Bradley's levels of modesty?

nodito

I'm reading Bradley's Husband Coached Childbirth and in it he references various levels of modesty that can act as an indication for where you are in labor.  He says they are listed in the Bradley workbook, which I don't have and probably won't get.  Anyone know offhand what they are and whether they are useful indications of labor progress?

aylafsu88

I am at work but I can check when I get home.  If I remember correctly in early labor you are very modest, you want a quiet, calm, sometimes dark environment, usually you will make little to no noise during contractions.  During active labor you may lose some of the modestly and may make some moderate noises.  During transition you lose all modesty, make noises during contractions, and talk about how you cannot do it any longer.  I know that they held true for me during my L&D.  When I was in active labor and transition I no longer cared how much clothes I had on and who saw me in my birthday suit!  I was also way more vocal during transition. 

Magpie314

As a doula, I joke that once you hit about 4cm, you will ditch one article of clothing per cm. Which means most people are starkers by about 6-7 cm. 

JJ_13

Others have given you the right info and it's certainly reflective of what I've heard from friends as well. That said, FWIW, I felt that the levels of modesty were not good indicators for me. When I delivered my LO, I still had all the clothes on that I started labor with (a nursing nightgown and a maternity shirt over it). I just never felt the need to remove them - which is interesting because I am not a modest person in general - I have no qualms about nakedness, etc.  It was only after delivery that I was like "Get these clothes off me!! I need to do skin to skin IMMEDIATELY!!" It was kind of hilarious actually. I do think the other signposts were accurate though - when I was in transition I said to my hubby and doula "I just wanna go home! Take me home!".

SweetPeaK26

I never wanted to be less modest. In fact, while waiting 20 minutes for my OB to get to the hospital (and the nurse using her hand to hold in the baby) I asked to have my knees draped since so many people were coming in and out of the room. Nurse just kept her hand under the drape and did perineal massage.

Arielle27

This all made me laugh! I did hypnobirthing, not the Bradley method, so I'd never heard it described quite this way... But it definitely rings true for my two births! This time I am ready to just get naked from the get go! I hope to be in the shower most of the time and am not even bringing a bathing suit.

abbyful

By the time DS came out (and it was fairly quick, we checked in to the hospital around 4pm, he was born just before 8pm), I was completely naked. I don't recall how everything came off, but it was all off! 

mb314

It was true for me!  I labored at home in the shower nude, and when we decided to go to the hospital, I just threw on a strapless cover up dress -  no bra or underwear.  I didn't care.  There was only an ounce of modesty left in me that made me put on anything at all. I was at 4 cm when I checked into the hospital.  By the time I got to the labor room and their labor tub - I just stripped down nude without a second thought.  I had no modestly left.  My labor progressed quickly, and I had the baby about 3 hours after getting to the hospital.

lizziealyssa

I did the Bradley method the first time around, but honestly that wasn't true for me.  I was modest the entire time.  It wasn't until the midwife ordered me to take off my skirt and top so I could push and then put the baby against my skin that anything came off.  Everyone is different-you never know until you're there