Natural remedies for postpartum ickiness?

[mollybird77]

I was wondering if any of you have favorite natural remedies for all those joyful postpartum issues. Like, what are people planning on doing for afterpains, sore perineal areas, hemroids, soreness in general, etc? Are there any tinctures or teas that help with bleeding or baby blues?

I was looking at my Kissaluvs Diaper Potion and was thinking that it might feel nice on a sore perineum since it has things like witch hazel, TTO, lavender, jojoba, etc. Anyone else? Sorry if this has been discussed before. I haven't been around as much as I'd like to be!

[Jen H.]

Great question - I don't think this had been covered yet.

For a natural healing remedy, try Arnica.

For moodiness, try Bach's Rescue Remedy.

For sore perineum and hemorrhoids, witch hazel (or Tuck's pads).

Not sure, but RRL tea likely is still a good thing to help your uterus contract back to size.

For afterpains, I remember taking Advil before (also helped with general soreness of the entire crotch region!).

Anyone else got stuff to add, or refute?

[mollybird77]

Wow, sounds like you've got it covered Jen! I remember those nice Tucks Witch Hazel pads. I need to add those to my shopping list!

And yeah, I lived off of my prescription Ibuprofen for those afterpains. I would gladly labor naturally and give birth twice if it meant not having to experience those. Why do they have to hurt SO bad?

[beansavi]

I know its not herbal, but after having my ten pounders....Advil was my best friend!

[Jen H.]

One more thing - ice that crotch every hour, especially in the first three days PP! Feels so nice....

[Mel L]

They gave me the tucks with witch hazel at the hospital this time, and they were really nice!

I have also been doing a lot of self medicating with chocolate! Since I didn't like choc. at all before I had my son, I think it is all kind of funny.

[fw221]

How about sore, cracked & bleeding nipples? I'm putting Lansinoh lanolin on them, but I wonder what will help toughen them up faster. Had the same trouble with dd, but I don't remember what I did! Good thing Thomas has the cutest blissed out look on his face when he's got a tummy full of breastmilk. :

[Ashersmum]

Originally Posted by fw221

How about sore, cracked & bleeding nipples? I'm putting Lansinoh lanolin on them, but I wonder what will help toughen them up faster. Had the same trouble with dd, but I don't remember what I did! Good thing Thomas has the cutest blissed out look on his face when he's got a tummy full of breastmilk. :

Ouch ouch I remember those days! 'Soothies' (sp?) gel pads really helped me. I think you can buy them at Walgreens. You can put them in the fridge and then put them on your sore nips after nursing. It feels great. Also express some milk onto your nipples after nursing and let them air dry...not always appropriate if you have guests! If they get unbearably bad and wounded (mine did and I still have scars to prove it) then use nipple shields for a couple of nursings to open up Thomas' latch a bit and to give your nipples a chance to regenerate tissue.

[phathui5]

I have some "Afterease" tincture a friend gave me. I'm assuming it's for uterus pains and general ouchness.

[mollybird77]

What does your Afterease bottle look like? I looked for it in my health food store, but I never found it because I really didn't know what I was looking for

[ahdoula]

I got my afterease online at Cascade. I have never seen it at my health food places, but it comes in a dark colored bottle, about 4 oz maybe?

[aileen]

i used cramp bark tinture (viburnun opulus) for afterpains, but i have to admit that i haven't gotten them too bad (unless i'm tandem nursing both children at the same time...yaowzaaaa!) they had it at our neighborhood coop. it's distributed by herb pharm - the little dark bottles with the yellow lables.
: but, i'm with you, mel, chocolate has been my secret "medicine". it tastes soooo good after being so hyper-food/sugar/gluten conscious during pregnancy. my dosage depends on the day!
and my midwife gets an ice pack in her birthkit that you just twist and it gets all cold but still soft - probably not the most eco-friendly chilly thing to sit on - but it was heavenly.
and a friend gave me some herbal afterbirth sitz bath mix - i love that stuff - bit i wish i had a bigger bowl!

