Postpartum padsicles are frozen maxi pads with soothing ingredients that have healing properties to help postpartum moms manage the pain after a vaginal delivery.
Many new mothers experience postpartum bleeding for up to six weeks after giving birth. It can be a messy, irritating, and uncomfortable time.
The good news is that there are many great natural remedies that will help with postpartum bleeding – one of which is particles!
In this blog post, I have rounded up some of the best DIY postpartum padsicle tutorials from around the web so you don’t have to do all the research yourself. Check them out below!
I have also included my favorite padsicles that you can buy in the store if you are not up for a DIY project this late in your pregnancy.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links I may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for the support!
Jump Ahead To:
What Is A PostPartum Padscile?
A postpartum padsicle (or postpartum recovery pad) is a custom iced pad for your lady bits.
Think of padsicles like regular maxi pads with witch hazel and aloe vera gel that are frozen into cold packs for recovery after vaginal birth.
New mothers (myself included) swear by padsicles for relieving the irritation and inflammation that can come in the first few weeks postpartum.
Think of a padsicle like an ice pack meets a regular pad.
By icing the area you can reduce swelling and inflammation, as well as help to soothe any pain or discomfort you may be experiencing.
A bonus of creating a padsicle (versus just using an ice pack)? If you are experiencing postpartum bleeding, you can wear your padsicle around the house without any worry of leakage.
This is especially great for moms who are breastfeeding (who might not be able to run to the restroom at the first sign of a leak), or if you have older children running around at home that may distract you.
Dealing With Postpartum Pain
The healing process after vaginal delivery is different for every mother. Some experience a lot of pain, tenderness, and bleeding, while others feel back to normal a few days after welcoming their new baby.
Try to prepare for the worst and have a few postpartum essentials on-hand for when you get home from the hospital: peri bottles, disposable mesh underwear, witch hazel pads, and a sitz bath.
I recommend making a “postpartum survival kit” like this one so that you have everything you need to handle vaginal pain at home after your discharge.
Pro Tip: Your hospital may provide you with a lot of the postpartum goodies that I mentioned above, so make sure to stock up while you are at the hospital and take home as much as you can in your hospital bag.
Staying comfortable after delivery is the key to a better recovery. In addition to having the right pain management supplies at home, make sure you have lots of comfortable postpartum clothing to help the healing process.
Padsicles Recipe
There are many different ways to make homemade padsicles, but all of them basically involve freezing a sanitary pad (or adult diaper) with some sort of healing ingredient on it.
There are a few different ways to make postpartum padsicles, so I’ve included a variety of tutorials for you to choose from. All of them utilize simple ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen or pantry.
- Padsicles Recipe From Healthline
This recipe calls for an absorbent pad (think overnight pads or pads specifically for postpartum bleeding), aloe gel which has anti-inflammatory properties to reduce swelling and inflammation, and alcohol-free witch hazel (great to reduce itching).
You can also add a few drops of lavender oil… But I would recommend skipping this step if it is the first time your are doing this padsicle recipe.
Your skin can be very sensitive to fragrance–even more so than normal after delivery. You can always add a few drops of essential oil to the frozen pad before using it, but you can’t take the essential oils out if you make a dozen padsicles and realize you have a sensitivity later. - Padsicle Recipe From Mama Natural
I like this recipe because it calls for pads with wing tabs to help keep the ice pack in place.
I also like that they go over details like using a spray bottle to apply the natural ingredients to the pad without over saturating it.
This recipe calls for healing herbs as one of the key ingredients. Again, I would be a little cautious of making all of my postpartum padsicles with herbs or oils that might be irritating… But you can always add these to the center of the pad after they have been frozen, before you use them.
Mom Tip: Not into making your own padsicles? To be honest, neither was I.
Well, that’s not entirely true…
I had good intentions of making these life-saving ice packs… But when you get into the last 10 weeks of your pregnancy, the last thing you want to do is spend more time on your feet making DIY padsicles.
- Padsicle Recipe From Pregnant Chicken
This recipe is very specific about the amounts of each ingredient to put on each healing pad. If you are a rule-following and like to measure everything out exactly, this has all of the measurements for you. This post also has a quick video to walk you through the process.
- Padscile Recipe from The Postpartum Party
The photos in this post are a great addition to the tutorial.
They also give you a cost breakdown of how much each homemade padsicle is going to cost.
Spoiler alert: each DIY padsicle costs about $1, whereas storebought padsicles are $2 or more. If you’re willing to spend a little time on this project as your due date is approaching, you can save some money!
Related Posts:
The Ultimate Postpartum Survival Kit (A Complete Guide For New Moms)
What To Wear Postpartum: Clothes For Your New Body After Birth
How To Quickly Fix Diastasis Recti With Every Mother In 10 Minutes A Day
Postpartum Girdle Benefits And Finding The Best Belly Wrap
Where To Buy Padsicles In Store
By the time I got close enough to delivery to start thinking about my postpartum care and pain relief, I was way too drained to want to take on another project.
Mom Tip: If you are reading this and have the energy for a DIY padsicle project, go for it! Now! Before the aches and pains of the late third trimester set in 🙃
Luckily, my hospital provided their own postpartum maternity pads with instant icepacks. You simply squeezed the pad in half until your heard a little “pop,” and then shook the pad to activate the cooling effect. I was able to take home enough of these pads to get me through a few days at home. Then, I switched to gel ice packs (that are more flexible) that I could sit on as a great way to provide pain relief for my lady parts while being able to wear a regular sanitary napkin for bleeding.
Even if your hospital doesn’t provide these for you, you can find padsicles at Target (they are super mom and baby-friendly btw) or on Amazon.
These are just like the ones I had at the hospital. Note: these types of postpartum ice packs don’t have any soothing ingredients in them. I added a few Tucks pads to each of mine for the soothing skin relief of witch hazel.
And if you’re looking for the witch hazel pads that you can just add without any mess, I recommend Tucks.
Frida mom makes postpartum ice packs that you can buy in drug stores and on Amazon as well if you aren’t able to make your own postpartum padsicles. I recommend the Frida Mom postpartum kit as one of the postpartum essentials that you should have waiting at home after the hospital… But you can also buy the padsicles separately from the kit.
The whole postpartum kit:
Just the FridaMom Padsicles:
I have also seen reusable ice packs that you can put in your underwear, but these might be tricky to use if you are experiencing postpartum bleeding and also need the pad to protect your clothing. They would be a good option if you weren’t experiencing any bleeding though!
These from Lansinoh come with disposable liners to make staying sanitary effortless.
Whether you choose to buy your postpartum padsicles or make your own DIY version, I highly suggest these in your postpartum recovery kit at home. The soothing relief will be welcomed, especially if you will be breastfeeding and need to sit for long stretches of time.
