Feminine hygiene pads can rightfully be considered one of the most useful and most ancient inventions of mankind. But the usual daily or even monthly pads are not suitable in the postpartum period.
For women in labor, completely different hygiene products are required, which is due to the physiology of the recovery period after the birth of the baby. In this article, we will talk about how to choose pads for women in labor and what requirements they must meet.
Purpose
Regular pads, which you can buy at any store or pharmacy, are not suitable for the early postpartum period. The fact is that after childbirth a larger volume of secretions leaves the genital tract than during menstruation.
These secretions are called lochia and consist mainly of blood. It is secreted in large quantities from the blood vessels, which are disrupted when the placenta separates from the uterine wall, because during the period of gestation, the "child's place" and the reproductive organ grow tightly. As the placental wound heals, clots appear in the secretions, and then serous fluid. Such a composition makes lochia potentially hazardous to the health of the parturient woman.
They differ from menstrual flow by the absence of enzymes and endometrial particles. But the abundance of erythrocytes makes lochia a favorable breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria. If this process begins, it invariably leads to severe inflammatory consequences.
Therefore, the main requirements that postpartum pads must meet are increased ability to absorb and retain fluid and sterility. Therefore, in the first few days after childbirth, it is recommended to use sterile hospital bed liners - they are washed and placed in a sterilizer without fail.
At the end of the second day, a woman can start using those hygiene products that she took with her to the hospital. It is better if these are special postpartum pads. It is a convenient hygiene product that meets the key requirements mentioned above.
If the pads are chosen correctly, they will provide comfort to the postpartum woman, adapting as much as possible anatomically to the natural shapes and curves of the perineum. They are soft, their surface does not cause sweating and debate, and therefore they can be used even after an episiotomy carried out during childbirth - a dissection of the perineum.
Their main advantage is their increased protective abilities. If you change your pads frequently after childbirth, the chances of infection and inflammation will be reduced. Hygienic products for women in labor are hypoallergenic, they do not cause irritation, rashes and swelling in the perineum.
What are the differences from the usual?
If we compare postpartum pads with conventional pads, a number of distinctive features can be noted.
- The size - hygiene products for women in childbirth are longer and wider, their outer adhesive surface is much wider than that of most ordinary pads. Size matters here because the increased width eliminates leakage even when lying on your back.
- Material - the outer top layer in special pads always consists of materials with a high degree of air permeability, which is important for drying tears and seams on the crotch, if any.
- Filler - able to absorb four glasses of liquid. Ordinary gaskets cannot boast of such ability. Some types of postpartum hygiene products are even capable of absorbing small to medium sized blood clots.
- Impregnation - most postpartum pads are impregnated with special anti-inflammatory compounds that increase the effectiveness of antibacterial prophylaxis.
But the "droplets", according to the number of which women determine the absorbency and purpose for secretions of different abundance, in special hygiene products are the same as in the usual ones. This greatly facilitates the task of choosing.
Kinds
Pads for women in labor differ not only in name and degree of absorption, but also in design. Today, the market for relevant products has the following offers:
- anatomical spacers - maximally repeating curves of the perineum;
- urological pads - perfectly absorb both lochia and urine when it leaks, have increased bactericidal properties;
- disposable postpartum panties - they already have a wide and long gasket inserted. This is convenient as the hygiene product does not need to be held or adjusted.
A woman can choose and take with her to childbirth any pads. Questions arise only in relation to disposable underpants. They are much more expensive than other types of products, and they cannot always be used. For example, after a caesarean section, these panties will get in the way by putting pressure on the area of the dressing and the incision underneath.
Review of popular brands
Among the variety of special pads for women in labor, it can be difficult to navigate. Therefore, we have compiled a small rating of hygiene products based on feedback from women in labor.
In it, the names were placed in descending order of positive ratings, that is, in the first place are the products with the maximum number of positive reviews. Closing the list are the gaskets, which the women gave an honest "three" out of a possible five points.
Helen harper
In the European market, it is this brand of postpartum sanitary napkins for women that has taken a leading position over the past decades. They are very convenient to use due to the small rubber bands that replace the usual "wings".
