# What to wear in the pool?



## Rydia

I am assuming that I cannot or will not want to go into a birthing pool naked so what do I wear? Maternity swimsuits that I have seen are £20 and I hate to spend that on something that I might not even use (with my first LO I got to the hospital too late to even ask about a pool and although I plan to get there earlier this time who knows if that will happen) so any ideas? Maybe I could squeeze into a cheap non maternity top? If so where should Iget one?


----------



## pimento1979

I just wore a camisole :)


----------



## OnErth&InHvn

id wear a tanktop


----------



## chuck

Why wouldnt you be allowed to be nekkid?

I had already been in the bath so was nekkid when I got into the pool, no body batted an eye lid.

I wouldnt bother with a costume or anything if you dont want to be naked pop a t-shirt/vest or a bikini top on.


----------



## indigo_fairy

Ditto, just a small tankini top or even bra for me, it won't be a maternity one. It's going to be hot when you're due aswell so the less clothing the better probably, especially nothing thats going to get cold and heavy as it gets wet. :)


----------



## luna28

of course you can go in naked if you want to, I'm a student mw and have looked after quite a few labouring women in the pool and some have chosen to be naked others have worn a bra or vest, I wouldn't bother going to any extra expense of a bikini top.
I'm planning a home waterbirth and will just go with the flow, however I feel more comfortable on the day


----------



## 0_o

I'm just going to take an old vest and a bikini top, and will wear whatever I fancy when the time comes. XX


----------



## HayleyJA

I jumped in naked! I couldn't care less at that point. I'd been labouring overnight so had been wearing an oversized nightshirt. In between contractions I practically ran downstairs throwing it off before jumping straight in. I did 'apologise' to my sister and said that she had to excuse any wobbly bits! It was quite funny really.

However you feel comfortable will be absolutely fine. x


----------



## flumpsmummy

get a cheap bikini and just wear the top.x


----------



## Bumpontherun

I was going to wear a bikini top (just a normal non-maternity one) but then I forgot to pack it. I would have gone in naked, don't think the mw would have cared but I had a male student mw which made me feel a bit weird so I kept my bra on. Slightly strange trying to preserve my dignity though since I had no knickers on!!


----------



## Mervs Mum

Ditto what the others said! I'm not sure how you'd give birth in a maternity swim suit!! :lol:


----------



## lousielou

I can't imagine being too coy to go naked, but I think I'll wear a bikini top as my boobs have grown so big and bouncy that I'm not sure how comfortable I'll be without one! :lol:


----------



## Rayne Storm

I'll be going in with a bikini top and have an old dressing goiwn to wear for getting out. 

Question though? DH is coming into the pool with me this time to deliver te baby and I'm wondering what he ought to wear. If I'm lucky it'll somethiing nice and tight. I could use something good to look at through the pain! ;) 

I hope I have the chance to do te pool again. It made my last birth so uniquely special.


----------



## RaspberryK

Lol, just swim shorts I guess...

x


----------



## lousielou

:lol I might try to get my OH to go nekkid - I'm sure the look on the midwives faces when they see him with his willy out will make me laugh, producing endorphins and making for a more comfortable birth!!


----------



## Rayne Storm

lousielou said:


> :lol I might try to get my OH to go nekkid - I'm sure the look on the midwives faces when they see him with his willy out will make me laugh, producing endorphins and making for a more comfortable birth!!

Full frontal nudity in the interests of patient care- I like it :)


----------



## helen1234

i'm taking my bikini top although i think i'm a bit bigger up top than my hol this time last year, and i got two spagetti strap vests a few sizes too big so they cover me but wont float about i may take it off once i get in though. 

and i've got a light dressing gown for getting out, so if it gets wet it'll dry quickly :)


----------



## RaspberryK

Rayne Storm said:


> lousielou said:
> 
> 
> :lol I might try to get my OH to go nekkid - I'm sure the look on the midwives faces when they see him with his willy out will make me laugh, producing endorphins and making for a more comfortable birth!!
> 
> Full frontal nudity in the interests of patient care- I like it :)Click to expand...

Haha the midwife wont know where to look! My hubby loves to be naked, wouldn't phase him in the slightest but if I was half naked too I'd be worried he'd get a little excited! 

x


----------



## Bournefree

Naked is the only way to go for me!
x


----------



## rosedew

That is kind of funny to be worrying about what to wear when we have a kid, but until the time comes, we do feel like we need our dignity. Of course, dignity is a far distant idea when your actually in labor and delivering. I think I would try to wear a tank top or a sports bra though. I don't know why. Even though your underwear is scarce and all the other obvious stuff, it can feel like you need to preserve what you can!


