DIY Padsicles & Postpartum Perineal Care

Have you heard of padsicles? Padsicles are super easy to DIY. Its just a clever name for homemade pads that have some sort of healing salve or herbs on them and are then are put in the fridge or freezer to store. Making padsicles is a common activity for a nesting party, and many of my clients like to make some to have on hand as a way to mentally and logistically prepare for recovery. Read on for a DIY recipe!

Are you worried about tearing during birth? Probably! Pretty much everyone I talk to (plus lots and lots of strangers on the internet) is dreading their post-birth perineal aftercare. Of course folks hear horror stories about people with severe tears or who struggle penetrative sex postpartum. Also, the word tear doesn't exactly evoke strength and resilience.

I'm sure you want to skip this part and go straight to the recipe, but please hang around and read a bit about the realities of tearing to help shed some light on a dark and sometimes scary topic. I encourage you to take a deep breath and read at least one of the following drop down options. Note: The most common type of tear is a second degree tear.

First degree tear

Only the skin has torn, like a paper cut. Often people do not need stitches for a first degree tear. About 90% of all people giving birth experience some tearing, and you are less likely to tear in subsequent births after your first. You are also more likely to tear less when working with midwives at freestanding birth locations (birth centers and home birth) as they have the flexibility to allow for longer pushing times and will encourage clients to slow down at the end of pushing.

Second degree tear

The most common type of tear in a first birth. The skin and some muscle are affected. This is usually easily repaired with some stitches that then dissolve over the course of your recovery. Your vagina and vulva are mucus membranes, just like your mouth. These areas of the body tend to heal more rapidly than regular skin. Think about when you burn your mouth - it goes away much faster than when you burn your hand. Giving birth is obviously more intense than burning your mouth, but the skin is incredibly resilient. Don't you forget it!

Third degree tear

A third degree tear affected the vaginal muscles and anal sphincter, occurring in less than 5% of all births. These tears can be repaired in the birth room with stitches but will take a little bit longer. While all people giving birth should plan to see a pelvic floor therapist in postpartum, those with a third degree tear greatly benefit from the extra support. I would argue that a pelvic floor physical therapist is not optional in these situations. Both 3rd and 4th degree tears are more common with instrument-assisted deliveries (vacuum, forceps) so you'll want to find out the rate of instrument use within your practice.

Fourth degree tear

This is an extremely rare type of tear, occurring in less than 2% of all births. I personally have never seen anyone experience this level of tear. It involves muscle in the vagina, anal sphincter, and rectum, and does require surgical repair in an operating room. I typically don't go into depth on this type of tear because it is so uncommon. Recovery is much longer for this type of tear.

playdough makes things less scary, right?

Ok, so maybe you are making padsicles because you are a practical guy who knows that having supportive healing herbs is great. And mayyyybbeeee you are making padsicles because you are stressed that you will tear and this is giving you some control back. There's not right or wrong reason to prepare for postpartum healing. I just want you to know that you will likely tear AND you will definitely heal. Your body is resilient.

How Many Do I Need? Cold Effects on Healing

Before you make plans to start a padsicle factory in your kitchen, you need to know that cold compresses are not great for encouraging long term healing. Ideally, you will start by putting cold and frozen packs on your perineum to help with the initial post-birth swelling. After a day or two, when the swelling has gone down, you want to switch to warm healing methods (think sitz bath) to encourage healing. Hospitals will provide you with cold packs while you stay. Birth centers, too, though that is a shorter time.

Ideally you will change your pad each time you use the bathroom, or at least every four hours. That works out to 6-8 pads every 24 hours. I cannot tell you how many Frida mom cold pads I have been given by clients who didn't use all 8. So you likely won't need more than 10-12 even if you end up absolutely loving them.

After 24-48 hours of recovery time, plan to switch to warm compresses like sitz baths or room temperature pads. You can still squirt all the healing goodies into your pad - just do it as needed so everything is room temperature and avoid the freezer.

Ingredients

• Heavy / overnight pads, unscented

• Witch hazel, alcohol free

• 100% aloe vera gel, unscented

• Storage bag for freezer

• Optional:

  • herbal sitz bath herbs, steeped in hot water for 20+ minutes

  • lavender oil

DIY Padsicle Recipe:

1. Optional: boil water and add sitz bath herbs. Allow at least 20 minutes to steep.

2. Unwrap the pad carefully without unsticking it from the plastic wrapper

3. Squirt witch hazel all over the pad, enough to wet it without soaking it. Witch hazel can reduce swelling, pain, and bruising, plus relieve itching and inflammation associated with hemorrhoids.

4. Squeeze aloe vera gel generously all over the sanitary napkin. Aloe vera has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, which can help relieve inflammation and acute pain. You want everything you are putting on your perineum to be sterile in early postpartum so if you want to spread the ingredients, do so with thoroughly cleaned hands or a spoon.

5. Add any optional ingredients like a squirt of the postpartum sitz bath herbs or a drop or two of lavender oil.

6. Wrap the pad back up and store in an airtight bag.