The adhesive tape from the outside does not peel off and does not peel off from the laundry, it is very reliable, which eliminates the displacement of the gasket, leakage. The products do not include perfumery fragrances, but this does not at all affect the result - the gasket not only perfectly absorbs lochia, but also remarkably masks unpleasant blood odors.
Seni
The coating is soft, but the manufacturers do not offer anything special - confident, reliable and generally accepted "classics of the genre". A big plus of such products is that they belong to the category of urological, respectively, an order of magnitude better protect a woman from pathogenic bacteria due to a special bactericidal sorbent.
The material in the composition is only natural, diaper rash and sweating in the crotch area, subject to the rules of use, are practically excluded.
For the price, these gaskets are considered quite average, they are much cheaper than the previous ones, and this makes them even more attractive. The only drawback is the lack of so-called "wings", which is not convenient for all women.
Molimed
Like most products from the renowned manufacturer Hartmann, these gaskets come in one of the largest ranges of sizes and shapes. There are pads with "wings" and without them, there are super-powerful absorbent products, and there are pads that can be used at the very end of the rehabilitation period, when the amount of discharge is minimal.
In this line of pads, you can find sterile products that are suitable for use in the very early postpartum period (if the administration of the maternity hospital does not cling too much to Soviet obstetric traditions and allows the postpartum woman to use not half-meter lining from a diaper, but sterile products brought with her).
The disadvantage of the gaskets is the presence of a rather dense outer layer, which creates the likelihood of diaper rash and wetting in the seam area, if any. After episiotomy and perineal lacerations, not the best choice.
Samu
Such products are large, they are very good for the early period after childbirth, when the discharge from women is abundant and heterogeneous. These hygiene products for women in labor are sterile, do not have a dense airtight layer, and therefore are acceptable for use immediately after childbirth, even if there were tears or an incision in the perineum.
The disadvantage of specific pads is that they have neither side wings nor a sticky layer on the linen side. It is difficult to keep them when walking in a static position, and therefore unpleasant leaks are not excluded. Their price is quite high. There is no choice of sizes, gaskets are available in one size solution.
"Peligrin"
Cheap and "angry" domestic version. The price is affordable for everyone, in this group of products it is one of the lowest. The pads are quite large and thick, which gives them great absorbency. The line of the brand has several dimensional solutions.
Hygiene products "breathe" well, which makes it possible to use them after lacerations or surgical incision of the perineum. Free of allergens and fragrances.
The obvious downsides seen by women in labor are that the adhesive layer of the pads is very thin and unreliable. The pad is easily peeled off from the underwear fabric, displaced, and allows leakage. The rubber band, which the manufacturers have provided around the edges so that the hygiene product is better fixed, causes a completely different effect - it rubs, interferes with normal walking.
The product does not contain bactericidal sorbents. If the stitches heal slowly and poorly, it is better to use another brand of pads with increased antibacterial protection or urological products.
Canpol babies
These hygiene products for women in labor are distinguished by high softness and comfort, but they deserve the least positive feedback from women solely for the fact that they have a relatively small thickness with a large length. On the one hand, it seems quite comfortable - walking is easy. But on the other hand, the gaskets need to be changed more often. While other postpartum products can be changed every two hours, the products of this brand sometimes have to be changed every 40 minutes.
The disadvantage is somewhat compensated by the ingenuity and tact of the manufacturers, who made sure that the postpartum woman had two types of products - night and day.
Both have a fairly dense outer layer, which does not exclude the possibility of diaper rash and slower healing of sutures. There are no “wings”, and there is a sticky layer on the outside only in the very center of the product, and therefore the gasket is fixed very unreliably.
Useful Tips
When choosing hygiene products for the postpartum period, do not buy too many of them. Lochia will be abundant only during the first 3-5 days, then they will become moderate, and after a week they will begin to gradually decrease in quantity.
For this period, it is enough to purchase 3 packs of postpartum pads. For the subsequent rehabilitation period, it will be possible to buy other pads and do this later, when the nature of the discharge and their amount is clear, taking into account the individual characteristics of the postpartum period.
You can additionally learn about postpartum pads from the following video.
