“Don’t shave the bush!” — this maternity nurse says you shouldn’t remove hair before giving birth

Step away from the razor and wax strips.

One maternity nurse has revealed why you shouldn't remove your pubic hair before giving birth in a now-viral TikTok. The American nurse urged her pregnant followers to leave their bush alone. Angela Grant Buechne said: "Pregnant? Don't shave the bush!"

@nutmeg_lcDon’t shave your bush! ##pregnancy ##pregnant ##birth ##laboranddelivery ##laborprep ##vulva ##prenatal ##obgyn ##doula ##babynurse ##intothethickofit ##lc ♬ Into The Thick Of It! - The Backyardigans

The doula explained why you shouldn't shave or wax before birth. "Did you know that it's actually NOT recommended to shave your pubic hair after 36 weeks of pregnancy?" she said. "Shaving pubic hair can INCREASE risk of infection at the time of birth, even with cesarean birth! Waxing isn't necessary either and us usually more painful during pregnancy (doctors DON'T care!)." Over 3 million people have now viewed Angela's video and the comment section is something else. One mum said: "Good because I can't see it anyway." "It's not recommended nor is it physically possible!" another wrote. "Couldn't see mine past the first trimester." One mum shared, "I had to learn this the hard way. Made a small cut, got infected so bad that I needed antibiotics and surgery two days before giving birth." The nurse backed up the video with a scientific study that supported her advice. According to medical experts, "There is insufficient evidence to suggest that perineal shaving confers any benefit to women on admission in labour. The clinical significance of the difference in women having Gram‐negative bacteria is uncertain." "The potential for side‐effects suggests that shaving should not be part of routine clinical practice," they added. Some maternity hospitals will shave a woman's pubic hair before a C-Section because it makes it easier for them to clean the incision area.