Kind of a weird situation, but I was at a party this weekend and (don't ask me why) the subject of shaving came up. One of the ladies is a hairdresser who does bikini and Brazilian waxes, and she said that she had a bunch of coworkers ask her to do Brazilians for them when they were pregnant because "the doctor/midwife told them to shave before the delivery".
???
I thought that pubic shaving before delivery went out of style 20-30 years ago. I even challenged this woman, asking if it wasn't just that these women were self-conscious and *chose* to be "bald" for their deliveries, rather than being "told to" do it by their OB/CNM. When I had my son 10 years ago, there was never any mention whatsoever about shaving from my midwife -- they didn't even shave me for my c-section. Another woman at the party has a 17yo and a 7yo and she was never told to shave by her OB. (all of these births happened in the same town, which only has two hospitals)
When I had knee surgery five years ago, I was very specifically told NOT to shave my leg for a week prior to the surgery, to minimize the chance of infection / microabrasions. I really did NOT want to go in there like a cactus, but at least I could understand the reasoning behind it.
I just truly cannot wrap my mind around this situation... it boggles my mind that anyone in this day and age would consider it "standard" or "necessary" to be shaved/waxed prior to the delivery. I know that more women than ever are shaving/waxing (pregnant or not) just as a personal grooming choice. A guy at the party said his stepmother has been an L&D nurse for eons and she had remarked a while back that shaving has become much more popular in the past 3-4 years.
But I just can't believe that there are OBs (and midwives! I *really* had a hard time believing that a CNM would say this!) out there telling women who are 8-9 months pregnant that they need to shave off their pubic hair before coming to the hospital, or else the hospital will shave it off when they get there.
I figure if anyone will know, it will be you folks here... is this really a standard procedure anymore???
Ummm maybe TMI but I enjoy how it feels to not have the hair....but I do it because I like it. Also my bf doesn't have hair there either. If he told me that I had to, or withheld "rewards" or refused to do it himself I probably would stop right away just to make the point.
John, I'm curious. Do you shave down there too to make things nicer for your wife?
All of the steak-eating oil-changing guys are married. :crying2:
I guess I'm going to buy some more cats. *sniff* Can felines become legal power of attorney for healthcare decisions?
I hope so; I hear they're better judges than a lot of family members...like Oscar. If Oscar says DNI, then fer goshsakes, DNI.
As for the depilation conversation....Living in a smallish city, I find that if you're under 30 and female, removing female pubic hair is considered basic grooming -- even my middle-school students seem to think so, and the vast majority of them are NOT in sexual relationships yet. I think it certainly has something to do with how our society views both sex and hair (how did we get so hairless in the last 20 years?), but it's become almost as fundamental as washing your face and putting on deodorant.
Just thinking about it--if you haven't seen any pre-1990s Media, and all the girls are waxing/shaving since before they're sexually active, as a guy you may not even know that women HAVE hair there. Oy! There goes tanner staging....
My email blew up with responses to this thread. I think you women are misunderstanding how it works, atleast in my case. I never coerced my wife into doing anything. I rewarded her with...uh...attention she wanted when she did groom. Kind of like when you are a kid and you're told "behave and you'll get ice cream later." She's only too happy to groom.
John, John, John....I sure hope you really didn't mean to write this as it sounds. Just when I was looking at it from a different perspective since I do shave my armpits and legs and I do prefer men with a shaven face, you reply with this? Eeks! "Behave and only then will I give you the attention you want?" You did dig a deeper hole for yourself.
I am hoping you are really not the man you are coming off as. If you love your wife and child, please start acting like/sounding like you have some respect for women rather than thinking of them as a pet dog you occasionally throw a bone to. Your wife is not some sort of Pavlovian experiment.
What happened to guys being "lucky" to even get to the "area". Now it is expected to look a certain way or the girl isn't good enough? If a guy is that upset by the grooming/lack of grooming of my "area", trust me, he won't be going out with me again, NOR will he be getting any. I am so glad to have also married a steak eating, pick up truck driving, engine changing super smart Mr. fix it. (he is 35, btw, and I am 31.)
Me too. I'm showing my age, but I never even considered waxing "down there." I'm not into unnecessary pain. I shave my legs and underarms, and I've been known to trim things up but I would never ever wax. I mean,besides the pain, it's a very very intimate experience. Nonononononono...
And I agree with you. In my day men considered it a bonus if they got a glimpse, they didn't care what it looked like as long as it was clean. And real men, back then, wouldn't have considered waxing their chest. Shaving their back maybe, but hair on the chest was considered to be virile. I think if a man even looked at me crossways because I wasn't shaved/waxed he'd be out the door without a further look. Puh-leeze...
LOl I love this thread, cuz I've seen all kinds of things at work LOL. I must say, my husband cares not either way - hair or no hair.
There is no "reward" he does what he does b/c he loves me :) He also fixes things and eats a lot of steak lmao!
And my thought is if you want the woman to be bald then the guy parts need to be bald too. Which in itself sounds like it would be pretty funny looking lol. :)
My email blew up with responses to this thread. I think you women are misunderstanding how it works, atleast in my case. I never coerced my wife into doing anything. I rewarded her with...uh...attention she wanted when she did groom. Kind of like when you are a kid and you're told "behave and you'll get ice cream later." She's only too happy to groom.
Oy~ "Behave"? "Reward"? "Attention"? ""Ice cream"? Please tell me you're not 15.
And my thought is if you want the woman to be bald then the guy parts need to be bald too. Which in itself sounds like it would be pretty funny looking lol. :)
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Don't knock it. :)
May I if I have tried it?
Now, of course no one wants to end up with loads of hair betwixt one's...uhh...sheets...(I swear one of my boyfriends was a gorilla in a past life!)
Do read my first post in this thread. I could never ever tell you his, um, dimensions, but I all I know is I couldn't stop thinking about naked mole rats...not attractive (to me, at least).
:crying2:
If a guy is that upset by the grooming/lack of grooming of my "area", trust me, he won't be going out with me again, NOR will he be getting any. I am so glad to have also married a steak eating, pick up truck driving, engine changing super smart Mr. fix it. 
(he is 35, btw, and I am 31.)
Oy~ "Behave"? "Reward"? "Attention"? ""Ice cream"? Please tell me you're not 15.
sharpeimom
2,452 Posts
too late!! i already have one!!
your post made me laugh. thanks!! 
kathy
shar pei mom:paw::paw: