What did you wear in the shower at the hospital? In labour in general?

This might seem a little crazy to ask, but did you wear your swimmers? I'm a total prude, cant imagine being naked in front of anyone apart from DP but really want to use the shower for pain relief. DP is saying I would should just go naked, but when I suggest he does the same, all the sudden its a crazy idea lol

I should point out, yes I know at the business end of things, all my dignity will be out the window, but if I'm in labour for hours, I cant imagine I would be relaxed being naked.

so what did you wear? Did you wear a t-shirt/swimmers? I guess you dont just use the shower once and getting in and out of wet clothes seems silly - dunno.

suggestions?

Stark naked. I was in so much pain it was the last thing on my mind. Actually it feels really natural and normal for me to strip off for labour and delivery.

While in labour i was in my pjs, i had showers by myself and only called DP in if the contractions were really strong and i couldnt stand up by myself. I too am a prude and hated the thought of strangers seeing me naked but after about 20 hours into the labour i had a bath and i was completely starkers and i just did not care. When it came to pushing i took my pants off and DP asked if i wanted a sheet over and i just didnt care. I could have given birth infront of the whole hospital.

But saying that a girl who i went to high school with had her baby 3 weeks after me and she wore swimmers the whole labour.

Do whatever you feel comfortable with. HTH :)

while in labour i had on a long singlet and leggings, until i asked for my epi and then they put me in a hospital gown....

like u im a prude and was mortified at the thought of them seeing me in the nudd but i seriously didnt care, and when it came to showering after DD was born i had had a PPH so was veerrrrrrry light headed, dizzy, weak etc and my middie had to help DH get me in the shower, all while i was starkers with a towel shoved between my legs to catch any blood :shakehead: oh yeah that was my finest hour! :rofl:

you just dont care as much as u think u will, when it comes to it u dont give 2 hoots

Naked!

take your swimmers, take a long tee, see how you feel in the moment - i am a prude but got over it pretty damn quick!
DH had shorts he wore - very different for them - they are not the ones in labour, not the ones feeling the contractions, not the ones needing the water for pain relief!

Naked here to .... I could have walked up and down the halls naked and would not have cared...

I was nude except for a bikini top that I just didn't think to take off until DD was put on my chest to bf and I realized I still had it on. With DD2 I couldn't wait to get my clothes off. I felt so restricted. I'm very carefree like that though....and we had a waterbirth so I didn't want clothes on in the tub either. Good luck :) do whatever you feel comfortable with x

I cared what i was wearing, i had a long t and loose pj pants for most of my labour.

I got naked asap

Trackies and a long shirt with DD until rushed into theater

Old skirt and singlet then naked with DS

I had a t-shirt which got removed pretty quick as I was hot and it got in my way! :lol:

I was starkers for most of it - and didn't care.

Completely naked - I have started off both times in an oversized T-shirt and the first thing to go was my underwear because I was in too much pain to lift my legs to keep putting them on and taking them off (I was in and out of the shower for a lot of my labours). At some stage I lost the oversize t-shirt and ended up naked.

The midwives did talk about partners and showers/baths in our birth classes and said that they want them wearing shorts/boardies at least. We never packed anything special for DH - he just helped me through in whatever he was wearing, though I always have packed a spare change of clothes for him after labour is over just in case he ends up wet or covered in lots of blood and stuff. He can stay at the hospital for as long as I need him to without going home to change.

i was naked pretty quick too.

I would take a dressing gown (summer weight) to have on hand, but I wouldn't bother with covering up too much...and not in the shower. Let that water wash over your body, the sensation directly on your skin is great. Also during second stage, you want to be ready to recieve your baby to your chest (or as far up as the cord allows) for skin to skin contact. That is very important for you both.

My first labour I started with a t-shirt, then went naked for the most part. It felt so good to be free of stuff.
Second time I wore a t-shirt on dry land, but naked in the bath and shower (where I spent most of my time)
I felt better being naked to be honest. And first time round I did walk the corridor in hospital naked with people running afer me with a towel...

Nothing! DH wore his boardies in the shower - he was holding the shower spray on my back (& getting yelled at when he tried to spray himself to keep warm)

The midwives just checked on us occasionally & really I didn't notice them there unless they said something to me.

I was pretty horrified at the idea of showing all to the world too :lol: I wore a bikini top and was sitting on a stool in the shower and my big fat bump was covering everthing else! When I wasnt in the shower I had bought a nice short nighty to wear to labour in. Its what ever you are comfortable with but I say take as much and as varying clothes as you want and then you have the choice!

At times I was pretty zoned out (even with no drugs) I guess I mean more 'in the zone' and honestly didnt even notice who was there having a look, it was only when others entered the room that i became aware there were more people iykwim.

With Miss J a hossy gown cause I has things coming out of me all over the place, naked with Miss S

Naked. I can still remember the conversation i had with a doctor while he stood in the bathroom door and i was under the shower. I wasnt moving for anyone. If they wanted to talk to me, they could come to me :)

We werent expecting to go hospital so even though i had a bag packed i hadnt thought about packing bathers or anything. At least it would be better than those horrible gowns. Next time i'm getting a birthing skirt.

hospital gown with the first two and just a t-shirt with DD2 :) take what ever you will feel comfortable in :)

I was naked in the shower and hospital gowns at other times.
You have to do what is comfy for you so ignore your dh if he's suggesting stuff you're not happy with.

I didn't use the shower during labour but afterwards I didn't care and was just nudie rudie with the door open! I probably would've done the same during labour.

I was the same, completely mortified at the thought of people seeing me naked and only got to use the shower once but i used a hospital gown because i had drips and things it was easier to manoeuvre so really everyone only saw my but hehe

the only way i could relax was by being completely naked

I was going to say the same as BG, keep your options open & see how you feel. You might find that when it comes to it, you won't care in the slightest :) but having all bases covered will make you feel more relaxed.

I only got to use the shower with DS1; Iwas naked in the shower & had a long t-shirt thing on the rest of the time.

I had on my favourite type-o-negative t-shirt and underwear. Then I got into the bath, my t-shirt floated up, and I thought - stuff this!!! So off came the t-shirt. Undies stayed on till I got out and had a poop.. lol

Then I spent the rest of the time in just my bra. I didn't care at the time that I was practically naked and its only now looking back on it that I think, omg, my poor midwives seeing my fat arse.. LOL

I was naked ... didn't bother me at that stage - they'd already checked out all my girlie bits a few times, and figured they'd probably be seeing me poo and breastfeeding and everything else - me and every other woman on the ward - and by that stage, I. Just. Didn't. Care.

we were told however that any dudes around would need trunks if jumping in the shower or bath with me - and so we'd brought those along.

That being said, I'd brought a couple of short nighties with a view that I'd wear them - just never got around to it. My waters broke when I was dressed, and I just went in the hospital in gym pants and a singlet top, and I never got changed into my birthing gear... after the shower each time, I towelled off and popped on a gown. Never thought I'd wear them (they're stiff, ungainly and not mine) but I just didn't give a fat flying rat's hairy left testicle by that stage :lol:

I brought bikinis thinking I would use them but I went nude in the shower, I was in too much pain to care!!!! And then the rest of the labour I wore a skirt that I could pull up as a dress over my boobs but besides that I was naked, it was really comfy just wearing that dress. I am wearing it again for birth #2!!!! :)

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I was naked ... didn't bother me at that stage - they'd already checked out all my girlie bits a few times, and figured they'd probably be seeing me poo and breastfeeding and everything else - me and every other woman on the ward - and by that stage, I. Just. Didn't. Care.

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Yeah that!!! LOL!

I went naked, pretty much from the time i got into birthing suit LOL, So im not really that much help, maybe wear a long tshirt?

For Dd I wore DH's t-shirt and shorts until I went in the shower, nudie in the shower, then put a short nightie on when I came out, which buttons right thru. I don't even think it did up over then bump but it covered my bbs so I was happy.

DS I went into hospital wearing yoga pants and a mat top, naked in the shower again and had the same nightie ready when I got out. I really couldn't have cared though, once I was out I basically only put it over my shoulders so I didn't get cold... Not for my modesty haha!

