sorry another question about laboring in the tub/shower

Tigger & pooh

Did you wear anything on top like a swim top, sports bra, or a nursing tank?  If not did you use a towel to cover yourself at all? 

aylafsu88

I wore a nursing bra but no bottoms.  IMO wearing bottoms would have been a PITA as the nurse checked me in the tub when I felt the urge to push.

Tigger & pooh

aylafsu88 said:

I wore a nursing bra but no bottoms.  IMO wearing bottoms would have been a PITA as the nurse checked me in the tub when I felt the urge to push.

Oh I totally agree and in both my other births I hated having anything touch around my belly and bottoms area. 

sschwege

I brought a tankini just in case, but never wore it.  When I got out of the tub to push they wrapped towels around me, but as soon as I got to the bed I wanted them off.

JCWhitey

Sports bra but really only because I never thought to take it off. I had no issues being naked during labor.

barista411

I was completely naked. My delivery room had a separate bathroom so I was able to have a lot of privacy. It was mainly DH and I and my MW would come in and check on me every once in a while. I did not want to have to deal with pealing a wet bra or shirt off when I was time for skin to skin and breastfeed. I am a fairly modest person but I could have cared less who saw me at that point, I was comfortable and easily able to take care of DD.

MariaKeegs

I did a sports bra last time. But getting it off when baby was born was annoying because it was heavy duty. I'm going with a nice, light night time nursing bra this time around. And really only because I have hired a photographer and don't want a ton of boob shots. Otherwise I'd be in the buff.

KateLouise

I ended up completely naked for both my girls.

Mostly because I got into the shower, and so it only made sense to me to take my clothes off.

For DD1 my MW wrapped a sheet around me when I moved from the shower.

For DD2 I accidentally had her on the bathroom floor. As I was lying on the bathroom floor completely naked, with baby's head already out, and ambulance officer's walking down the hallway, I distinctly remember reaching for a towel to cover my top half, but I think I only managed to drape it across my stomach. :-)

SweetPeaK26

I used a Beband as a bra. It wasn't restrictive, but I was too modest not to, and I wanted some support. I don't like to have my boobs flopping around ever.

babyLOLO13

I plan on wearing a normal bra or nursing bra as opposed to a sports bra for the "hard to get off wet" reasons. I figure I'll be wrapped around w/ a towel and won't notice the wetness of the bra by the time it comes to pushing. I can always have doula or midwife unhook my bra for me and help me in gown if I am really irritated by it. 

J&Jaggies06

I wore a nursing bra only. Mainly just for my own comfort. I'm glad I didn't have on bottoms because when I felt the urge to push there wasn't time to take anything off.

barnwife

I labored in a t-shirt and shorts. The shorts came off for my first and only cervical check. When the pool was full (we have HB), I started climbing in and thought "what the heck am I going to get this shirt wet for? It's a perfectly good shirt!" 

I took it off as I was climbing in. 

Modesty/privacy never entered my mind. I wouldn't even have cared if J.'s caregiver had come in. I didn't cover myself at all. Never even thought about it.

Khaleesi07

I'm a FTM, but I have a bikini top ready for when I'm in the tub. My boobs are huge right now, and I'm still not quite used to it. It's nice to have a bikini top to keep them in place, and it's super easy to take off for skin to skin and BFing.

mb314

I had packed a sports bra and a bikini to wear in the tub, but by the time I got to the hospital and the tub I didn't care less about being covered up and I just stripped down and got in the tub nude.  I did not care at all about modesty at that point.   

Be prepared and bring a bikini or sports bra because you may want one.  You don't know what mind frame you'll be in. 

rooftop

I'm not one for modesty usually and that goes double for while I was in labor. I could have cared less what I was wearing or who was around. It was nice to have a robe to wrap around me for warmth when I got out of the tub though. Shivering during contractions was not fun.

