Are maternity pads the same as sanitary towels?...

[clarebear1]

Is there a difference or is it best to get maternity towels?

(beginning to pack my hosp bag)

:-)

You really do need maternity pads. Sanitary towels are just not going to cope for the first few days. And you need LOTS of them. Paper knickers are good too.

apparently (to quote a friend of mine) "you will be glad of the extra padding of maternity pads after giving birth"

is this really true?!

Best to get maternity towels. you will look at them and think there is no way i want that matress in my pants, but actually you probably will! And i think mat towels don't 'lock' the blood away like sanitary towels, so you can monitor your blood loss better. sounds grim, but IME was fine :)

They are not the same. They're a lot bigger and don't have the same chemicals in them (the ones that "lock" away liquid by essentially turning it into a gel) - these can irritate you down below post-birth. Don't worry, they're still absorbent despite this! Get the big fat ones for the first few days - like a cushion for your bits. And get plenty - I reckon I went through 4 packs in the first week...Boots do good ones.

If you don't have specific maternity ones, extra big/thick night time towels are as good. I'd personally avoid anything 'slim/discreet' etc - think mattress rather than thin sheet (if this makes sense)

i liked tescos own, very comfy! :o

I was advised that maternity pads are best at first as they, erm, keep the stuff on the top of the pad so you can see if there is any change in the lochia that you might need to be worried about, whereas sanitary towels suck discharge in.... I used pads for about 2 weeks then went to night time sanitary towels.

And you can never overestimate how many you will need - I had an emcs and used loads!

yes, buy lots and lots!

this thread is scaring me

My stitches got infected and I read that if you use normal pads then you sweat more down there because they have plastic backing on so I will be using proper maternity pads this time for at least a wk or two then switching to normal pads.

Is there any particular make that are better than others?? I bought some Superdrug brand ones the other day- are these ok?

You know how they say you can never have enough? I must be the only person in the world who has enough to do for DC no 2 whenever it comes along. I have a tendency to take things quite literally!'

The own brand ones all seemed to be exactly the same as each other. :)

they are also good if you think your waters have gone.
You will be asked to wear a pad before coming into the hospital - those Always Ultra one are just no good for telling if your waters have gone or not as they suck everything away invisibly!

also - cheap knickers from Primark are much comfier and prob cheaper than disposable ones

Sorry TMI but how many pairs of cheapo pants are recommended??

Boots ones are very good and quite cheap - on offer atm as well. Don't get Mothercare ones, they are about 3 times the price!

For a few days I needed two at once, proper mattress that was

theonly don't be scared - by the time you have actually given birth you will be so immune to being shocked at what your body is doing that the lochia will barely register.

Nooooo get the comfy squishy huuuuuuge maternity ones, you will be thankful you did! Like a cushion.

Lelia - I would get one pack of the netting/paper ones. Then probably 5/6 pairs of cotton ones that I don't mind throwing out. You may get through 2-3 pairs a day in the first few days with leaks etc, but you will have the washing machine going so much with all the baby stuff that you won't run out!

With DD2 I used night time ones,and for dd1 I had ordinary ones.Both times they were fine,but I didn't know that you should be able to see the contents/not have plastic backing etc.Re pants,get waist high multi pack cotton ones from marks.If you end up with a c-section you will need waist high so they don't dig into the scar,and get them at least two sizes up,so that they don't roll into a scar and they are just more comfy.You can bin them when you get smaller and they are much more comfortable than paper pants.

No maternity pads are like small loaves of bread

No maternity pads are like small loaves of bread

so true

Also the maternity pads are very soft unlike normal pads which have a plasticky feel. Much better if you have stitches or an epi.

I got cheap black pants from Asda (pack of 4 for £2.50 I think), just got them in a size bigger. Have used Boots and Tescos own maternity pads, Tescos are great. Just had dd3 2 weeks ago and am about to change to lighter pads, oh the glamour .

It's good to have one pack I think. I had two pretty uneventful births (hmmmm, that sounds wrong doesn't it!) ie few stitches and that's all, but the mat. pads really were the most comfy. After a day or two of them (and you'll be wanting to change them pretty often) I switched to Kotex night time pads. It's nice to have something cottony and soft rather than too plasticy and sweaty.

As for paper knickers, you can pick up a pack of regular knickers so cheaply from Asda or somewhere. Helps to make you feel a little less mammalian IMO!

They DO look like mattresses though!