recipe for homemade sitz compress?

[kimkim]

i heard about this awhile ago but can't find any recipes--all i remember is that you make a solution of stuff (water, herbs, oils?) and soak some infant prefolds and keep them in the freezer and they are supposedly wonderful after the birth for soothing and healing.
has anyone done this? can you share or direct me to the recipe?

[COgirl19]

Originally Posted by kimkim

i heard about this awhile ago but can't find any recipes--all i remember is that you make a solution of stuff (water, herbs, oils?) and soak some infant prefolds and keep them in the freezer and they are supposedly wonderful after the birth for soothing and healing.
has anyone done this? can you share or direct me to the recipe?

I have heard something similar using some mama cloth pads. I believe it involves witch hazel and aloe but I am not sure what else. Funny, I was about to ask the same thing since we are headed to the health food store that has all that stuff. Can anyone elaborate more?

[motherhendoula]

What i have done in the past is to buy large size 'make at home' tea bags - fill with the following herbs:
Witch Hazel Bark, Marshmallow Root, Plantain, Calendula, and Goldenseal.
make and seal tea bags - they can be used in a sitz bath, they can be used hot and wet , directly - like while lying on a Chux pad! - they can be soaked and then frozen - wrapped in cellophane or stored in sandwich bags...
If you cant find extra large - make at home tea bags - just steep all the above herbs and soak a pre-fold or a washcloth or whatever into the brew - use hot or cold. You can throw the prefolds in the freezer after soaking them in the herb mixture.
the Witch Hazel and Marshmallow reduce swelling, the plantain and Calendula 'knit' skin back together and Goldenseal is a powerful topical antibacterial.

[Stitches]

I made mine with just ordinary pads but I think an infant pre-fold would work just fine too. I used calendula tincture in water and spritzed the pads and froze them. They felt really good, but be sure to remove them as soon they thaw out so you aren't sitting on a wet pad for a prolonged time. I had a pretty bad tear, so I actually purchased a sitz bath (the kind you stick on the toilet) and it helped a lot. I put calendula tincture in a peri bottle too to spray off everytime I used the toilet.

[VeggieLovinMama]

Originally Posted by kimkim

i heard about this awhile ago but can't find any recipes--all i remember is that you make a solution of stuff (water, herbs, oils?) and soak some infant prefolds and keep them in the freezer and they are supposedly wonderful after the birth for soothing and healing.
has anyone done this? can you share or direct me to the recipe?

Hi there! I have researched this to the bone! My final decision for my PP sitz/peri solution is based on research and also influenced by what herbs I already have on hand. I will provide you with my recipe and also some other herbs that would be excellent to add (my resources include Susun Weed, Aviva Jill Romm, and a light backround in herbalism including some courses)

Rachel's Sitz Bath Recipe:
2 parts plantain
1 part comfrey
1 part calendula
1 part witch hazel
1 part yarrow
1 part rosemary
1/2 part lemon balm
1/2 part sea salt
Oats (added to sitz only, not peri-bottle b/c of clogging)
Mix the herbs. Add 1oz of herb mixture to 6c. boiling water. Steep 30 min. Use in peri-bottle or as a compress. Add sea salt/oats if using as a sitz. Keep in fridge to refill peri-bottle. Use approx. 4c. of herbal 'tea' mixture in the sitz bath.
Another option would be to make the entire mixture, including salt/oats and add to a large kettle-sized reusable tea bags (cotton or muslin) and steep them 30 min. then apply directly to perineum while still warm. Frozen pads are okay, but trust me, warm is soooo nice also. You'll LOVE it. You can do both the cold pads and the warm tea compress if you'd like.

Deep Healing Bath:
1oz comfrey
1oz yarrow
1oz sage
1oz rosemary
1 large fresh bulb garlic, peeled & blended with 2c. water. Strain.
1/2c. sea salt

Boil 6c. water. Turn off heat, add 1oz of the dried herb blend above to the pot -- steep 30 min. Strain, discard herbs. Pour 1c. garlic 'milk' and 4c. herb tea into bath along with the salt. Keep leftover liquid for another bath. DO NOT use the garlic milk as a compress or in a peri-bottle. It is too irriatating. You can use the tea alone in a peri/compress though.

You can research each herb online to see why it is a good choice, if you'd like. You could also tailor this to whatever you have on hand. If you can't get ahold of any of these herbs, try Earth Mama Angel Baby Post Partum Herb Tea. It's amazing! I hope this helps!

[owlgirl]

Great recipe!! Thanks!!

BTW---comfrey leaf...not root.