There's No Going Back

Times have changed in the labor ward.  Those medieval-looking stirrups are slowly being swapped out 

for yoga balls and birthing pools.  Women are writing Birth Plans.  The power of the internet has 

allowed them to read and watch the  birth experiences of other women via countless blogs, vlogs, and 

sometimes downright graphic videos of everything from packing their hospital bags to dancing during 

labor, and even giving birth.  

“There is a birth empowerment movement going on right now, and we're so excited to be part of it”, 

says Pretty Pushers CEO, Mary Apple.  She designed the first Pretty Pushers Labor Gown for herself in 

2006 while pregnant with her daughter, Bombette.  

“I didn't really know what to expect during birth at the hospital, but I knew I wasn't a sick patient, 

hence I wasn't going to wear a hospital gown.” 

has now been part of the birth experience for 35,000 other moms and counting. 

“We still have a lot of work to do”, says Mary.  “Believe it or not, the majority of women are still 

buying for their pregnancy, and then for the Baby, but don't even realize there is a choice of personal 

style during the birth.  The birth itself has been left up to the hospitals for so long that no one thinks 

they have any control or can bring anything of their own.  This new era of Empowered Births is 

changing that ideology quickly, though.  Enough people are aware now that there's no turning back.”  

Mothers-to-be aren't the only ones applauding the change.  OBGYNs, Nurses, Midwives, and 

Anesthesiologists are regularly sending testimonials about how they are seeing births happen in a 

Pretty Pushers gown and that their job has been made easier by having openings to access the monitors. 

“I have given Pretty Pushers labor gowns as a gift to my clients recently to show them appreciation. 

The clients have loved them and said they felt pretty instead of pathological . 

I think it's a great way to humanize birth and mothers in a hospital setting.” says Dr. 

Joshua Johannson, OBGYN, Cheaha Women's Health in Anniston, AL.”

This can be about fashion in the labor ward...women trading in the scratchy unisex hospital gown for 

something colorful and soft, which will provide a better 'first photo' than the faded snap-down 

checkered frock would.  “I see this as something much bigger, though”  points out CEO Mary Apple. 

“By making that first simple choice to wear her own gown during labor, a woman gains some control. 

A lot of things may happen during labor that are unexpected or out of our control, and we have to all be 

prepared for that.  However, a little choice can go a long way, so maybe the rest of her birth plan will 

be that much more obtainable.”  

Yeah, yeah...we all know that Fergie, Halle, Kim, Kate, and Jessica are in the public eye and will more 

than likely forego the hospital gown for something more “Pretty” when they give birth this summer. 

We also should know that these woman are smart, conscious, and in control of their own destinies. 

Probably their reasons for choosing their own labor gowns are so much more than just being pretty. 

Really, they simply want to make their birth the best that it can be, just like the rest of us.