Water births... What to wear??

[ShadowFox]

What did you wear??
My mom said for her home births and out of hospital births she always just wore a nightgown and took it off whenever she felt the need.
But I don't even own a nightgown and I went shopping for one and couldn't find one.
Is that my only options?? Nightgown or naked?

[JorgieGirl]

I wore a bikini top and boxers. I took the boxers off once I got in the tub and the bikini top off the moment DD was born, so she could have nunnies.

[laughingfox]

Wear your birthday suit, of course!

Okay, in seriousness, if you want some coverage, I'd say go for a microfiber/synthetic cami/tank top. You definitely don't want cotton on when you're in the water.
Bikini tops work well, too (you can wear a tankini if you want more coverage). The triangle style will give you just enough coverage to feel covered, without restricting you at all, and it'll be super easy to pull aside for nursing.

A wrap skirt would be a good option for something to take off and throw back on when you feel like getting in/out of the tub.

I might wind up spending a good portion of my labor in a bathrobe, since I imagine I'll be getting in and out of the shower/bath pretty often.

[kirstenb]

I wore a tank top. DS was born about two minutes after I got into the tub, so who knows if I would have taken it off eventually. But, I'd rather have it on hand and not use it then decide I want it and not have it.

[To-Fu]

I was in my birthday suit last time.

[Sk8ermaiden]

I wore a black sleep nursing bra from Motherhood and a birth skirt - in the pool I just wore the bra. I lent them to a friend who birthed this month and she did the same. I lent her two, and every time she got out of the pool (she had a 29 hour labor) to labor in bed or take a walk, I would rinse it and pop it in the dryer and give her a dry one. I think she appreciated it. She preferred a long jersey cotton skirt when she was out of the tub.

[grumpybear]

i had a nice bikini top all packed for my laboring in the tub but i ended up in my birthday suit as well

[Amatullah0]

I was in the hospital, and only labored in the water, I wore the hospy gown in the water(changed into normal clothes when i got out). but i hated that the gown had holes in it, and it was so difficult to move around. when i wanted to get out of the water, i couldnt, because i had a huge heavy gown on(too difficult). Next time, i'll probably do a bikini top, and a robe for getting out of the water. perhaps a short skirt too.

[moonshoes]

I am very modest and will not be going naked in the tub. I have picked out a tank toppish type top (say that 5 times fast) and am looking into a birthing skirt.

[bestjobever]

I went in my birthday suit in a birthcenter bathtub. With my first I labored in water, nude, in a hospital. I found both times that what I was wearing (or lack there of) was not at all on my mind. Didn't give it a moments thought, too busy having a baby. You've got to figure they have all seen nakedness before and yours is really no different. After all, if you're going to eliminate waste in the water (as many do), who is paying attention to a few naked breasts?

[Jacqui]

i wore a sports bra. I am usually a very modest person, but while in labor i don't think i would have cared or noticed if i had been naked, it is the last thing on your mind. You just want to get in that big warm tub and don't care how you do it or who sees it

[kJad29]

I vote for birthday suit. At the end you don't want anything touching you and you get hot. I had to have the wash cloths that were supposed to be used if I birthed out of water dunked in ice I was so very hot. At least that was me. I don't know about anyone else.

[lizsky]

Follow up question

Thanks for asking this question- I've been wondering about this too.

Many of you wore a top into the water but took off the bottom...is it realistic to try to wear both parts? Or a really long top/dress type thing into the water? What kind of bottom might work? I know I'd probably have to remove it for pushing, but I'd like to be as covered as possible during labor.

I've had people tell me I won't care about modesty once I'm in the moment and perhaps they are right...but I have dealt with SA in my past, and I suspect I may still be uncomfortable being naked in spite of the circumstances. (1st baby, hospital birth attended by MW, waterbirth is allowed, husband and doula are my support)

[laughingfox]

Maybe you could find a swim skirt without an attached bottom? That way you could wear something designed to be comfortable in the water, and still have some coverage, even when it's time for the birth.

