Imse Vimse Sanitary Pads – Post-Partum Review

I decided whilst I was pregnant with my daughter that I would use cloth pads for the post partum bleeding (Lochia). Having bled for 6 weeks after my son, and used the disposable pads which I found huge, uncomfortable and itchy. I never feel very clean with a disposable pad anyway but to be reliant on them for so long was irritating. The Imse Vimse Night pads made from Organic Cotton Flannel were one of the sets of re-usable pads  I chose to test run. The pad itself is un-dyed, soft and long, the wings have poppers and one side of the pad has a seam running around the absorbent area, this indicates you have the pad the right way up. I did however fail to notice this the first few times I used the pads and didn’t get very long out of the pad at all but once I realised that some of the pads have the care label on the opposite side to the seam they worked fantastically. The pad is designed to have a long and short end (divided by the wings). You determine which side you need the length. At night I left the longer end towards the back of my underwear. The pad itself is soft, and surprisingly absorbent, I have 6 pads which for me was enough for one days worth of changes in the first week (2nd week post-partum due to hospital stay), then I went down to 3/4 a day after that ending with two changes a day when the loss was minimal. Obviously you can determine how often you feel comfortable changing your own pad but they are designed for night-time wear. The pads are very comfortable, I had no chaffing or discomfort from the poppers. Washing the pad is easy, it should be treated the same as any other re-usable cloth product (like washable wipes or nappies) max 60 wash temp and avoid fabric softeners. I found doing a cold rinse first reduced the stains on the pad. I typically washed them with Megan’s nappies but often found the odd one had slipped into the normal wash. When using the pads out and about new or used pads can be folded and poppered closed. I typically put used pads into the nappy wet bag but knowing they could be easily secured when used with the popper and slipped into a pocket was handy. As for price, I thought the Imse Vimse pads are well priced, although I primarily tested them for postpartum use, they will be used for night/heavy days when my cycles return. Also judging the quality of the pads they would last several years of regular use.