Modest momma to be with a Q about labor attire

CocoBrynne · March 2011

Obviously for the big moment I will be pretty spread eagle, but leading up to the big event how covered up can I be or how covered up were you for previous births? I am EXTREMELY modest, and no matter how much pain I'm in there is no way I am going to be at all comfortable rolling around nearly stark naked in front of a bunch of various nurses, drs, practicing medical students, etc. I know I have a lot of time yet, but I'm looking to get an idea so I have plenty of time.

sb78 · March 2011

I had on the hospital gown the whole time. They had my legs covered unless someone was checking me or I was pushing. I was never full naked. I didn't get sweaty or hot though either and if I was, I would have taken off the gown and put on a bra.

StefaniePace · March 2011

I have never given brith before.. but I am pretty sure that you can out in your birth plan that you would like a sheet over your legs when being check etc. As far as the pushing part.. I honestly dont think there is a way to go about it to not have your "business" shown. They are all doctors too so I think it might be something that you will have to come to terms with... Unless you want to be the first to show up in crotchless sweat pants

Good luck

Gummybear · March 2011

I was able to keep my gown on while laboring (ended up w/ a c/s) but there is no possible way you will be able to have anything on down below. I had everyone but the landscaper shoving their arm up there and checking things out and readjusting the belt that monitors baby. I just kept my gown hitched up (esp. since after my water broke, things get a little, ummm, squishy) and kept a blanket over my legs and middle when the Dr's etc. weren't around. But I was pretty much naked from the upper waist down.

I know everyone says this, but seriously, it's going to be the farthest thing from your mind.

Roseallen112 · March 2011

I never had a baby but I know hospital have rules and you can't just be flailing around naked. I worry about the same thing. i really don't want my goods on display for anyone walking past me. I plan on using the hospital gown and once i deliver a night gown that is easy to get on and off if they need to get in there. My MIL got her niece this nursing gown that she wore in the hospital and said it was a great idea. May try that..

abell77 · March 2011

Ok, I'm not trying to pull a "know it all" on you, but honestly until you are in active labor, there is really no way of predicting how you will react and what you will be comfortable with. I consider myself to be a modest person as well, and one of my biggest surprises during labor was that I turned into "that naked lady" who didn't care who saw me completely naked. I hit transition and suddenly the thought of wearing any clothing was irritating to me. Obviously I'm not saying the same thing will happen to you, but my point is that never in a million years would I have predicted it would have happened to me. And this really is not the kind of thing to spend your energy worrying about now. It's like pooping during delivery, it's either going to happen or it won't, and there's not much you can do to control it. I don't know if you plan on wearing a hospital gown or your regular clothes, but honestly you should be able to remain as covered as you want to be until it's time to push.

animalcrckers · March 2011

i had on a gown & blankets the whole time. the only time your legs arent covered is when they check you and when you deliver. you dont feel naked, or at least i didnt.

tpandr08 · March 2011

When I had Riley, I had 2 hospital gowns on. One the right way and one backwards, kind of like a robe so my booty wasn't showing. Now, right before the epidural, they had me take the "robe" gown off but I was still under tons of blankets and at my hospital there is a curtain in front of the door so even if you are laying in bed "exposed" as soon as someone comes through the door they should ask before coming in to make sure all is ok.

PS---- DO NOT invest in the fancy hospital gowns and robes. They are $50+ and will get so much stuff on them that you will not even want to think about cleaning it and will proabably throw it in the trash. Riley was born at 1:38AM and I wore hospital gowns that whole day (I took a shower soon after the epidural wore off) and then my bleeding let up over night the first night so the next day I just wore a jogging suit.

memali26 · March 2011

I had a hospital gown on the whole time. If I wanted to be up walking, I just put a second gown on backwards - like a robe. When I was sitting in a chair it was easy enough to stay covered with the gown, and in bed I kept a blanket/sheet over my lower half.

They will be checking you a lot, but you can cover up in between. When it comes time to push, though, you aren't going to be able to stay covered. Thought at that point, I could have cared less, I just wanted that baby out.

CocoBrynne · March 2011

One other thing, when I am actually pushing her out, will I be able to see everything happening? Honestly I have seen on One Born Every Minute the drs telling the moms to look down as the baby comes out, and that part always freaks me out a bit LOL. Can I not look until she is out?

abrazz · March 2011

I am very very modest. Before the epidural I was having some pretty terrible back labor and the only position is could stand to be in was on my knees. I am sure I flashed the goods a couple of times lol. After the epidural I wasn't really exposed at all till I pushed. I don't think I could be the naked girl either, but you never know. Pain makes people do things they wouldn't normally do.

