Hospital Gown Sizes

I AM A RATHER LARGE LIW. DO THOSE HOSPITAL GOWNS COME IN MORE THAN ONE SIZE? I AM WORRIED THAT THEY WILL NOT BE BIG ENOUGH. I AM 125 LBS OVERWEIGHT. WHEN I HAD THE ULTRASOUNDS THE GOWN WAS WAY TO SMALL, SOOOOO EMBARRASED!!

Hi,

Good question. I'm overweight and have had the same problem when I go for Mammy's..... they give you one and you have to walk through the halls! I'm sure they have large ones, but I bet you want to be sure they have them handy for you.

I didn't think of it before I went to the hospital, but the one they had me in was OK. I wore two the whole time I was in. One tied in the back and the other worn backwards to act as a robe. I didn't bother with my nitegowns because I had IV's in the whole time. You can do the same thing to insure that both sides of the new princess are discreetly covered.....

I've worked in a few hospitals and some have only one size while others have different sizes. If it doesn't fit as you'd like, ask if they have larger ones. Good luck!!

They must have them... call ahead and make sure they'll have one available for you, just in case. If all else fails, buy a cheap short robe that fits, with short sleeves (cut them short if you have to) and ask them to put that on you after surgery instead. (It couldn't hurt to ask - I brought my own bandage tape for the IV - purple VetRap for horses (it doesn't stick to your skin so bad) - and they let me use it.

The hospital where I had my hyst has a whole department specializing in bariatric surgery - a lot of the people there would be thrilled to be "only" 125 pounds overweight. Their post-op walks down the hall are often actually drives on their electric scooters. They were in gowns that fit fine - so I know somebody makes 'em for all sizes.

An aside: In talking with one of the ladies, cruising the halls on her scooter, while I was there for my pre-op work, I got a whole new view of hospitals. They aren't sad places where everyone is necessarily horribly sick. They are places where people who've been suffering with some problem go to get fixed-up, and get a fresh start. People go in with bleeding, pain, lifelong weight problems, broken limbs, cancer, etc., and with a little luck come out new people, with fresh hope, looking forward to the future. You could see that with this woman, who no doubt had "tried everything", and now was excited about the prospect of having a healthy life ahead of her.

Ask for another gown and wear it backwards. That way you are covered in the front from the first gown, and the back with the second gown. This was an idea given to us in childbirth classes 18 years ago, so our backsides did not hang out walking down the halls. Pretty cool huh!! Also, last surgery I had the nurse told
me if I ever had to come back for another surgery to shave my lower arm BEFORE I came in, as the tape
would not stick that way!!! I'll probably nair it off and no
pain on removing IV tape!!!

Find a place that sells tee shirts and look for sizes like 6X. The shirt sleeve will still be short enough for the IV and the length will still be short enough. I found an inexpensive tee shirt shop and buy solid color way oversized for sleeping.
Good luck,
Miranda

I never asked the question, even though I have found myself wearing two of those sheets they give you at the DR's office, because one wasn't enough to go around my waist.

I know that the hospital I usually go to, - and, therefore, most hospitals with Maternity wards would too - have them because they fit me when my son was born and I was soooooo large.

It would be a good question to ask at your pre-op, just to be on the safe side.

About wearing your own gowns and t-shirts, my hospital wouldn't let me wear anything but the hospital gown and the little booties as I headed for the OR. Again, it's a good question to ask BEFORE you get there.