Clothes and Colors to Wear in Labor and Birth

What colors should you wear during your labor and birth? Well, whatever you want!

My #1 BIG request is this: no hats. If your partner wears a hat, I will ask them to take it off. Hats cover their eyes, shades their face, and hides their emotion. I want to capture the emotion and the reaction on your partner’s face without hiding behind the brim of a cap.

Secondly, I recommend avoiding clothing with words or logos across the chest for everyone – partner, siblings, support people, and for yourself.

Past that, you don’t have to wear anything specific. But if you WANT to curate the color palette for your birth, I can help with that!

Lots of people ask me for guidance on what to wear so I’ve developed a series of mood boards to help visualize what works well.

Sticking to the color palettes in these mood boards will help create a cohesive look and feel in your collection of images that’s in alignment with the rest of my photography work. I lean heavily towards earth tones and colors in the soft Autumn palette. If you have your own personal color palette that you prefer, just stick to that!

Tips for curating your birth color palette:

• Choose 4-5 swaddle blankets that fit your color palette. The first few blankets get wet and goopy after birth, so you will immediately run through at least 2 or 3, if not more
• Consider renting my all white birth tub (Earthside Birth Pools) if you’re having a home birth. It is so much more attractive than the bright blue birth tub many midwives offer!
• Have at least 2-3 nursing bras in your color palette available. If your bra gets wet in the tub, and you get out, it can make you cold and feels terrible to wear a cold wet bra. So having another dry bra you like to change into is great
• Consider what bedding, sheets, and blankets will be around that your support people could bring to you during or after birth. If you have a blanket that you really don’t want in your photos, put it somewhere out of sight
• Think about clothing for your partner, older children, and any other support people present. Solid colors are preferred, avoiding large logos and words. You can reference the mood boards here for color palette ideas. I like shades of brown, tan, beige, white, rust, and forest green.

Clothes and Colors to Wear for your Maternity and Lifestyle Newborn Photos

• Shades of brown and tan with an accent color for baby (dusty rose in the first example)
• Monochromatic: shades of sand, ivory, khaki and beige. Consider adding a knit blanket or knit sweater for texture variety
• In a lush green environment, Autumn colors like rust, brown, tan, and cream look great
• If we’re in a yellow glowy environment with yellow-brown grass, you could consider adding colors of contrast, such as burgundy, forest green, or deep purple