Giving birth is hard enough without increasing your risk of infection.
That's why one expert has taken to TikTok to share a very important piece of advice: whatever you do before going into labor, don't shave.
Though many women assume that they'd rather be pubic hair-free for their baby's arrival, TikTok user @sovereignparenting is here to tell them that shaving down below when you're near your due date is one of the worst things you can do.
In a clip posted to the social media platform, the TikToker - who offers birthing tips to her 28,000 followers - urges expectant mothers: "Don't shave your pubic hair before birth."
She goes on to explain that sadly, most women have been made to feel self-conscious about their body hair.
"A lot of women are conditioned to think that body hair is really gross, and the idea of anyone seeing us with natural hair that grows out of our body is like almost shameful," she says.
She then explains that for expectant mothers this is actually a dangerous habit.
"Removing your pubic hair before labor can actually harm you," she says, adding that "shaving your pubic hair past 36, 37 weeks actually increases your risk of infection. This is even true for women who get Caesareans."
The TikToker concludes her video by saying that: "when it comes to giving birth, don’t shave, don’t wax, just let it go au naturel, I promise you no one cares."
Many people were relieved and surprised by the video, which has already racked up over 820,000 views. They took to the comments section to thank @sovereignparenting for her words of wisdom.
"I couldn’t see past my belly when I was at the end of pregnancy, so no idea how much hair was there and I didn’t care," one person wrote.
"Yeah I couldn’t reach so," another added.
Meanwhile, one person explained further the reason why shaving before giving birth is so dangerous. "The reason why is due to micro tears in the skin after shaving or waxing," they wrote in the comments.
