Nakedness during labor/birth?

[catemom]

I'm not really a bare-it-all kind of person, I don't really even like hot tubbing with others who are unclothed. I remember feeling very uncomfortable wearing the annoying hospital gown with the open back and giant nursing slits while in labor with DS. With that in mind, I'm wondering why I see so many homebirths where the mom is completely naked. Does all modesty fly out the door when labor really sets in? Did anyone feel more comfortable wearing a top or bathing suit top? Just wondering.

[hollytheteacher]

I for one felt pretty uncomfortable with the nudity part at first, but by the end of my 36.5 hour labor with 3.5 hours of pushing, i couldn't care any less! You know how many people saw my va-jay-jay that day? lol

[Peony]

I'm not one that usually wanders around nakid but during labor I truly don't care. Clothes are uncomfortable, and both times by the time I was pushing, I had stripped down to nothing.

[jesbentink]

I remember being in the hospital in labor with my son and wanting nothing more than to take my damn bra and gown off! I am looking forward to having the privacy of my own home to feel comfortable doing so!

[Limabean1975]

I am pretty comfortable with nudity (er - my own, anyway), so I was naked for DS's birth and probably will be for this one too. But if you personally are not so comfortable, then you should definitely wear something that makes you feel comfortable! A swimsuit top...a short stretch sundress...an old college t-shirt...whatever makes YOU feel at your most relaxed.

[laohaire]

I have certainly heard of laboring moms who never lose their sense of modesty. I think they are generally in the minority, but they certainly represented.

There IS (and again, not for EVERY woman) something that lowers inhibitions as part of labor. I don't know if it's a chemical or what. For me, it lasted for a couple of days after birth, even. I am very glad for it, because I was able to focus on my work (labor) and not spend one second worrying about how my crotch looked with a baby's head bulging out of it, or about the poop that came out during pushing, or sitting on the toilet during labor with EVERYBODY in the bathroom with me.

There is a birthing skirt somebody makes for ultra-modest women. You wear whatever top you want, and the skirt covers most of you (though the birth attendent, if there is one, would be able to look/reach up your skirt if needed). The cut of the skirt is low so it's supposed to be comfortable with a laboring belly.

Me, I didn't want anything on. I went the full monty. I didn't want anything in the way.

[MittensKittens]

I felt really uncomfortable with being naked in front of the midwife at first and kept a kimono type thing on for most of the birth, but in the end it just got too hot and I stopped caring. I am sure it would have been so much worse if there had been all kinds of men (doctors) around, and vaginal exams all the time though. I am pretty convinced labor would have been nicer and quicker without the interruptions I experienced due to the presence of my (great) midwife, and the need for privacy is one of the reasons I decided to UC this time.

[Eman'smom]

I'm not a naked person, and even in the throws of labor all three times was very aware of what I was wearing and who was there.

With ds and dd1 I wore just a tee-shirt at the end, with dd2 I ended up in just a sports bra. My boobs aren't perky enough for me to be comfortable without support.


Also with all three I didn't "loose" my bottoms until right before getting in the tub (with the two dd's)and pushing.

[Georgetown HB Mom]

I am very uncomfortable being naked in front of other people. DH is the only one I am ok with being naked around. So, during my homebirth I stayed completely clothed until it was almost time to start pushing and even then I kept a long t-shirt on. I was even in the bathtub for a little while and I had my t-shirt on and then I wanted out before the baby was born so DH brought me a dry t-shirt to change into. I don't think I could have concentrated on giving birth if I had been naked. I am now a senior midwife student and I see a mixture of clothing on moms. Some have robes on, some sports bra's, some t-shirts and some naked. Do whatever will make you feel most comfortable.

Lisa

[mochimama]

With dd2 I had some clothes picked out thinking I would be laboring for a while. After only an hour I started feeling pushy and just ripped my clothes off as fast as I could and jumped in the tub. I didn't care at all at that point. Dd was born about 5 minutes later and I stayed naked in the tub not caring at all.

[zoe196]

I am generally not comfortable being naked in front of others but when I was in labor with ds I stripped off completely to get in the birthing pool and stayed that way through out. Once I was in the water I didn't give it a second thought-- (I was very aware of pooing in the pool tho-- ridiculously so IMO!)


