What to wear during labor. On my big day, I was wearing a birthing gown.

My pregnancy had been relatively straight-forward, but that did not stop me from becoming incredibly nervous as my due date approached. To make things easier, my husband and I decided to prepare everything in advance and one of the best decisions we made was to purchase a labor and delivery gown.
The big day itself began quite early in the morning. After experiencing regular contractions, we picked up my hospital bag and headed for the hospital. Once there, I got out of my maternity clothes, put on my birthing gown and began the long wait for our first-born child.

As with many first-time mothers, my labor lasted quite a while – around 15 hours in total – and my birthing dress certainly helped to make the experience more pleasant. I am not always the most confident person and I’m certainly not comfortable being naked in front of strangers, so the birthing clothes I wore helped me to feel more relaxed.

My partner was unsure what the medical staff would think, but several of them said they loved the idea. It helps that the Pretty Pushers maternity hospital gown has been designed to allow access for medical manipulations – foetal monitoring, epidural, and so on.

Aside from the long wait, my labor went very well. My baby was healthy and we bonded very quickly. Again, I was impressed with the design of my birthing dress, as it provided access for breast-feeding and skin-to-skin contact. My husband loves to take photos and we are absolutely thrilled with the ones we got in the hospital.

Some people might not think it’s worth buying a birthing dress that you will only ever wear once, but I disagree. I wore a wedding dress and a graduation gown and never wore either again, because those were special occasions. Was the day I gave birth to my first child not a special occasion? Of course it was! So what’s the difference? Besides, it gave me ,em>confidence that I would not have had wearing a standard, unisex hospital gown.

Having my very own birthing gown played a significant part in helping me to relax and enjoy a day that I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life. I am so pleased I bought it and I have even decided that, at some point in the future, I will get a custom keep-sake soft toy made from the dress and baby clothes.

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