Ask My Little Buddha

June 25, 2007 | Print

I’m about to have my first baby and wonder what products you recommend to assist me in my recovery after giving birth?

Congratulations! The physical recovery period from giving birth usually lasts a month to 40 days. We recommend really taking it easy, not pushing yourself to do physical exercise other than, when you feel ready, a gentle walk for air.

Here are our recommended postpartum recovery products:

Perineal support
Perineal cold packs. We swear by these instant cold packs. We usually get 7-8 and use once a day, though often more than that for the first days after giving birth.

Another trick is frozen maxi pads: dampen a maxi pad, put it in a ziplock and then the freezer. When wearing them, they do get messy as they melt, we layer them with a dry pad underneath.

Peri bottles. We like to have at least one extra, so we have them in all bathrooms we use frequently (especially in two story houses). For hospital births, some moms just ask nurses for a few extras.

Sitz bath and sitz herbs: Sitz baths help with inflammation and tissue healing. We recommend taking a sitz bath a few times a day for the first week, sometimes we continue them into the second week and they’re still helpful.

We often make a big batch of the sitz herbs and keep it in the fridge, using a little as we need it for each bath. We use this sitz bath and the AfterBirth Sitzbath Herbs.

Uterus changes
Pads. Bleeding usually lasts for up to forty days. The first few weeks are the heaviest and then it tapers.

We get a few packages of pads in different sizes. One large pack of maxi pads with wings for the first week or so, one pack of medium flow pads and then one large pack of pantiliners.

We like Natracare pads because they’re hypoallergenic, biodegradable and chemical free. A few of their organic products: Ultra with Wings, Night-Time Overnight Pads and Panty Shields.

Most important is to find pads that are comfortable for you, look for brands without fragrance.

Achiness
Arnica. We take the homeopathic remedy Arnica immediately after giving birth, and continue for up to a week, or until we’re feeling less sore.

Arnica oil: We rub this massage oil wherever our muscles ache, especially helpful for lower backs. We also find asking someone to rub our calves and feet with those first days after giving birth helps tremendously.

General health
Bottled water. It’s important to drink lots of water for both recovery and nursing. We’re big fans of using filtered water from the tap, but there’s so much going on it’s easiest to keep bottles of water wherever we tend to rest or nurse.

While nursing, it’s important to avoid bottled water with a high mineral content.

Chamomile tea. Great for soothing our nerves and our newborns. Our favorite is with rice milk and honey.

Please note that doctors will provide additional health information for C-sections.

For more postpartum support, check out our Postpartum Survival Tips and Essential Breastfeeding Products for Getting Started.

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