Lindsaywillo · March 2011

Ok, the crotchless sweatpant comment above is hilarious! You could give it a shot! But anyways, with my daughter there wasn't a whole slew of people coming in and out of our room, probably just your nurse and your husband and the whole time I was wearing my gown. Now, there was someone in training at my delivery who walked in and I happened to know him!! I grew up with the guy! So when they asked if I minded if he stayed I was like NO WAY! And when it came to pushing and the baby was just about out I looked over and noticed he was in the room anyways....and you know what, I didn't even care! You probably seriously won't care either. After delivery there are nurses that come in grab your boobs and show you how to breastfeed too and nurses coming it to check your crotch, asking you to roll over so they can check ya! All I could think about was geez, I hope I'm not in the middle of trying to get this kid to latch on when someone comes to visit...it's really a liberating, no chance you can maintain your modesty kind of experience! Good Luck!

Gummybear · March 2011

You don't have to look if you don't want to Smile

You can try to find a focus point in the room and just look there when pushing.

Your question reminded me a a dear friend who was very modest to, she didn't want to look -- but she glanced at the TV facing the laboring bed and could "see" the "action" in the reflection from the glass. she was SO upset and wanted to write a strongly worded letter to the hospital about the poisitiong of their TVs in the labor rooms.

Ivana_Stolichnaya · March 2011

CocoBrynne:
One other thing, when I am actually pushing her out, will I be able to see everything happening? Honestly I have seen on One Born Every Minute the drs telling the moms to look down as the baby comes out, and that part always freaks me out a bit LOL. Can I not look until she is out?

They won't have a gun to your head while screaming "LOOK DOWN!", you don't have to look if you don't want to.

I'm also modest and all modesty flies out the window honestly. During labor I wore my gown the whole time. After she was born I was so wrapped up in the moment that I didn't realize they pulled my gown away to have her lay on my chest. I only noticed after I saw the video. So while laying with my boobs all out are my parent's brother and MIL...nice. But you know what...no one was there to stare at my boobs, they were also so wrapped up by Kaitlyn laying there that no one really noticed.

emmyloustu · March 2011

abell77:
Ok, I'm not trying to pull a "know it all" on you, but honestly until you are in active labor, there is really no way of predicting how you will react and what you will be comfortable with. I consider myself to be a modest person as well, and one of my biggest surprises during labor was that I turned into "that naked lady" who didn't care who saw me completely naked. I hit transition and suddenly the thought of wearing any clothing was irritating to me. Obviously I'm not saying the same thing will happen to you, but my point is that never in a million years would I have predicted it would have happened to me. And this really is not the kind of thing to spend your energy worrying about now. It's like pooping during delivery, it's either going to happen or it won't, and there's not much you can do to control it. I don't know if you plan on wearing a hospital gown or your regular clothes, but honestly you should be able to remain as covered as you want to be until it's time to push.

Ditto! I ended up in just a nursing bra.

12bailey18 · March 2011

I was covered up the whole time, under the covers except when they had to check for dilation and to insert the catheter. I will say that during the actual delivery and afterwards while the doctor was stitching me up, I could not have cared less who was seeing what. I'm an extremely modest person but right after giving birth- it was the farthest from my mind.

baclyn02 · March 2011

I had on my hospital gown the entire time and was under the covers when they weren't checking me and when I wasn't pushing.

njohnson1972 · March 2011

Next time you watch One Born Every Minute, take a look for the mirror on the ceiling. It is so you can look and see the baby coming out, if you want.

madhatter2003 · March 2011

when walking the halls, etc I had one gown on normally and one gown on backwards like the pps. But in the tub I was naked with just a towel over my chest. When the pushing stage hit I honestly wouldn't have cared who was seeing what...I just wanted to get them out! I know the nurse unsnapped the top for me and pulled it down so I could have skin to skin contact right away.

KentuckyMama · March 2011

Tell your nurses that you're modest and don't want to be uncovered and "out there" unless necessary. My nurses knew I was a very modest person and helped me to feel comfortable with that!!!! Everyone told me that would change after labor, but it didn't! I am still VERY modest and can't change that! LOL Good luck!!!!

CCinLove · March 2011

CocoBrynne:
One other thing, when I am actually pushing her out, will I be able to see everything happening? Honestly I have seen on One Born Every Minute the drs telling the moms to look down as the baby comes out, and that part always freaks me out a bit LOL. Can I not look until she is out?

I felt like the worst mother in the world when they offered me a mirror to look, and I turned them down. I don't regret it at all...there are some images I don't need in my head. I was happy waiting to see my son until he was out.

I'm very modest as well, and did the double robe thing during most of my labor. I wanted NO ONE in the room but me, DH, the Dr., and a nurse. However, my son's heart rate dropped suddenly when I started pushing, and I almost had to have a c section. There were seriously about 30 people in the room when I delivered between the various nurses, residents, and attendings from OB, Anesthesia, Pediatrics, NICU, etc. I don't even know who was there, and I don't care. I didn't even notice them. I was too focused on delivering a healthy baby. You really will tune out most of what's going on around you when you're in labor.

