightie... then nothing... then a sarong... then nothing... then a hospital gown... then nothing. That was over the course of about 20 hours.

I birthed naked, but wore a nightie/gown when on the fit ball, as towels kept slipping off, and I had to have something under me.