Leaving the hospital after giving birth is an important milestone for any mother. While you may have many thoughts going through your mind at this moment, you might not have considered what you should wear home.
The best articles of clothing to wear home from the hospital are ones that are comfortable and convenient. At this moment, style is not your priority.
Essentials include underwear, socks, and slippers. You will want to have something to tie your hair with, such as a hair tie. Aside from just wearing your hospital gown, you can also choose to wear stretchy pants, pajamas, or even a robe.
This article will detail the considerations you need to make when deciding what to wear home from the hospital after birth, as well as a few suggestions that would really want to look into.
What to Wear Home from the Hospital After Birth?
The easiest way to decide what to wear home from the hospital after birth is to understand the different factors that you would need to consider.
1. Comfort
It is no secret that giving birth can be an incredibly difficult time. Even when the doctors already approve your discharge from the hospital, you would still need as much rest as you can. As such, the number one factor that you would need to prioritize is comfort.
After birth, your body is still healing from quite a physically traumatic event. Whether you had a natural birth or a C-section, your body would have taken a great toll, nonetheless.
Comfortable clothes are absolutely imperative as you would not want your clothes to come in between you and a state of comfort.
In particular, you would want to wear comfortable underwear. Full comfort and support are what you should be looking for in underwear. Especially for articles of clothing that will not be seen, you might want to think twice about wearing underwear such as thongs or lingerie.
You would also want to avoid underwear that is highly restrictive as you need breathability in order for your body to heal.
2. Convenience
Right after comfort, the next factor you need to consider when choosing what to wear home from the hospital after birth is convenience. You will want to wear clothes that will be convenient for you at the moment.
To think about what kind of clothes are going to be convenient, you will have to think about what you will be doing after leaving the hospital.
For example, many mothers would recommend wearing something to tie their hair up, such as a headband, to keep their hair out of their faces. Having your hair out of the way will be one thing less to worry about when taking care of your newborn infant.
Another point to consider is for those who will be breastfeeding. Unless you choose not to wear a bra, you might want to consider a nursing bra instead. A nursing bra easily allows mothers to breastfeed their children without having to take the whole thing off.
3. Style
Although you may feel conscious about leaving the hospital after birth, probably most mothers would advise you to disregard style completely. While it may feel good to look good, comfort and convenience should take priority.
You should remember that you are probably going straight home. Coming from the hospital after birth, you are not probably going anywhere else aside from home. Your attire will basically be for the ride home and home itself. Therefore, you do not need to think about style too much.
However, if you really do want to wear something stylish, you can ultimately do so. As long as comfort and convenience take precedence, feeling good about what you wear can extend from looking good as well.
What to Wear Home From the Hospital After Birth
Here are some great suggestions for you to wear home from the hospital after birth. These recommendations consider the factors listed above and should be awesome options for you on such a special day.
1. Comfortable Underwear
As mentioned above, going home from the hospital is a direct trip home. You are probably not going to make stops along the way; thus, it is imperative that the clothes you wear are the most comfortable as can be. Before anything else, you will need a set of comfortable underwear.
Giving birth is an extremely difficult time for your body, and you will need to make sure that you will wear underwear that toes the line between comfort and support.
Some would even recommend getting a set of disposable underwear. After giving birth, it is not uncommon for mothers to continue discharging fluids. Therefore, you might want to wait for some other time to wear your absolute favorite pair of pants.
It is not the time to wear the cutest underwear. Aside from comfort, you would have to consider getting the support you need. If you got a C-section delivery, you might want to emphasize support on your stomach or back – something that could put a bit more pressure than normal underwear would.
For your bras, you might want to consider maternity or nursing bras. These types of bras are extremely convenient when it comes to breastfeeding your baby. Maternity or nursing bras come with some type of latch system that would allow you to quickly get your breasts out for breastfeeding without having to take off the whole thing.
Even if you are not breastfeeding your baby, you might still want to consider getting yourself a couple of these bras as they are designed to be very comfortable. They are typically made of a stretchy breathable fabric that accommodates breasts as they change size throughout pregnancy and motherhood.
Additionally, maternity and nursing bras seldom have underwires, making them simply comfortable for everyday wear.
2. Socks and Slippers
When the doctors finally allow you to go home, you are probably not going to be doing a lot of walking. Chances are that you will be wheeled to your vehicle. Regardless of the actual amount of walking you will be doing, footwear is another aspect where you can prioritize your comfort.
