I made these pads when pregnant with Tobi and it did wonders for me after the birth. It felt so soothing… and cold, but in a good way! They helped a lot with the soreness and swelling associated with having a vaginal birth. Each ingredient has specific purposes for promoting healing of the vaginal area along with bring relief. Read on to learn what each ingredient does to bring comfort in the midst of the postpartum period…
Witch Hazel: A mama’s best friend during the postpartum healing time. It is a natural astringent, helps reduce swelling and typically used on swollen body parts… birthing does give our bodies quite a beating! This soothing liquid makes a wonderful treatment for two problems that can happen to new mamas – sore perineum & hemorrhoids.
Aloe Vera: Best known for its natural healing of skin, wounds and other skin issues. It’s excellent anti-inflammatory properties help relieve joint & muscle pains. It is SO soothing on a sore perineum and leaves you feeling revitalized.
My choices of essential oils… Lavender, Rosemary and German Chamomile… not only smell wonderful when combined, but all are natural astringents that help with reducing swelling. Each of them also have their own special ways of helping along the healing process:
- Lavender essential oil has a wonderful calming scent which can help in treating nervous exhaustion, restlessness, emotional stress, nervous tension, headaches, anxiety and increase mental activity. It is also an excellent remedy for various types of pains caused by sore muscles, tense muscles, muscular aches, backaches and the lumbago (lower back) area. Lavender oil is good for improving blood circulation in the body, which is essential for complete healing in the perineum area.
- Rosemary essential oil has the ability to strengthen the entire body and relieve pain (like lavender) associated with muscle pains, sore muscles & headaches. It also boosts mental activity, so when your brain feels tired (and we do feel brain-tired after having a baby!)… inhale some rosemary oil to get fresh mental energy!
- German Chamomile essential oil is a workhorse being naturally anti-septic, anti-biotic, won’t let biotic infections (such as bacteria, fungi, etc.) develop, wipes off infections already present, can effectively reduce pain in the muscles & joints, calms all nervous disturbances, is effective in curing inflammation and check swelling of the blood vessels. In nature, it is a tonic that helps tone up the skin, muscles, internal organs and more.
Knowing all this just brings a huge smile of awe on my face because God is so good to give us the resources to naturally heal ourselves! Now you know these cool & soothing pads will help bring comfort after childbirth and allow you to enjoy your new baby without being too distracted by the postpartum healing that can be painful and challenging.
Where to Purchase Everything
Thankfully, all these ingredients are very easy to find and reasonably priced. You will most likely be able to find everything you need at your local health food store. Knowing that prices are always a little more at the local health food store… you can simply purchase the witch hazel at any drug store for cheap and buy your aloe vera (or use your fresh leaves!) & essential oils online for less.
I love to buy my essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs, they have lasted me a long time! I’ve also purchased my essential oils from Vitacost.com (this is my referral link, you can get an instant $10 coupon on your first purchase!) and have been happy with the Aura Cacia brand, but quality-wise… Mountain Rose Herbs’ essential oils are the ones to get.
The pads you see in my pictures are from Lunapads and I love them. They don’t feel bulky and are very comfortable. There are other companies that make cloth pads and prices varies, but you can easily make your own pads if you are sewing savvy!
Where to Purchase Everything
Thankfully, all these ingredients are very easy to find and reasonably priced. You will most likely be able to find everything you need at your local health food store. Knowing that prices are always a little more at the local health food store… you can simply purchase the witch hazel at any drug store for cheap and buy your aloe vera (or use your fresh leaves!) & essential oils online for less.
I love to buy my essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs, they have lasted me a long time! I’ve also purchased my essential oils from Vitacost.com (this is my referral link, you can get an instant $10 coupon on your first purchase!) and have been happy with the Aura Cacia brand, but quality-wise… Mountain Rose Herbs’ essential oils are the ones to get.
The pads you see in my pictures are from Lunapads and I love them. They don’t feel bulky and are very comfortable. There are other companies that make cloth pads and prices varies, but you can easily make your own pads if you are sewing savvy!
Making the Pads
For pads, I used my cloth ones because they are more breathable and aren’t full of stuff that can irritate the vaginal area (plus, I save so much money using them!). I prefer to put the special liquid on the inserts that slip onto the pads, but you can put it directly on the pads itself. You can use disposable pads, but be sure to get unscented or natural kinds!
I would prepare 15-25 pads and put them all in a plastic container to store until ready to use.
What you will need:
What you will need:
Overnight maxi pads (cloth or disposable)
2 cups Witch Hazel (distilled extract, available at any drug store)
½ cup pure, edible Aloe Vera gel/juice (fresh or store bought)
15-20 drops Lavender essential oil
15-20 drops Rosemary essential oil
15-20 drops German Chamomile essential oil
Aluminum foil
In bowl, thoroughly combine everything. Pour into a small spray bottle or simply use a Tablespoon. Unfold the pads and spray each pad until damp or pour 1 Tbsp. (make a vertical line down the center area) on each pad. Wrap each pad in aluminum foil and store in the freezer. When ready to use, take one out and unwrap it. Let it thaw for about 2 minutes before put it on. If you put it on right away, it will be COLD… but it feels great!!
