Maternity Pads

[Maaaaaac]

Just trying to sort out what I need for my hospital bag. My mum has been telling me horror stories about how much ill bleed afterwards (thanks mum! ) I just wanted to know if i could pack Tena pads instead of maternity pads? What is the difference really? I have disposable knickers too.

Any help is much appreciated! Just trying to get organised.

 

[Rubyredslipper]

Don't know what the difference is, maybe maternity pads are longer/thicker? I was told tena lady are great for once your waters have broken and maternity pads for after

 

[KateK]

To be honest maternity pads are just mega thick sanitary towels.. Feels like you have a brick in your pants!! I'd imagine Tenas would work - you just need them to be absorbant at the end of the day I bought my pants 2 sizes too big and they were heavenly to wear after giving birth - definitely recommend going bigger! Don't stress too much about the bleeding, mine wasn't that horrific and you'll have so much else going on you'll barely notice it xx

 

[KateK]

Oh and I just had a flashback!! I had stitches and soaked a few pads in a water and tea tree oil solution and put them in the freezer for a few hours - so good for sore bits!!

 

[Maaaaaac]

Oh excellent thanks for the tip! Ive tons of tena pads so dont want tbem going to waste! (Disabled sister using different ones) ive lost so much weight on my hips through pregnancy that all my knickers are too big so at least thats handy!

 

[Tillyfloss]

The first 2 days after birth I wore to pads on top of each other as the top one got drenched fast and didn't want spillage! And agree it's like the longest fastest heaviest thing ever lol

 

[Carla81]

Personally i'd go for specific maternity pads fit for the job. I remember having a shower 2 hrs after birth and having to put 2 mat pads on it was horrific and i didnt have any complications other than an episiotomy! For me normal sanitary towels would have been useless and i was still using mat pads 3 weeks after birth! X

 

[Pambi]

My mum went on about that to me like it was some special knowledge she was transferring to me "..I bled quite a bit for a long time you know" "You'll need to stock up on those ships sails" blah. After the first few days I went onto night time Always heavy sani pads and they did the trick fine.
I've no idea why the maternity pads are so thick and don't hold the wetness away like a sani pad, its like they are some throwback from the 70s. I think if you are used to using tampons, you aren't used to seeing the blood as much hence it seeming like a lot. In the early days the bleeding cam seem a bit redic and you will probably leak out onto something at some point but its honestly a non event.

Saying the above, I've just remembered when my waters broke (and they just kept coming), I used up most of the maternity pads I'd bought . I will be putting some tennas in my hospital bag this time and having some towels ready to protect the car.

 

[Tillyfloss]

The more kids you have the worse you bleed BTW! Lol don't know why just happened to me and mw told me the same at booking in appointment! I hardly bled in day and would gush out at 630 pm like yer cheers for that body just getting kids ready for bed now I need to change myself

 

[Pambi]

The more kids you have the worse you bleed BTW! Lol don't know why just happened to me and mw told me the same at booking in appointment! I hardly bled in day and would gush out at 630 pm like yer cheers for that body just getting kids ready for bed now I need to change myself

Baby is just going to slide out this time right though so that will counter balance any additional bleeding?

 

[Tillyfloss]

Hahaha here's to hoping

 

[BunnyN]

Normal sanitary towels for af probably wont be enough for the 1st two or 3 days but I used incontinence ones last time and they were great for the first few days after that I used normal ones. For my 1st birth I had propper maternity pads but didnt find them for sale last time. They were like bricks of cotton and defiantly like a throwback from the 50s. I actually found that they didnt stop leaks as well as the incontinence ones but they were more comfortable. I have also read if you have stitches they are better because more padded and the cotton net cover doesnt catch the stitches and the plastic type mesh surface the normal ones has does. For really heavy bleeding I actually found one of LOs nappies tucked in my knickers worked the best, lol.