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Do I have to wear the hospital gown for delivery?
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Anonymous
| Did anyone wear something besides the hospital gown for your delivery? Was it an issue? Thanks for sharing! |
Anonymous
| They handed me a hospital gown and I said I'd rather stay in my nightshirt. No more discussion. |
Anonymous
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I always did wear it, but I am considering getting one of my own this time (like pretty pushers or similar disposable gown).
As far as wearing your own clothes, just make sure it's not something you care a lot about as there's a high likelihood of it getting blood or other stains on it. |
Anonymous
| I wore it because they told me I needed to, it has easy access in the back for the epidural I guess.... it's hideous though, and I wish I had not worn it. I didn't get it dirty AT ALL so I don't get all the posts of people saying (not just in this post but others I've read) that it will get so stained... |
Anonymous
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I wore an old tshirt and a stretchy cotton skirt. No problem getting the epidural threaded up the tshirt. Took the skirt off to push. I didn't care how the hospital gowns looked, I just knew I would feel more at ease in my own clothing.
The skirt did get dirty, but amazingly it all came out in the wash. Oh, and the nurses (Shady Grove) didn't care. I did preemptively state that I didn't care if anything got dirty and/or cut off me in an emergency. |
Anonymous
| It wasn't required of me but I chose to just because I didn't want to get my own clothes dirty. I did bring an old robe to wear over the gown for when I was walking around. |
Anonymous
| I wanted to buy a pink gown rather than the hideous ones at the hospital but they highly recommended I just use theirs. They gave me two to wear and I just conceded. I had a c-section and so I didn't have to worry about things as much with staining. As far as later, I had bought a new bathrobe that I didn't care what happen to, it was pink and when my daughter got poop all over it, it didn't matter since it was not my nice robe- I ended throwing it away and didn't feel bad. I got my use out of it, it kept me warm and it wasn't itchy like the gowns can be. I suggest wearing what they give you and then after you have the baby and shower, wear your own clothes. |
Anonymous
| I wore it for the delivery and changed afterward. there was an awful lot of blood the first time I went to the bathroom, so I wasn't really that sorry I hadn't worn my own clothes. I didn't really care what i looked like for the delivery, and the gown was comfortable enough. I did bring a warm, fuzzy bathrobe for the post-partum stay and I'm really glad I did. |
Anonymous
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This may be one of those things that seems really important to you beforehand, but ends up not mattering. What I was wearing during labor/delivery was absolutely the last thing I cared about. The thought never even crossed my mind. There was definitely a lot of bleeding after my delivery though, the hospital gown definitely got stained/ruined.
I also worried a lot about what to bring to the hospital for afterwards, and I packed comfy pjs, underwear, a robe, a pillow, etc., but ended up never using any of it. I had a very difficult delivery and recovery (even ended up staying in the hospital for an extra night), and I found that the hospital gowns and even the mesh underwear they give you were incredibly comfortable and easy, and I never even thought once about changing into my own clothes. Honestly, it's really hard to know what your experience will be like and what you'll think you want once you're in the middle of it. I'd suggest just bringing whatever you think you may want at the hospital, and then you'll have it if you need it. And if you don't end up using it, it doesn't matter! |
Anonymous
| OP here. I want to thank everyone for their great responses. I am just concerned about the comfort of the gown, that and I'm trying to minimize feeling like I'm sick-in the hospital. Sounds like I can take a big t-shirt o gown I don't care too much about and it won't be a problem and use it if I like. Thanks again. |
Anonymous
At the very least, even if the gown stays clean during labor, if you ask to have the baby placed on your chest immediately after delivery, it's going to get blood and fluids on it. |
Anonymous
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"At the very least, even if the gown stays clean during labor, if you ask to have the baby placed on your chest immediately after delivery, it's going to get blood and fluids on it. "
This might seem like a silly question, but if you do ask for baby to be on your chest immediately after delivery for skin to skin contact, do you have to take your arms out of the hospital gown to expose your skin? Or can you pull down the hospital gown? You can tell I've never done this before! |
Anonymous
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The hospital gown has snaps in the front that you can quickly unsnap to open up the front and lay the baby right on your skin. Also nice for nursing. if you wear a T shirt you either have to remove it or pull it up over your breasts to expose them - leaving you with a big wedge of fabric between you and baby. Also might be hard to remove the T shirt if you have IVs in...
I wore the hospital gowns to deliver both my kids - add me to the list of girls who had lots of gnarly stains afterwards. Glad it wasn't my own clothing! |
Anonymous
Same here. Who wants to go home after delivering a baby and wash bloody, stained clothing? Let the hospital deal with it. |
Anonymous
I wore my own clothes most of the time and was glad I did, but they put me in a hosp gown after getting out of the bathtub right before pushing because it was handier and I didn't have the energy to argue. My gown was the stereotypical tie-in-the-back gown and did NOT unsnap in the front like you say. It was actually really awkward for the baby-on-chest moment. I do wish I'd stayed in my own clothes the whole time, as nothing I was wearing got *really* dirty and they were more comfortable (and would have had easier access for nursing!), but I'll be honest and say it wasn't as big a deal as I expected it to be. I wore a cheapo maternity tankini and jersey skirt, with a hoodie to keep me warm (that I'd planned to take off for the messy bits anyway). |