Lissa832 · March 2011

The only time I was not covered from thw waist down was when I was pushing. Otherwise, I was never exposed. When they did internals, they lifted up my blanket slightly, but the person checking was the only one getting a view. People always say you don't care when you are in labor, but I still did. I was very uncomfortable, and was anxious to get my privacy back. Unfortunately, that doesn't really happen until you check out.

epuorro · March 2011

I had my hospital gown on, but when I was in active labor, I was getting major hot flashes and I ripped it off in the middle of pushing. I consider myself a modest person as well, but I honestly didn't care at that moment. It's just whatever makes you feel the most comfortable.

No, you don't have to look. Also, my dr asked me if I wanted to feel the head. There was NO WAY I wanted to do that - it's whatever you want to do in the moment.

Stellar1 · March 2011

As soon as I went in for the induction, they put me in a gown. Let me tell you that I am one of the most modest people around and during labor/hard contractions I could have cared less about modesty. I was so hot that my mom was at the foot of the bed fanning my gown up and down. Once the baby is born, doctors and nurses are walking in all the time while you are nursing and they get shots! I had DD in the evening so I slept in my gown that night but then the next two days I was in the hospital I wore my own sweats. During labor, modesty goes out the door.

rayandbrit · March 2011

I was able to stay covered up the whole time (with a blanket over my knees while delivering). I had a ridiculously fast delivery, so there wasn't a lot of laboring and agony (I also had an epidural). People are correct that you will care less about modesty during the delivery, but I was still conscious of how much I was hanging out. I will say though, that I was more embarrassed of the "after delivery" where a nurse joined me in the bathroom to clean up the area.

One are of modesty that suprised me though, was how quickly my it flew out the window in the days that followed while trying to breastfeed. I was so exhausted and frustrated that I didn't care who saw my boobs out. I felt like I had them out non-stop those first few weeks.

SailorGray · March 2011

Modesty goes out the window when you have a baby. That being said, keep in mind that it is not Grand central Station. With DS, I had one nurse at a time and once doc if something needed to be done. People really aren't in and out often. During delivery, the one nurse pretty much did everything and my OB came in at the end. We also allowed a student to observe, but that's it. Your door isn't open and when you walk the halls, you can wear your robe with your gown.

Oh, and PLEASE do not buy one of those labor gowns as some have suggested. What a waste. The hospital gowns they give you are actually comfy and perfect for what you will be doing. The day after I had DS, I changed into my black yoga pants and nursing tank.

hillausky · March 2011

I wore a hospital gown the entire time I was in labor and delivery. I was covered with blankets unless someone was checking to see how far along I was. Even when actually pushing only my lower half was out. The staff was pretty accommodating and I am sure they will do the same for you to make you comfortable.

water-fairy · March 2011

I was never naked while in labor. They gave me a gown, I put it on and had it on the entire time. Except for the people right in front of my wide open legs (2 nurses and my OB), nobody saw me naked.

water-fairy · March 2011

abell77:
Ok, I'm not trying to pull a "know it all" on you, but honestly until you are in active labor, there is really no way of predicting how you will react and what you will be comfortable with. I consider myself to be a modest person as well, and one of my biggest surprises during labor was that I turned into "that naked lady" who didn't care who saw me completely naked. I hit transition and suddenly the thought of wearing any clothing was irritating to me. Obviously I'm not saying the same thing will happen to you, but my point is that never in a million years would I have predicted it would have happened to me. And this really is not the kind of thing to spend your energy worrying about now. It's like pooping during delivery, it's either going to happen or it won't, and there's not much you can do to control it. I don't know if you plan on wearing a hospital gown or your regular clothes, but honestly you should be able to remain as covered as you want to be until it's time to push.

LOL, amen!

sarie1621 · March 2011

rayandbrit:

One are of modesty that suprised me though, was how quickly my it flew out the window in the days that followed while trying to breastfeed. I was so exhausted and frustrated that I didn't care who saw my boobs out. I felt like I had them out non-stop those first few weeks.

THIS! I can't tell you how many people touched my boobs to help me feed or help my daughter latch. My MIL, my grandma in law, sister, mom, nurses, doctor.. So many people saw them, you just really can't avoid it. Plus my daughters temp dropped a few times so we had to do skin to skin a lot.. Modesty doesn't exist in L&D.

mabma80 · March 2011

I'm sorry, but I laughed when I read this post! With my first pregnancy, the first thing the nurse said to me "I hope you're not modest." To which I replied "Honey, modesty went out the window a while ago. Let get this baby out already." We both had a good laugh and then got down to birthin' baby business.

I had on the gown they give you at the hospital. Nothing on underneath. Personally, it was more comfortable to not be constrained just because I was in a lot of pain. After the delivery, I put on my nursing bra I bought from the hospital shop a couple weeks before.

They should ask you if you are comfortable with a student in the room.

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