Maternity pads/Heavy flow sanitary pads

[STORM01]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if posted in wrong place but as a 1st timer just wondering your opinions on sanitary towels for when DC is born.

Just starting to consider packing my hospital bag & would like to know if I could get away with buying heavy flow sanitary pads or if I really do need "proper" maternity pads?

All opinions most welcome & dont be afraid to share all the gorey details...the more info I have the more scared prepared I am!!!

I personally preferred proper maternity pads as they felt cushionned and comfortable against my stitches. When I changed to always nighttime pads after a few days they felt really plasticky and uncomfortable to me and I went back to maternity pads.

Agree with greensnail that for first couple of weeks I
liked proper maternity pads as covering was softer and good when had switches. Did switch to night pads/heavy duty pads after I felt healed.

And fwiw needed a few at first as was quite heavy ow for first week or so( it was more fluidy than I thought - sorry if too much info but was bit like waters breaking) so did get through more pads than would during a period. And meant stitches btw...

What Greensnail and poppy34 said! you go through them really quickly as well! I was changing the pad every trip to the toilet and sometimes inbetween so could easily go through 10 or more a day!

This time i've bought 5 packs so far, as having a CS and I believe the heavy bleeding doesn't start as soon! the hot sweaty feeling from always or other nighttime towels the plastic etc.. just didn't feel as fresh!

Thanks everyone

The real deal it is then...any brand recommendations?

Boots massively padded own brand ones. Fairly cheap from my dazed rememberings. Lots of nice padding for sore stiches...

i've bought 2 ten packs of Boots own maternity pads (99p each). hospital recommended you have these for comfort but I can imagine sending hubby/mum out for more quite quickly if its as bad as described above :s

My preference was to wear a maternity pad, on top of a nighttime sanitary pad (thick, with sticky back). I had lots of stitches with both dd1 and 2, and the extra cushioning was a help, I was also quite a bleeder!

I am pregnant with dc3, and will prob pack 2 packs of each in my bag.

midwives advise you to use proper maternity pad as sanitary towels can mask the signs of infection apparently, maternity pads are really cheap though and as you'll go through so many in the first few days are a better option

Maternity pads, definitely. As everyone else says, the normal pads are plasticky.

I bought Tena lady incontinence pants (honestly) and used the maternity pads inside them, it just made me feel safer from leaking than just the mat pad in my knickers (I bled fairly heavily). Stopped wearing them once I bled less and just used pads, but essential in the early days ime.

The Tena pants were a godsend - don't laugh!! Currently pg with DC2 and will do exactly the same again

It meant every time I stood up, I was confident I hadn't bled over whatever seat I had been on.

I used sainsburys own brand ones.

Def maternity pads - if only because they're cheaper, and you will use loads. If you're bringing pj's and knickers in, go for black. Lovin' the Tena and sanitary pad underneath ideas - why didn't I think of that??? I used Mothercare's own brand - no experience of any others. My only issue with them was that the sticky strip underneath wasn't that sticky, iyswim.

I actually used tena lady pads (heaviest flow) as these were really nice, wide, long and cushioned. The maternity pads I tried were rubbish (boots, mothercare and some organic ones). I also used boots hospital pants as well.

I had a third degree tear so was very sore! My midwife recommended buying some tea tree oil and putting a couple of drops on the pad (only a couple of drops!) and this helped me heal and prevent infection. I also used arnica cooling gel as well.

I used Mothercare maternity pads to start with, and when it started to tail off I used v cheap sanitary towels that were pretty thick. Can't comment on the stitches as mine were in my tummy!

Just check the maternity pads you buy have adhesive to stick into them to your knickers.
I was very happy with the Natracare brand as they had less chemicals.

The hospital ones don't stick and they're not the best thing to send relatives out to buy so take more than you think you need.

I would also recommend short style knickers so they don't work there way lose.

IMO Sanitary pads aren't thick enough, will get hotter, have less cushioning and aggravate any stitches.

Yeah none of them stuck that well that I can remember I tried mothercare/boots/sainsburys/tescos same again this time!

I was recommended tree tree oil and witch hazel by a male midwife and it did help with the healing of stitches took a bit of the ouch factor off them! It was nice and cooling I got it in a cream formula and spread that on the pad I wasn't advised of this till day 3 or 4 then had to get some but it did help!

I might look at the tena knickers this time I'm having a planned section so I've bought some passion killer massive granny pants :eblush:

Top Tip : Put them in your pants BEFORE you go into labour. That way when having your first shower as a new mummy your be a bit woobly and won't have to be worrying about your pants!!

I found the bleeding to be quite light so only just Always (the Blue ones)

Sorry to hijack but was looking for threads on maternity pads and this one came up!

A couple of questions if anyone has the answers...?

Do the mothercare ones have adhesive strips?

Also, how many do you actually need to take in to hospital?

(First time mum-to-be )

hi jbroro, I'm expecting dc3 in july and I just bought 8 packets of boots maternity pads (the thick ones). They are 99p wheras I think the mothercare ones are a lot more, you probably don't need the mothercare sterile ones.The reason I bought so many is that if your waters go early you can get through a lot and sending DH out for sanitary pads after I had dc1 was disasterous.I would put 2 packs in my hospital bag and leave the rest at home for DH to bring in if necessary. I ordered the boots ones online along with a ton of other stuff (nappies, breast pads, cotton wool. kamillosan) as I couldn't face going to Boots.

I remember reading that Maternity ones are the best because they don't rely on plastic to make them waterproof - therefore things don't get so sweaty and more prone to infection.
My tip would be after you've had your bubba try to have a look at your stitches, mine felt terrible, but when I saw how teeny they were I felt much better!

Would second the Tena ladies pants - I sent DH out to get more maternity pads (after soaking through a silly number during the first 12 hours) and he came back with tena pants which at the time I laughed at, but they were an absolute godsend - and in a very vain way also provided some flabby tummy support for visting time :-) They were the first thing I put in my hospital bag this time round!

I used maternity pads for first couple of days (agree with comments re: cushioning), after that was ok using normal ones but them my flow was very light by then. I only ended up using 2 boxes of mothercare maternity pads and then 2 packs of normal ones, after that panty liners enough.

I used the Always thick ultra long night time towels with wings - the ones that come in a giant purple packet. Not the thin ones, the thick mattress type ones. I used 2 at a time for the first couple of days and then 1 at a time after that, then moved on to thin 'normal' sanitary towels after the first week.

I bought the ASDA own brand maternity pads, but hated the mattress feeling so much that I switched to their own brand night-time slim pads after a few days!

So liking the Tena pants tip - can someone tell me what size I need - I'm a 12.
I plan to add them to my Tesco delivery which is coming tomo morning, so no time to look in the shops to find out...
Medium or Large?