[ShadowFox]

Thanks for all the advice ladies.
My husband thinks I'll strip to my birthday suit. But I'd like options just in case. A birthing/swimming skirt sounds pretty neat.. Where would I get one of those?? I might just go naked in tub and use bathrobe when I'm out.

[wombatclay]

With dd1- sports bra and a towel when I stood up.

dd2- sports bra and towel, then a bathrobe once I took the bra off.

ds- I was at a different (more "by the book") hospital with ds and didn't know if I'd have access to the tub. So I packed a binsi and sports bra. I did have tub access but used the binsi for my pp hospital stay. It rocked! It was comfy/easy to wear over the pp pads and chux but looked together/in control.

Given your concerns, maybe check out binsi tops and skirts? The skirt was flattering, comfy, and quick drying/easy to wash clean in the hospital sink. So it may work for being in the tub too. And the tops provide coverage but allow access for "medical stuff" if that becomes necessary. (my dd1 was a surprise c/s and I had to cut my bra off because it had gotten icky but I had an iv and couldn't just take it off. ). They're not cheap (I found the skirt on deep discount) but if they give you the confidence and coverage you need then it's worth it!

(do you have a copy of the Labor Progress Handbook and When Survivors Give Birth? The Handbook is mostly for your support people and your doula may already have a copy... it walks through the birth process with ideas for helping it go smoothly and one thing it addresses is the potential impact of SA.)

[Asiago]

I went au natural also.

[Amatullah0]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

With dd1- sports bra and a towel when I stood up.

dd2- sports bra and towel, then a bathrobe once I took the bra off.

ds- I was at a different (more "by the book") hospital with ds and didn't know if I'd have access to the tub. So I packed a binsi and sports bra. I did have tub access but used the binsi for my pp hospital stay. It rocked! It was comfy/easy to wear over the pp pads and chux but looked together/in control.

Given your concerns, maybe check out binsi tops and skirts? The skirt was flattering, comfy, and quick drying/easy to wash clean in the hospital sink. So it may work for being in the tub too. And the tops provide coverage but allow access for "medical stuff" if that becomes necessary. (my dd1 was a surprise c/s and I had to cut my bra off because it had gotten icky but I had an iv and couldn't just take it off. ). They're not cheap (I found the skirt on deep discount) but if they give you the confidence and coverage you need then it's worth it!

(do you have a copy of the Labor Progress Handbook and When Survivors Give Birth? The Handbook is mostly for your support people and your doula may already have a copy... it walks through the birth process with ideas for helping it go smoothly and one thing it addresses is the potential impact of SA.)

curious, no experience with c/s, why did you have to take the bra off? i mean, the incision is way lower, right?

[Amatullah0]

wanted to add, i hear many people say things like, you wont care when you are in labor about being naked, but I DID. i wouldn't have been able to labor naked(not in a hospital anyway) I felt exposed enough in the hospital gown! around the pushing/delivery/stitching tears part, I think my whole bottom half was exposed(i had a sheet on, but i think it was uncovering me) and I wanted SOMEONE to cover me, but i didn't have the energy to ask/do it myself. just food for thought

[wombatclay]

c/s- yes, the incision is lower. But they leave the IV in for several hours following the surgery. It was a long labor (32+ hours) and my bra was really smelly/itchy by the time I reached my pp room. It was a sports bra (so no hooks) and trying to get it off and threaded over the IV pole was just more than I could manage! So I asked a nurse to cut it off and I wore a blissfully clean hospital breastfeeding top for a few hours till the IV was removed.

I had heplocks with my vbacs, and the bigger hospital I used for ds's birth actually said they'd just upgraded their iv stuff to these spiffy plug in pump things so people could be "un hooked" and "re hooked" quickly/easily so it may not be an issue everywhere. But this was a big regional med center and the smaller hospital where I had my c/s didn't have anything like that... just an "IV for 4-6 hours post-op" rule.