Note: If you are using fresh aloe vera leaves. Simply peel the skin off and lightly rinse it. Then put the clear gel in your blender and blend until smooth.
Note: If you are using fresh aloe vera leaves. Simply peel the skin off and lightly rinse it. Then put the clear gel in your blender and blend until smooth.
I’m currently waiting for my first to be born – due Wednesday! I think I’m going to go buy this stuff and give it a try – I am definitely concerned about how I’m going to feel afterwards! Thanks for the tip.
anniemac – no problems! Hope they help you as much as they did for me! Did you have your baby? Congratulations!!
I really wish this post had been up 5 weeks ago, lol! Praise the Lord I never get too swollen or in discomfort, but man, this looks soothing and I so would have used this. I’m loving these posts Mare!
Hey Diana! Thanks for stopping by! I know what you mean… Thankfully, I’m too, the same way where I don’t get to swollen or in great pain down there. When I saw something similiar on Mothering… I wanted to try it, but with a few additions and BOY, I LOVED it :o) LOL!!! Felt SO SO good!
Glad you are enjoying the posts! I am having fun doing them… it is nice to have inspiration and information that I can bless other women with.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but do you use these as your pad to soak the blood as well? Or do you need another pad in addition to this?
Not a dumb question at all!
What I do is bleed out on an open flat pad for the first 2 days rather than putting on a regular pad. It is good to keep the area dry as much as possible and I find that it heals quickly that way. My midwife directed me to do that after my second was born. and I’ve done that with my third and fourth babies.
But whenever I got up (got up less the 24 hours after my 4th baby to go outside, it was a gorgeous day and I couldn’t miss it!), I would put on a postpartum pad (with the essential oils and all) to soak up blood AND enjoy the soothing feel of the cold healing mixture.
Hope this was helpful and enjoy the pads!!!
That is very interesting about bleeding on a flat pad for the first couple days! Is it a disposable chux pad or a washable waterproof pad, and how many did you go through/how often did they need to be changed? I am used to using cloth pads but was wondering about freezing them for postpartum – do you feel wet after it thaws? (Not that you feel dry when you’re bleeding anyway!) Thanks!
Hello Lianne, yes I used disposable flat pads but think reusable ones would work fine. I did disposable because I didn’t want to gross out my mom who was helping with laundry 🙂 I used about 10-20 pads. Really depends on the person and how much they are bleeding.
I have used both cloth and disposable pads for my postpartum pads and both worked great. Yes, the pads do feel wet after it thaws, but it didn’t bother me and I changed out my pads quite frequently… especially once that cool, soothing feeling went away as the pad started warming up. 🙂
Great recipe! I made a similar recipe using only the lavendar oil (keeping everything else the same) and LOVED them. Am expecting baby #2 next month and getting my stash ready now. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I’ll be making these with disposable breast pads and mama cloth, since I don’t have quite enough cloth pads to do the job.
Congratulations Jelli!! Enjoy!
Umm i was wondering, Does it only work after natural birth?.. Can’t it be used on the wound of the Cesarian Section?
Of course you can use it on the wound! It will be very soothing and help keep the swelling and pain down.
Raw honey and coconut oil are also great for healing wounds and preventing infections.
Here is a silly question: What is a flat pad vs a regular one? I don’t have a stash of cloth so I wil lbe using disposable and am trying to decide what to get to have prepared. I’m a first time mom and am 36 wks 4 days pregnant. 🙂
Hello Morgan, it’s not a silly question! The flat pad are used to lay on your bed. Much like using pads under kids who go through stages of bedwetting.
Congratulations and hope everything goes well!!
Are these pads just for healing? Or do they still absorb the blood that comes out after having baby?
I am due on November 8th and I have bought all the ingredients.
Hello Laysa,
I recommend using the flat absorbable pads (you put it under you in bed) for the first 24 hours to soak up all the blood and to allow the area to breathe, then start using the pads. They will absorb blood as well as bring amazing relief! I find that if I use the pads right away, it isn’t has effective because the blood interferes with the cooling relief too quickly.
Do you think using a highly concentrated chamomile tea would work in a similar fashion versus the essential oil? Or just go entirely without?
Hello! I would just go without. 🙂
What size Luna pads did you use to make these?
I used the long postpartum ones!
Hi,
I don’t know if I can still post questions…
I have a lot of the mixture left, can I store it for later? In the fridge or freezer?
Hello!
Yes, you can put it in the fridge and it should be fine for a while! Smelling it will let you know if it’s still good or not.
Should the witch hazel be alcohol free?
It can! I didn’t have any avaible to me at the time and it still worked fine.