For absolute comfort, plenty of mothers would highly recommend you simply wear socks and slippers home from the hospital.
Even though they are designed to be comfortable for patients, hospitals can get pretty cold. You will probably want to wear socks to keep your feet warm throughout your stay in the hospital. Aside from keeping your feet warm, soft socks are just quite cozy to wear.
With socks on, you still might not want to walk on the hospital floors just like that. The easiest type of footwear that you can wear would be slippers. Anything else that would require effort to put on, such as shoes or sandals, is going to be too much work.
If you want to forego the slippers, just make sure to get socks that come with little rubber pads underneath to make sure you have enough traction to be safe walking across the hospital floors.
You might be thinking that you can make a pair of sneakers work for you. Understandably, each mother will have a different experience from another mother. However, it is not uncommon for pregnancy to affect the size of your feet. Socks are the safer choice as they can expand and adjust to your feet.
3. Pajamas
While it may vary from country to country, the amount of time between giving birth and getting discharged from the hospital can be less than a day to a week. Regardless of how long that time may be, the mother will be undoubtedly in bed for most of the time.
Even when the mother has already left the hospital, they will still probably want to recuperate and rest in bed. Childbirth has been said by many to be one of the most exhausting things a person can ever do.
Thus, it goes without saying that one of the best outfits for a mother to wear home from the hospital after birth would be a set of pajamas.
Pajamas are an easy choice to make, especially for someone who will be spending a lot of time in bed. Pajamas are already typically made with soft and breathable materials for comfort given that they are made for sleeping, therefore making them an excellent choice for someone who has just given birth.
Other types of sleepwear are also available for you to choose from. For example, a set of pajamas that consist of a top and bottom might be too difficult for someone to wear. Fortunately, a loose nightgown should also be as comfortable as pajamas, while possibly being easier to wear.
As a bonus, you can also find maternity pajamas with flaps that make them extremely convenient for breastfeeding.
4. Robes
Considering the factors laid out above, one of the most comfortable and convenient pieces of clothing that one can quickly throw on for the ride home from the hospital would simply be a robe.
Robes are great, especially after giving birth. Doctors and nurses will still be checking on you the whole time you are in the hospital, meaning that you might have to constantly take off your clothes to give them access for inspection.
Even if you do not typically wear robes, it is highly recommended that you bring one to the hospital. It cannot be overstated that just throwing on a robe can provide you enough privacy to be clothed, but still be able to quickly take it off as well.
5. Hair Ties
Even though it may only be an accessory, there is a reason why plenty of mothers would highly recommend you wear a hair tie home from the hospital after birth.
After giving birth to your newborn baby, you will probably be holding on to your infant for most of the time. Even when you are not feeding or taking care of your baby, you will still want to hold on to them for some quality time.
Perhaps one of the worst inconveniences and nuisances is to have to fix your hair aside when holding your baby in your arms. While cradling a baby, your hands are already preoccupied, and it will just be a bother to keep on fixing your hair.
Therefore, an easy fix is to simply wear something to get your hair out of the way. A quick option would be a hair tie. However, you have several other options for keeping your hair tidy, such as a headband, a bandana, or even a hair clip.
6. Hospital Gown
The last option that you can wear home from the hospital after birth is one that you do not even need to pack. Fortunately, hospitals typically provide comfortable hospital gowns for their in-patients. These gowns are usually comfortable enough for a mother to wear home from the hospital.
If you have the opportunity to get admitted to the hospital with enough time before giving birth, you will want to be wearing a hospital gown during the delivery. Hospital gowns are usually disposable and wearing them will avoid getting blood on your own clothes.
For added warmth and comfort, you can always throw on a robe over your hospital gown. Putting a robe on, especially on the ride home from the hospital, can also make you look less of a patient.
7. Stretchy Pants
A T-shirt is an easy option for most women to throw on. However, bottoms are trickier. While jeans may be your typical go-to bottoms, they can be quite restrictive. It might be better for you to avoid denim jeans for the time being.
However, you do have several options for stretchy pants to wear.
For example, leggings are great options for bottoms when heading home from the hospital. These are great for those who prefer something with pant legs instead of an open skirt or dress. Plus, leggings are usually made with soft and stretchy fabric for ultimate comfort.
Aside from leggings, you might also want to consider joggers. Made with soft materials for athleisure, joggers can come in large sizes that are great to wear for lounging at home.
Just like pajamas that have maternity options, some stretchy pants are also made for mothers in mind as they stretch all the way over the belly, giving maximum support.