----------



## clarsair

So it's not the done thing to wear anything on your bottom half then? Not even if just using the pool for pain relief rather than delivering?

If I ever have the chance to use a pool I'd have to wear a proper bikini top or tankini, DH has a real phobia about wearing wet clothes - he can't even bear to see it on the TV!


----------



## Bournefree

The thing is with wearing something on your bottom half, is that even if you are using the pool for pain relief.. (though you might not even experience pain, if you are calm and relaxed), then you will be in established labour. It is going to be pretty tricky getting off your bikini bottoms in established labour - it is certainly the last thing that I would want to do?!

Surely your OH if he feels funny about wet clothes (and I can't blame him, the thought of a t-shirt all cling and wet would make me feel funny, esp in labour), then surely he can't have any problems about you being naked. Honestly your MWs are not going to bat an eye lid about you being naked. Also it makes life so much easier for skin to skin and breast feeding or just keeping the baby warm after they are born - your body will help regulate their body temperature better than any clothes or even an incubator could ever possibly do (not saying that you need an incubator.. just that in some less developed countries I have seen incubators being used that even not even plugged in.. as they are trying to emulate developed world practices.. but baby would have been safer right next to mummy)

I can also totally agree to with the larger chested ladies.. if you have big boobs and you think that they would only get in the way, and make you physically uncomfortable - then that is a really good reason for support. But embrassement for me isn't - that is something very personal, that you have to explore yourself. I think you might surprise yourself as labour and birth is essentially a very primative event, and you will be unlikey to care! (I had thoughts before DD was born that I wanted to get a wax done - only once have that done in my life - that I should think about trimmig back my pubes, getting a bit of fake tan on.. but in reality, these are not the things that you care about, or your even remember. Your MWs CERTAINLY won't. From my MW friends, they are more likey to think that you are slighty insecure, esp if you have taken the time to have a brazillian done! hahaha!

They might have a good story to tell if your OH was naked hahahaha - I know one MW who told me a story of the OH being naked.. and although it was a good story, and they found it funny for a little while, they still have their job to do.. and it really is totally insignificant in the big picture of labour and birth! ;-) So if he is getting in consider some trunks or swim wear for him.. and a change of clothes. They are your support if you want them present, and they are likey to get wet as you hold on to them and they touch you, rub your back etc, etc. 

But if you want your OH in the pool, it is totally upto you - some find it really good support physically and emotionally - they can help you get good positions (say squatting, with them holding you from behind). Although one of the other great things about being in the pool is, that is your own little world.. your own space, and if anyone wants to touch you, they have to lean in and enter YOUR space. It can act as a protective sphere, like a type of birth nest (not too get too hippy about it), but it really has it's benefits and can add to your sense of security and protection.

For me I'm so aware that I'm a mammal, and this is a natural physological function of my body (and yours, and every other women), and I want a nest of security and support that has my smells, freedoms and my dearest loved ones around me. So for me that was one of the reasons why I choose a home birth. I could set up my own environment - and also guarantee that I could use a pool (there wasn't going to be anyone else in it when the time came, and I could also get in and out whenever I liked). 

Explore what you think about your body.. and imagine what it would be if you could have any location in the world to get birth in. What would it be like? Would it be dimly lit or bright and in the sunshine? Would it be close and personal, or with open spaces. What type of sounds would you like, or smells, who would be there with you.. and how would you want them to act and react to you?

xxxx


----------



## molly85

ohh glad someones done this thread being a larger lady I am quite insecure naked and am going to ask for as little physical intervention as possible. internals just make me feel ill so would like my boobs covered but as I cannot see below my waste am lessc ocnsious of that but may look at one of those very light tops you wear to cover a bikini. So would seem a bikini top and maybe one of them or some other top would be a good plan. Must ask OH if he would fancy coming in as he won't be at my natural birthing class


----------



## rachiedata

On the subject of swimwear, has anyone seen an athletic type bikini (like a sports top, no cups) around in the shops and where? Think I should invest in one for the aquanatal once I start my leave, and only want something cheapish. Grown significantly since my last bikini purchase this time last year and I've had enough trouble finding bras big enough so I'm screwed to find a fitted bikini in the right size.

