Padsicle How-To and Soothing Herbal Recipe
Updated: Apr 9, 2021
Padsicle. If you're confused right now, you're probably not alone. If you have any idea what I'm talking about, you may be American. In the US, padsicles are a fairly common postpartum care item that can be prepared before or after giving birth. In the US, we tend to have large freezers, but making space for these and freezing them before giving birth can be a lovely bit of self care. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
What is a padsicle?
A padsicle is a large, cotton absorbent/overnight pad that has had some witch hazel, aloe vera, or homemade herbal sitz bath tea sprayed onto it and frozen. The postpartum mother can them out to use during her recovery as the cool pad will feel refreshing and soothing on stitches if she has any, or just on her sore vulva if she doesn't have stitches.
Making a padsicle is easy! First you'll need a large, absorbent pad. The softest ones I've found are the Mercadona Classic Noche con Alas (Night with Wings) but you an use any overnight or maternity pad.
Once you have that, you'll need witch hazel and aloe vera or an herbal infusion. You can spray the witch hazel and herbal infusion onto the pad until it's soaked but not completely saturated (you want it to still absorb the postpartum bleeding!). Lightly coat the aloe vera gel on the top of the pad. Then stick the pad(s) in the freezer inside plastic ziploc bags until the day you need to use them!
Bonus tip: If you're using an adult diaper the first week postpartum you can actually just pop the padsicle into the adult diaper and then there's no worry about leakage.
If you're not up for preparing padsicles before giving birth, you can also plan to use an herbal infusion for a sitz bath. Sitz baths are when you fill the bath with a small amount of warm water, just enough to cover your bum and sit in it to soothe your birth parts. Adding certain herbs to this bath can be very helpful for healing and pain relief.
To make an herbal infusion for sitz baths or to spray on padsicle you'll need:
50g Dried Lavender Flower - Flor de Lavanda Seca
50g Chamomile Flower - Flores Secas de Manzanilla
50g Yarrow - Milenrama
50g Calendula Flower - Flor de Calendula
Organic Cotton Muslin Bags
Divide the herbs equally among the muslin bags, tie them up, and store them in a place that is cool and dry until it's time to use them during postpartum.
Once you've given birth and are ready for a sitz bath - tell your postpartum doula or your partner or other support person where to find them and have them draw you a sitz bath.
These can also be used for regular relaxing baths!
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Links & Resources:
Yarrow: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/yarrow-tea#1.-May-enhance-wound-healing-
Chamomile: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/
Lavender: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5878871/
https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/sitz-bath-hemorrhoids-postpartum-recovery/
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