Im usually a bit of a prude but as soon as I got to the labour room I striped off 2nd time they had to tell me to get my trousers off LOL

I must admit that when I went into labour both times what I was wearing was the last thing on my mind. I looked like a TOTAL dag both times and it didn't occur to me until days after.
I found that I got unbearably hot during labour. Even with Phoebe and she was a day off being a winter baby. I would strip off layer by layer until I was starkers. The thing was that I'd go to the loo or something and just couldn't be stuffed putting my pants back on, etc. I did wear a top both times, with P it was a singlet and with N a t-shirt but I whipped them off when the babies were born so we could have skin to skin cuddles and a breastfeed.
So both times, while I am usually very modest about what I wear, I ended up firstly looking like a complete dork and secondly getting my kit off by the end anyway.
If you are particular about what you want to wear, my advice would be to get it ready now cause when you go into labour you may very well not care a bit.

Having said that, my mum told me that she knew she was going into labour with each of us because, even though the pains weren't necessarily stronger or different to other pregnancy pains at first, she had an intense urge to wash her hair. PMSL! I was the complete opposite! When I was actually in labour I found myself with greasy hair in completely unattractive clothing.

i bought a long loose shirt specifically for my labour... it was nearly a dress and was stretchy so i could pull a boob out for bub... i wore that and the nurses gave me a pair of lovely hospital undies so they could keep track of things "down there''.

I laboured in that til the shower, then just didn't care. ripped it all off. DH had boardies on... before I knew it, the finale was there and i was pushing... Nurses tried to bundle me inot a hospy robe... I ripped that off between contractions grumbling about how hot it was.

I felt like it was about 50C in that room and couldn't bare anything on my skin. :)

hth
ox

Sorry naked for me to. I only had to wear a gown with the last one as she was a c/s. They wouldn't let me be a nudie in theatre lol but they made sure that I wasn't wearing knickers so they copped any eyeful anyway :)

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DP is saying I would should just go naked, but when I suggest he does the same, all the sudden its a crazy idea lol

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:rofl:
Just have a shower in private, if the labour goes for hours as you say then you wont need anyone to be in the bathroom with you, if its the business end then as you said you wont care! You have a right to your privacy for as long as you want/need it!

Thanks so much for the replies ladies, glad to know I'm not the only one that is a bit prudish. Have had a look through my wardrobe and there a few options in there just for keep modesty as long as possible lol I dont care if i dont look fashionable, more just covering my butt and boobs while I walk around, on a the birth ball etc. Having said that, am having some more strong contractions this afternoon (maybe mowing the lawn actually helped bring on labour :D ) and admittingly all I want to do is sit on the birth ball in my underwear. Might feel different around strange people though.

Thanks again.

There was no way I was going to be naked while I was in labour. I don't like being nude at all! But the feeling of anything against my skin at that point was just not working for me...

The amount of times the midwife came in and say "Oh my gosh, you're naked again!" and pull a sheet over me lol

Naked !

With both my boys' births I was well advanced in labour by the time I got to hospital, so I didn't much feel like showers. First time round I was "sure" I'd wear something comfy from home, but quite honestly I just didn't care and I was more than happy to take the hospital gown both times. Besides, why mess up a piece of my clothing :D

Hun, take what you think you might need and go with the flow. You'll soon know what you do/don't feel like wearing.

It was a cold, rainy day when DD arrived. I started off in trackies and a long sleeved top. After being monitored for 20 mins I stripped off and hit the shower :o I couldn't have cared less, despite my sister being there and seeing me naked for the first time since we were kids! :lol:

After my shower I demanded my top back on, but no bra, and my undies. My sister and midwife managed to put my knickers on inside-out do we have a nice pic of me labouring on the fitball with my knickers on the wrong way :rofl:

I stripped off again in no time (I think I had another shower) and despite wearing a gown for my epidural and 1.5 hours later, I was naked for the rest of the time. Clothes were so annoying in labour and I couldn't care less about how I looked although I thought I may have been concerned. For most of the labour I was only really aware of me, my baby and the contractions.

Good luck!