I'm not having a pool but threads like this make me want one... I've not really the space. I would definitely be naked and so would OH! Haha obviously would depend on the midwife, wouldn't want anyone to be uncomfortable, but me and OH are quite naked people generally, don't mind showing him off a bit and I've no bits I'm particularly ashamed of!! However vain it seems, I will be going for a wax before the day comes though, purely as I have a voucher for beauty treatments and it's got to the stage where I can't see "down there" to do anything about it myself! :haha:


----------



## molly85

try sport and soccer or sports Direct. 

our pool is at the hospital not really sure its teh done thing for him to get naked there but at home is very different as long as you let them know the guilty member might be on display.


----------



## quercus1

I bought a £5 bikini top from Primark at the weekend ready for my waterbirth. I'll also take along my cheapy dressing gown from BHS. Just need to buy some flip flops!


----------



## molly85

primark has flipflops too.

do they do size 20 in primark got to make sure the girls are snug no point if bits are falling out all over the place


----------



## Sovereign

I didn't wear anything!!!!!!x


----------



## madasa

I just wore a plain black bikini top...

https://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u185/Chuffy020/7f9253a2.jpg


----------



## Rydia

Ooh I think I will get a £5 top from Primark that way if I dont have time to get into the pool again or decide I would rather not wear anything then it wont be a waste. Are you allowed to try them on? Because I doubt i would fit into my pre-pregancy size even if its just the top half


----------



## molly85

you canusually try tops just not bottoms. but would wait til your further along to try


----------



## rachiedata

Primark do go up to size 20 in some things but their bikinis I think are usually cup-sized.

OH thought it hilarious that I have bought a pair of Primark pyjamas for now til birth/straight afterwards that are size 20-22, when about a year ago size 12-14 did quite nicely... couldn't care less what size the label says really as long as it fits over my bump, and these are lovely and snug!


----------



## molly85

oh don't I got them but was in baggy 16-18s prepregnancy. Think she's eatten my fat lol. I was going to get the tie behind the neck sort. I think our primark tends to cover the larger lady lol


----------



## madasa

Another thing - I didn't feel naked in the water. The water kind of hides everything anyway. Next time I reckon I'll do it nude, I only wore a bikkini top last time because I had asked my mum to take photos, and I wanted to be able to share some of them.... I wouldn't have felt as comfortable doing that if I was obviously starkers in all of them! At the time I didn't give a fig about my nudity, I had bigger fish to fry, and like I say.... It's lots easier when your wobbly bits are under the water, kwim?


----------



## Jenniflower

I was a size 18-20 prepreg and used a black cami top while in the water. I had a cheap robe from primark that I kept on till I got in. I actually asked everyone to look away! I didn't think I would be so modest at first. But then after so many hours I actually just ripped the top off as it was so uncomfortable! I kept apologizing to the ambulance crew who had to come get me that I was naked but they assured me it was normal, hahaha.


----------



## molly85

not quite the same but i had the ambulance cut off my top and was sat in a car being cut out with my jumper open mide december classy look. they did cover me up but the hole recue crew had seen me by then.


----------



## lynnikins

with my first when i was in the pool(didnt birth in the pool in the end ) i was wearing a swim skirt ( no bottoms ) and a bikini top and was quite comfortable in that and the MW;s were happy and OH could take photos to his hearts content with me feeling sure everything was covered. ( i also had alot of people around 2 mw's a trainiee mw , my mum and OH so felt better about being somewhat covered when i stood up for them to check babies heartbeat ( damm short armed mw's lol )


----------



## molly85

lol half the MW's where I am are pregnant so none can reach in the pool lol

Am soo looking forward to this Should go get my top soon and look out for these skirts maybe


----------



## sam#3

I was naked for all my births... home and hospital.. i think in the hospital i threw a bit of a fit about how hot i was and the nighty i had on was sticking to me so i ripped it off mid contraction... and with my home births i was in and out of the pool and bath so just ended up being naked or with a robe on... nobody batter an eyelid about it... or if they did i was too engrossed to notice (or care!!) i would say a bikini top would be better than a tshirt in the pool as just me personally i dont like the feeling of wet clothes on my skin so as little as possible but enough to keep covered would be best


----------



## marteenpetro

I was going to wear a bikini top but then I forgot to pack it. I would have gone in bare, don't think the mw would have cared but I had a male student mw which made me feel a bit strange so I kept my bra on. Slightly unusual trying to preserve my dignity though since I had no knickers on!


----------



## molly85

lol i cannot see that part of my body so no longer exsists


----------

