How to Take a Bath Postpartum

Perineal pain is perhaps the worst discomfort a woman feels after delivering a child. Postpartum healing can be speedy and natural with some simple herbal remedies and a nice warm bath.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Health Food Experts
• Dried Herbs
• Health Food Stores
• Sea Salts
• Sitz Bath
• Sitz Bath - Herbal Mixes
• Witch Hazel

1. Consult your doctor or midwife about whether you can submerge your perineum in water. You may get the OK for a sitz bath but not a tub bath, if you had a severe episiotomy or perineal tearing during delivery.
2. Add herbs to your bath or perineal wash bottle. If you get the OK to submerge your perineal area in a tub or if you are limited to a sitz bath, the addition of natural dried herbs to the cleansing water can alleviate pain and speed healing.
3. Boil one handful each of calendula flowers, comfrey root, yarrow flowers and rosemary leaves in a pint of water. Remove from heat and steep for several hours. The mixture can be saved in the refrigerator for several days and used in a sitz bath or perineal wash bottle to soothe tenderness, relieve inflammation, aid cell repair, protect against bacteria and improve circulation.
4. Add any one of the following to a sitz bath or tub bath: yarrow, rosemary, goldenseal, oak bark, witch hazel, sea grape bark or myrrh. Consult a health food or herbal expert on the amounts you can safely use. Your midwife should be able to suggest bath mixtures or give you resources for finding them.
5. Add sea salt to your tub bath or sitz bath. Sea salt is a pure salt form and will aid in the cleansing of perineal tears or bruising, and will help speed healing.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice perineal massage three to four weeks before you are due to deliver. Massage will help prepare you for the sensations you will feel during delivery and condition your perineum for delivery. Your midwife or doctor should be able to instruct you on proper massage or provide you with resources.
• If you have perineal stitches, limit bathing to once a day or follow the advice of your doctor.
• Use herbs in your perineal water bottle to cleanse after you urinate.
• If you are not a bath person, add some herbs to a perineal squirt bottle and gently squirt the mixture on your perineum during and after urinating.
• Call your doctor immediately if perineal or uterine pain does not ease within two weeks, if pain suddenly increases, or if bleeding suddenly increases or becomes heavier. These symptoms could be an indication of infection and need to be addressed immediately.