[mamasmith]

Hey mamas! This might sound silly, but I have no idea what I'm going to want to wear during labor. Do I wear bottoms? Or will stuff leak out?! I figured I would just wear a big, comfy t-shirt and loose shorts while home, then take the shorts off when I get to the hospital... does that sound like a good plan? Or will i want a gown with undies/no undies? I just don't know! Will i need a sports bra???

What are you wearing or have you worn that makes you feel confident and comfy?

 

[ebegreen]

Great question. I'll be interested in hearing other's replies.

Here is what I was planning on wearing for our home water birth. I have a black crossback sportsbra tank that can get wet if I decide to wear it in the tub. For bottoms I have a pair of black jogging shorts with the built in underwear that I have been loving, they are really lightweight and comfortable. Easy to pull off but offer more coverage than just walking around in my undewear. I plan to wear these shorts in early labor if we walk around the neighborhood. I also have a black jersey knee length skirt that I'll wear without undies.

 

[Momofplenty]

If you are delivering in the hospital, they will most likely just hand you the gown and say "here ya go" and give you the stupid tight tube top-y thing to hold monitors in place for 20 minutes. If you are REALLY particular on your labor--lots of women want to wear xyz and be in this mood and see this on their wall and hear this in their ears...which is no biggie, I've just never cared tooo much. last pregnancy, I was induced and wore my yoga pants and tshirt around for a little while, til my water broke and then changed into the gown. They have "disposable panties" which are usually nylon or fishnet-y and those are mighty comfy and convenient. Unless you are super particular, I'd go for the gown..no gross clothes to lug home and clean!

 

[matty02]

For a hospital birth I just wore the gown they gave me. Bring something comfortable for going home. This last time I brought my maternity yoga pants and a nursing top. Don't forget nursing pads! With my first I had no clue and ended up leaking through several layers of clothes before I got home! As far as what you wear in labor I just wore the gown they gave me because 1) I didn't care if it got yucky and 2) I wouldn't have extra laundry to do! They give you underwear that is disposable too.

 

[greenmama66]

I birth nude in the tub but for laboring and afterwards I purchased one of those Pretty Pusher's gowns- http://prettypushers.com/

I always place black cotton underpants in my birth kit for afterwards as well. I picked up some cheap one's from Target this week.

 

[reborn]

This is my first time, but I'm planning to wear a dark colored sports bra with an above-the-knee a-line drawstring skirt. It's navy blue and kind of a lightweight sweatpants type material. Not planning to wear underwear... if/when fluids leak, I'll be on a chux pad or towel. My thoughts were comfort, modesty, ease of access for midwives if they need to check me, and easy to remove. If I get in the tub, I'll just take off the skirt.

Afterward, I'm planning to wear something like this (if anything... since I'll be at home! lol): http://i.ebayimg.com/24/!BUhJW4g!2k~$(KGrHgoH-C8EjlLly(kEBKN8FHzopw~~_35.JPG

The dress is going into my hospital transport bag and is what i'd wear home in case of a transport. For afterward, my thoughts were, ease of nursing, ease of access for stitches, etc, comfort (loose fitting around the belly), and one piece so I don't have to worry about anything around my waist. I have underwear set aside to wear afterward, but I think I'll probably end up just using Depends immediately after.

For all the clothes I set aside for labor and immediate postpartum, I picked dark colors so I don't have to worry as much about staining.

 

[DrBrockBaca]

For early labor, I am planning to wear a knit black maternity skirt and probably a tank top. When I get to the birthing center, I am planning to change into this:

http://www.stellamaternity.com/pp-organic.html

I also bought a black night-gown with an open neck for nursing access to put on after the birth. I figure black is the way to go for anything you don't want ruined with blood stains! I'm also taking black yoga pants and a black tank top to wear home.

 

[azzeps]

I haven't really thought about it since we're going to be home and I'll have access to whatever I feel like at the moment. I have been thinking maybe a nursing tank or nursing "sports" bra for birthing in the tub... just so that every photo doesn't have my boobs in it. I might want to be showing off some of the photos later on! But for comfort's sake, I will probably want to be unencumbered, so we'll see what happens in the moment!

Last time we went to a birth center, and I think I just wore a big nightshirt, since we went in after bedtime. I took an extra nightshirt to change into, and used that, and ended up transferring to the hospital in that, and they didn't bother me to change into a gown, I guess, not until the c-section was called for? I can't remember, but the photos after are me in a hospital gown, so I guess after they pulled the plug on the pitocin and got me ready for the OR was when I put the gown on. I think if I had opted for a hospital birth to begin with, I would have just worn the gown so as to avoid having to take home dirty laundry. I just wore the gowns in the hospital during postpartum.

 

[SuburbanHippie]

At the hospital, they'll pressure you to wear a gown. I don't really mind though because I don't want my clothes getting dirty anyway. During my last pregnancy, I went into the hospital wearing DH's t-shirt and his pajama pants that made me look like MC Hammer.

Fashion wasn't exactly on my mind at the time.