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18th July 2022
06:00pm BST
One mum posted to the parenting forum Mumsnet to ask what others think she should wear during labour;
"Hi, at 35 weeks. Just wondering what is best to wear during labour? My hospital checklist suggests an old tshirt or nightie but just wondering how i will be able to do skin to skin once the baby is born? Do i need to take the nightie off? Sorry may sound silly but just starting to pack my hospital bag."
There were a lot of suggestions from other mums but many were much the same;
"Hey an old t shirt or night dress is fine I wore a nightdress with mine and they jus put baby up underneath it for skin to skin..hope this helps." "Try to find a button up nightie, I bought a cheap one from primark but in reality didn’t need it as labour happened so quickly I gave birth wearing just the t-shirt I had on that day! Once I’d had my LO I was then washed by a midwife and she put the nightie on me, it was great for skin to skin contact as could un-do the buttons and tuck my LO inside"
I would second the opinions of these mums.
When I was shopping for my hospital bits I was stopped by a soon-to-be-grandmother who asked if I could show her what I was buying so she could buy the same for her daughter.
If there's one item I would recommend it's the button-down nightie. During both of my labours, I wore button-down nightdresses and they were so handy. I honestly don't know how some of the mums were going around the hospital in heavy PJs and dressing gowns because I was absolutely boiling!
The hospital had it's heating on full blast my entire labour and hospital stay and the only thing I was interested in wearing were loose-fitting items.
Button-down nighties are great during labour because your lower half doesn't feel constricted in any way and once you've given birth you can button down to do skin to skin and breastfeeding.
One other item that I would suggest any mum about to give birth should invest in is good warm socks.
For some reason, it's hard to keep any heat in your feet during labour and there is nothing nicer than cosy, fluffy socks on chilly toes. Don't buy anything too expensive though as they will probably get ruined during the birth.
A multipack of Penney's finest will do the trick just fine.
What do you think of these suggestions?
Are they what you would recommend for a mum-to-be or did you bring something completely different to the hospital?
