Reusable Postpartum Pads

Reusable postpartum pads for the weeks after giving birth, once the bleeding has eased but still has a way to go. The 12-inch Super Pad holds about as much as 4 disposable pads, and its dark side keeps night-time stains out of sight. For the early weeks at home, the 10-inch Maxi Pad has a light side, so you can see your flow. Both are cloth postpartum pads with bamboo terry against your skin and wings that snap shut. The Super Pad takes light bladder leaks too, which can carry on after the bleeding stops.

When to switch to reusable pads

Give it a week or two. Cleveland Clinic says that for at least the first three to four days you can expect to soak one thick maxi pad every two to three hours, which is more than we’d ask of any cloth pad. An OB-GYN quoted by What to Expect goes further. She advises against reusable pads for the first one to two weeks, because the risk of infection is higher then.

So keep the hospital pads for that stretch. Once your bleeding feels more like a heavy period, switch. It can go on for up to six weeks, and that adds up to a lot of disposables.

Which pad for which week?

Pad	Length	Holds about	Absorbent side	Best for
Maxi Pad	10 in	3 tampons’ or disposable pads’ worth	Light	Your first weeks at home, while you still want to see the color of your flow
Super Pad	12 in	4 tampons’ or disposable pads’ worth	Dark	Nights, heavier days once you’ve stopped checking color, and light to moderate bladder leaks
Extended Liner	8.7 in	2 tampons’ or disposable liners’ worth	Dark (charcoal bamboo)	The last weeks, when it’s mostly spotting

A light pad sounds like the wrong choice for bleeding. Early on, though, your midwife or doctor may ask what it looks like, and a light pad lets you answer. By the later weeks nobody’s asking. Stains are the bigger worry by then, and a dark side hides them.

Stitches and C-sections

Tampons and cups are off the table either way. The NHS says to wait until after your 6-week check. That leaves pads. Ours have soft bamboo terry on top instead of a plastic surface, which matters to women with stitches who’ve felt plastic-topped pads catch and rub.

How many, and how often?

Change whenever a pad feels full. In the early weeks that may be every few hours, and the gaps get longer as your bleeding slows. For numbers, think about the heaviest day of a period, then add a few pads to cover laundry days. Two sets is a comfortable start. The second one costs less automatically.

Washing with a newborn

You’re already doing more laundry than you thought possible. Pads add very little to it: rinse each one in cold water when you take it off, and keep it in a wet bag until the next load. They go in a normal wash with everything else. Don’t soak them, and leave out the fabric softener, since it cuts absorbency. Our wash and care page has the whole routine.

When to call your doctor

Soaking through a pad in an hour or less is a reason to call your doctor straight away. So are clots the size of a golf ball, a fever, or a bad smell. Cleveland Clinic lists every warning sign.

Bladder leaks after birth

A little leaking when you cough, sneeze or laugh is one of the things nobody warns you about. It’s common, too. In a review of studies on new mothers, about a third had some leaking in the first three months after birth, though for most it didn’t happen every week. It can also outlast the bleeding.

You won’t need a different pad for it. The Super Pad is made for light to moderate bladder leaks as well as heavy flow, so the pads you bought for bleeding keep working afterwards. If leaks turn into an everyday thing, our pads and liners for bladder leaks are worth a look.