Lunapads Blog

Hey all of you Luna-Mamas out there! Menstruation is a daily topic around our office and a big part of that for many women is pregnancy and birthin’ babies. Many of our first time customers come to us looking for an alternative to those icky hospital-issue postpartum pads for their postpartum bleeding. As a Doula who recently attended several births, I thought I would share some postnatal tips with y’all.

When I first begin working with a family as a Doula, I find many first time moms experience fears around birth mostly because they just don’t know what to expect and they are basing their perceptions on friends and families’ birth stories which may or may not be pleasant.  With so much concern about making it through childbirth gracefully with a healthy baby, breastfeeding and all of the other new calls of motherhood, many women are not aware of what their own needs will be postnatal or how their body will change.

Vaginas are amazing for lots of reasons and one especially cool one is how stretchy the muscles are, pretty helpful for pushing out whole babies.  Resilient as they are, they do need some help to heal. When I visit a family postnatal, (just for the record, a doula/family relationship is one of the most fast and furiously intimate ones I have ever experienced) I bring along some Perineal Wash.  Made with herbs of Plantain, Comfrey leaf, Comfrey root, Rosemary, Thyme, Yarrow and Calendula it is used externally to work miracles in the healing of the perineum. You boil up the herbs in a big pot like tea, strain the herbs and with your Peri Bottle, wash your perineum each time you use the washroom.

Immediately after birth, even a caesarean section, you will have some swelling, potentially healing from stitches and possibly postpartum bleeding.  Many women end up wearing and changing heavy disposable pads frequently at this time.  Lunapads Heavy Pad with both Heavy Wing and Heavy Trifold liners are a much more comfortable and environmentally friendly option.  Both can be rinsed with water and put in the freezer for a pad-style ice pack or even better, dampen with witch hazel before freezing.  This also works wonders on hemorrhoids which can be another one of those after-birth surprises.  A few drops of lavender and some Aloe Vera are also nice in the mix.

If you are already a Lunagal, I am sure you will be rocking the baby cloth too.  Congrats and enjoy motherhood!

If you’d like to support maternal health in Africa please consider donating to our Shanti Uganda fundraiser! Later this month Madeleine and Suzanne will be traveling to Uganda with Shanti Uganda, an organization whose goal is to lower maternal and infant mortality rates, reduce HIV/AIDS transmission rates from mother to child, improve access to education and supplies and honour every birthing woman. Lunapads is raising money to support Shanti Uganda’s Health and Wellness workshops for young girls.