LifesPeachy

Black jogging bra that I wore to the birth center and peeled off when I got out of the tub and put on a dry nursing tank, Eta- I didn't wear anything on my bottom because I was planning on delivering in the tub (and did) but also no one could really see anyway. It felt better to not have anything restraining down there too

SunnyMuffin

I wore a bathing suit top.  I kept undies on in early/middle labor but when I got into the pool for pushing I had no bottoms on obviously.  The wet top did suck afterwards because I was dizzy and laying down on the floor (homebirth) and needed help to get it off

Sawyerplus1

I've had 2 water births and was totally nude for both. At that point, being nude in the presence of my midwives was the last thing on my mind. I also feel that wearing clothes, particularly bottoms, would have been more irritating than anything.

M&Bmeyer

I saw on the video today in Lamaze class, that they have birthing skirts.  Do you moms that have done this before feel that would work?

melosch

Throughout labor I was in underwear and a sports bra. I had to wear the underwear because my waters had broken and I was perpetually leaking! I labored at home without a tub and by the time we made it to the birthing center I was fully dilated. As soon as I heard that, off went the pants and I pushed in the tub in my sports bra. 

In retrospect, I wish I had taken it off because it was such a pain to remove it all wet once baby was born and we were laying down to have our skin to skin time. But in the moment it certainly didn't matter. I think it was more of a hassle to take it off at that point which is why it stayed on until after Jasper was born.

LindseyH033

BLang23 said:

I had a natural birth in a hospital and once I arrived there I spent my entire labor experience in the shower in the attached bathroom. I was naked in the shower and they left me and my husband alone the entire time I was in there. Once it got close to "go time" I got out and threw on the hospital gown and left the bathroom and slowly made my way to the bed in between contractions. I delivered In the gown.

I had almost the exact same experience, except when I got out of the shower I remained naked through delivery. DD2 is due next month and I'm hoping to labor and deliver in the birthing tub. My goal is to wear a sports bra this time, but who knows what will happen!

jackersCU

Since it was only my DH, nurses, and doctor (all female except hubby), I wore nothing. It was really comfortable for me and I am glad I chose that for myself. Once my DD was born, I breastfed immediately and didn't have to deal with a bra or anything.

memo9

Thanks to this thread I just ordered a bikini top on clearance from target.  Can't beat end-of-season prices!

babyduejune

c

ncbelle

I didn't wear anything by the end of either labor (including the one I was never in the water).  Normally, I'm really modest but I just.did.not.care!  And honestly it was annoying to have anything touching me!

LindseyH033

With DD1 I didn't wear anything (labored in the shower on birthing chair, delivered in the bed), with DD2 I wore a sports bra (labored and delivered in the tub). 

CDMay2006

I started with a swim suit top, but took it off after just a few minutes.

LOVEmyLUTZS

I started with a nursing tank, was in the tub for 5 mins said, "No way!" And changed into a semi top. The tank was to restrictive and annoying. Also by the time a baby is coming out of your whoohaa you don't really care if you're wearing anything at all!!!!

mylovelyll

Nursing sleep bra - put my short dress back on after I dried off from shower, and a sweatshirt and leggings because I was cold. Then the sweatshirt and leggings came off when I was hot. The dress stayed on, though - a cheap maternity dress from H&M that allowed me to lower the stretchy top to nurse my newborn. My modesty disappeared once he was born, though - I had everyone helping me hand express! It's amazing how less modest I am now that my body is so much less attractive (yet amazing, of course)!

mrsblueeyes

I wore a bikini top, because I felt comfortable in it. It was super easy to slip out of when I got out of the tub to head back to the bed

noraraeuc

We were home alone and I was definitely naked. There was no way anyone could have convinced me to put on even a bikini top lol which I had added to our birth supplies

alliejoe

The MW had me take off my bottoms b/c my water broke before labor started and she was pretty serious about not having underwear/shorts/a pad on since I wasn't contracting yet and she didn't want to give any opportunity for any introduction of bacteria. 

I ended up laboring in the shower and had on a red bra that ended up staying on till after I delivered.  I'm glad it was a regular bra versus a sports bra b/c I wouldn't have wanted to try to peel that off.

(ok, back to lurking)

kathleen02

Just a nursing sleep bra, no shorts or bottoms of any sort.