Zoe, mama to Thomas 1/06

[dogmom327]

I was dressed until right before getting in the pool to push (didn't realize how far along I was at the time--probably would have been more comfortable with less clothes though). For the pushing and birth, I had a sports bra on. DH was really uncomfortable with the idea of me being completely naked (he has his own naked issues that I don't share). I did tell him that if I felt like it, I would be naked but the bra didn't bother me and frankly it did make the pictures easier to share.

[herbanmama]

I could care less about being naked in front of others, especially during labor. But I think there is some truth about modesty flying out the window during labor. Most (not all) of the moms I have assisted during labor seemed concerned about covering up while discussing birth plans etc, but when the actual event of intense labor occurred, they seemed pretty unconcerned about what was showing.

[claddaghmom]

I was planning on videotaping everything and putting it on my blog and youtube. So I had purchased a bikini top and a cute swimsuit coverup skirt to wear.

I did end up wearing the bikini top the entire time-didn't take it off until I BF her for the first time after birth. It just felt comfortable to wear. (the same way you want undies under your pants I guess?)

I didn't bother with the skirt.


And although at some point I stopped giving a hoot about who was going to see my girly parts, I never stopped being "conscious" of what was going on...aka was I going to poop, was I getting roids, was it weird looking, etc.

I think the actual state of being uninhibited didn't hit me until day 2 after birth. Then I just stopped caring and let it all hang out versus being uncomfortable or having trouble nursing.

[*MamaJen*]

I spent about ten minutes very carefully getting dressed to get in the birth pool (sports bra, tank top and bikini bottom), which my midwife later admitted she found kind of amusing.
At various points in the labor I flung off the clothing one piece at a time. I just didn't want it on, and I was so far off in laborland I didn't care. But the only people there were my partner and midwives, so it's not like I was naked in front of my father-in-law.

[Goatriffic]

I am not comfortable being completely naked in front of anyone but DH. During my homebirth I wore a tank top with built in bra for some support up top and a pair of pajama pants for most of my labor. While pushing I kept the tank on and obviously lost the pants. I never wanted to be naked during labor, at home or in the hospital. The awesome thing about birthing at home is that you can do whatever makes you most comfortable, naked or not.

[angelpie545]

I am generally very self-conscious about my body and don't like being naked in front of anyone except for my husband, but clothes were honestly the last thing on my mid when I was in labor. With my first, it was in the middle of summer and was *very* hot (I think it was in the 90s that day?). I went into labor at about 2pm, so right smack dab in the middle hottest part of the day. So, after things started getting intense, my clothes just came peeling off and into the hot tub I went. I didn't regain my sense of modesty until a few hours after dd#1 was born (she was born at 11:48, so almost midnight when it had finally begun to cool off). I think that I ended up sweating more because the intensity of the contractions, plus I hate anything (apparently even clothes) touching me when I'm in that much pain (dd#1 was in a weird position so her contractions were especially painful). Dd#2 was born in the middle of winter so clothes were fine at first, but once things got intense with her I was down to a sports bra in the hot tub. Her labor ended up being really short because of an intense urge to push at 7cm (my midwife held me open and I dilated the rest of the way with one push), so I ended up giving birth in the sports bra, which quickly came off to accommodate my very hungry newborn!

[JamieCatheryn]

I stripped off the hospital gown the second I got to my LDR room, and had somebody cover me with a blanket if a male doctor popped in. I didn't even notice the people that weren't familiar, supportive, and within a foot of me anyway so there was nothing to be modest about, essentially I was alone with DH and one helpful motherly nurse. I suppose when things get intense at home this time I'll loose the clothes then too.

[Citykid]

You know, I honestly don't remember whether or not I was wearing clothes during DS' birth. I'll have to ask DH.

[Full Heart]

I remember being very concerned with anyone seeing me even partially unclothed. And OMG the thought of my mother seeing my vagina! Goodness I didn't even like dh seeing me naked at that point. When labor came apparently I was uncomfortable with the clothes because I stripped and have no recollection doing it. I ended up doing the same with every subsequent birth too. I start out with clothes on but somewhere near transition it all comes off and I don't even remember doing it.

I say if you are uncomfortable being naked plan to be clothed but if you need to take your clothes off, go ahead, no one is gonna care.

It was funny during my last birth I was much more concerned with how my armpits smelled then being naked infront of a near stranger (the doula the mw brought with her). Gosh a laboring woman sweats alot