So you've decided to head to the hospital in labor and you're really in the groove of contracting, and coping when you arrive. You walk down the hall into a room, probably a tiny triage room, unless you're really lucky, and suddenly you are no longer a beautifully laboring mother, you're a patient. And that changes the whole game.
The first thing that happens is they insist you strip down, put on this gown, and get in the bed. Hold up! You've been doing this labor thing for awhile, right? Suddenly you walk in this room and you're no longer in charge, is that really how this is going to work? I”ll let you in on a little secret, it doesn't have to be that way.. You get to make most of the rules.
So from the moment you step onto the labor and delivery floor, you are often looked as a tragedy waiting to happen. That is just what the medical training of most of these care takers have taught them to see. This is where being assertive in labor plays a huge role in your experience. Do they need to get some vital signs for your chart and to see how things are going? Probably. Should they be doing this on your terms? Absolutely.
You've probably been dreaming about this day for months. You've pictured it a million times and you probably have seen yourself in specific attire or lack thereof. Maybe you want to wear your own clothes (or no clothes) in labor. Why shouldn't you have that choice? Is a hospital gown really going to make a different in how the monitor picks up your contractions or fetal heart tones? I can say I've never seen that make a difference. I also cannot tell you how many times I've seen someone go from coping wonderfully in their own choice of clothes to begging for relief with a simple change into a hospital gown. It can absolutely cause a mental shift in a laboring woman.
This gown is universally recognized as something a patient wears while sick in the hospital. Only pregnancy isn't a disease, so why are we treating these women like it is? This is likely your first chance to assert yourself in the labor room. If you don't feel like you need that gown to give birth, put on something that will help empower you to have the birth of your dreams, even if it is your birthday suit. I promise not to judge. And honestly, your provider probably won't ever notice what you're wearing.
Alecia Miller, CD
Breaking Birth Barriers
The first thing that happens is they insist you strip down, put on this gown, and get in the bed. Hold up! You've been doing this labor thing for awhile, right? Suddenly you walk in this room and you're no longer in charge, is that really how this is going to work? I”ll let you in on a little secret, it doesn't have to be that way.. You get to make most of the rules.
So from the moment you step onto the labor and delivery floor, you are often looked as a tragedy waiting to happen. That is just what the medical training of most of these care takers have taught them to see. This is where being assertive in labor plays a huge role in your experience. Do they need to get some vital signs for your chart and to see how things are going? Probably. Should they be doing this on your terms? Absolutely.
You've probably been dreaming about this day for months. You've pictured it a million times and you probably have seen yourself in specific attire or lack thereof. Maybe you want to wear your own clothes (or no clothes) in labor. Why shouldn't you have that choice? Is a hospital gown really going to make a different in how the monitor picks up your contractions or fetal heart tones? I can say I've never seen that make a difference. I also cannot tell you how many times I've seen someone go from coping wonderfully in their own choice of clothes to begging for relief with a simple change into a hospital gown. It can absolutely cause a mental shift in a laboring woman.
This gown is universally recognized as something a patient wears while sick in the hospital. Only pregnancy isn't a disease, so why are we treating these women like it is? This is likely your first chance to assert yourself in the labor room. If you don't feel like you need that gown to give birth, put on something that will help empower you to have the birth of your dreams, even if it is your birthday suit. I promise not to judge. And honestly, your provider probably won't ever notice what you're wearing.
Alecia Miller, CD
Breaking Birth Barriers