frozen pads

[Aliy]

with the up coming birth and knowing thatice was very nice afterwards i'm wondering about this. I have seen a few people mention frozen pads and it's even on my birth supply list from my midwife.

I have heard that some moms put some herbal stuff on their pads? what is the difference. I have heard both witch hazel and Chamolie

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I would like to know too.  

[txgal]

I made frozen comfrey pads to use after our homebirth.  Just made a tea from comfrey leaves and soaked 4x4 gauze pads in the tea and then froze them on a cookie sheet, then put in ziploc bag after they were frozen so they didn't all stick together.  When I would change my maxi pad I would put a 4x4 gauze pad on top.  It was wonderful, and helped me heal quickly.  I think comfrey may be hard to get, so the witch hazel could be done the same way.

[RoseRedHoofbeats]

Comfrey root should be easy to find, any health food store that carries bulk herbs should have it!

I preferred to just refrigerate the mixture and then soak gauze in it instead of freezing it- freezing was WAY too cold on my bits!

~Rose

[Aliy]

thanks

[weliveintheforest]

I made the herb soaked ones last time, but really, I think the benefits of the herbs are probably wasted.  I'm just thinking, you probably won't keep it on long enough for the ice to really melt, and it's all soaked in anyway...  Plain water is probably fine.  When I made them I used some perineum soaking herbs I bought, similar to this.   

You might also want to try warm instead of cold.  It's counter-intuitive, since we think swelling should need ice, but it feels pretty good.  

[mossimo12]

I poured a little witch hazel on one of those thin panty liners and put it in the freezer for a little while and then would put it in my depends once it was frozen.  Ahh that was heavenly :)

[Aliy]

@ weliveintheforest

I actually am planning on getting that exact package i think. i'll be getting most of my birth supplies from them

[fivehansens]

I'm planning on making the postpartum care pads from this blog post. I've heard they're wonderful! And I can make it with things I already have on hand. :)

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Does anyone know for sure if they are talking about Which Hazel that you get from the drug store or if they're talking about a tea maybe made from the plant?   

Also, with the comfrey - are they talking about the root or the leaves?  

[fivehansens]

The witch hazel is the kind you can buy in a drug store or health food store. I found some in our local food co-op's vitamin/natural cosmetic section. I'm not sure about the comfrey though, will have to check that out.

[catholic74]

I used some sort of ice pack sanitary napkin after my second birth and it was heavenly.  I forget now where I bought them, though I know it was online.  They are ready made, in the box...you just pull one out, "crack or twist" it to cause the cold to start up and place them in your panties......felt so soothing.....loved them......I don't like to bother making things if I can buy them ready to go......just me.