[Lissybug]

I've got some Afterease too- sm brown bottle. I asked my midwife aout afterpains last appointment and she turned to my husnad (which I thought was great) And told him that soon after I have the baby- like within the first hour, he should get me a class of water with the Afterease in in as well as maybe 4 Advil. She recommended I keep taking the Afterease every couple hours or as needed, and taking a normal dose of Advil every fours hours, or whatever the bottle says.

For sore perineum my MWs make little compresses out of boiled Comfrey leaves that they roll into.. paper towels I think? And put them in your fridge. They feel very nice when cold. They also leave a peri bottle for spraying after going to the bathroom, and I'll have comfrey leaf tea in that.

Primrose oil supplements can help re-balance hormones.

And this time I went to an herbalist and told her I wanted something for after I have the baby to help me know I am taking care of myself. She gave me a nutritive tea with extra nettle and oatstraw added.

[Mel L]

barb- Warm wash cloths and warm showers were the only thing that really helped me get through that first week or two. I would nurse next and leave breastmilk to dry on my nipples. I used lanolin for all of 2-3 days, but I didn't see much of a difference. Plus, that stuff stains (maybe no more than breastmilk).... Someone also suggested black tea bags, but I got the problem under control before I tried that.

Also, this may be common sense, but I thought I would mention it one more time for everyone reading this. Don't use any kind of soap or the like on your nipples since it strips off the natural oils. My mom and I had a talk about all the changes in info over the years. Mom was told over 30 years ago that she had to sanitize the nipple everytime she fed the baby. She also wasn't told what a good latch would feel like so she thought I was biting her the first time I latched. Needless to say, she tried bf for 2 days before switching to the "just as good" formula. I have been thinking about that a lot this time. This has almost been a more difficult baby to nurse because she is such a good nurser. My nipples get a lot of use, and they have just gotten more sore than with my first. We are still learning though....

[pwit]

dampened (not soaking wet or it will be like a chunk of ice) pads in the freezer felt great in the few days after birth with my first.

[Jen H.]

Just wanted to add to the nipple care issues...

The idea is not to "toughen them up" so much as make sure they stay supple and soft. It's probably nearly impossible for the first couple of weeks as you're both still learning, but keep up with the Lansinoh. Leaving breastmilk to dry on them is also good, as it's a natural healing agent.

When DS was a newborn, my midwives gave me a prescription for special nipple cream that was developed by Dr. Jack Newman. It was amazing and healed the cracks in no time. Also very soothing. If you do a quick google search it should come up. A pharmacist needs to mix it, so you need to go to a compounding pharmacy (pretty common). If your nipples get bad at all, it's worth the trouble to seek this out, trust me!

If things aren't that bad though, I'd recommend keeping up with the Lansinoh after every feeding to keep them soft. The no-soap thing runs along the same lines - soap is drying and harsh.

[AuntG]

Amazingly, after my UC I didn't have any peri pain. I was VERY lucky! I had no tears, just a skid mark. I didn't even use the comfrey stuff I had. Never used cold pads, witch hazel, anything. I took ibuprofen the first two days for the cramping I got everytime I had to pump milk.

I credit laboring in warm water as the reason why I didn't have any vaginal tearing or pain.

HOWEVER, I was PLAGUED by post partum edema (didn't even have it while pregnant!). I didn't have a chance to rest much, so this was a huge problem. So my only recommendation is having B6 and potassium in some form to prevent swelling.

[Mommyintraining2]

Did anyone mention cold cabbage leaves for sore breasts? I've heard it before, but have never personally tried it.

[ahdoula]

Originally Posted by Mommyintraining2

Did anyone mention cold cabbage leaves for sore breasts? I've heard it before, but have never personally tried it.

LCs no longer suggest this becuase there is debate that it "works" to relieve engorgment becuase it acually reduces milk supply...

[Mel L]

I have always heard cabbage leaves just for weaning, too.