The bag is packed, the maternity kit is ready — and then the baby arrives. The week that follows is about something pregnancy books tend to cover in a single paragraph: your own recovery. Here is what happens in those days, and what genuinely helps.
Day 1 to 3: more blood loss than you expect
Blood loss is heaviest in the first few days, and ordinary sanitary towels are not made for it. Maternity pads are longer, thicker and anatomically shaped, without wings, with an adhesive strip. You will change often at first, so you need more than you think.
- COMFORT maternity pads, 10 pieces — to start with
- Value pack of 30 — if you would rather not reorder halfway through the week
- NIGHT & DAY or the day and night combination — at night you lie still and want something longer
Underneath, wear something you can throw away or wash easily. Mesh briefs sit loosely, hold the pad in place and do not press on stitches or a caesarean scar.
Weeing: why a peri bottle makes the difference
Many women dread the first few trips to the toilet. A peri bottle is a bottle with an angled spout you use to rinse with lukewarm water during and after weeing, so you do not have to dab or wipe. It is a small thing that is in almost no maternity kit — which is exactly why we put it first.
Cold and warm: the gel compress
A gel compress of 7.5 × 30 cm follows the shape of the perineum. Use it cold for swelling and tenderness: about two hours in the freezer. Warm for cramps: briefly in the microwave or in warm water. Always use it with the washable cover, never directly on the skin.
Day 3 to 5: engorgement
Around the third day your milk comes in and your breasts feel full and tight. Flower-shaped gel breast compresses work both ways: warm before a feed to help the milk flow, cold afterwards for engorgement or tender breasts.
Leaking comes with it. Nursing pads with a gel core hold the moisture inside instead of against your skin, are 0.7 mm thin and individually wrapped — handy in your changing bag. And whatever leaks from the other breast while you feed, you catch with a silicone milk collector: no power, no batteries, just suction it on and let it sit.
Week 2 to 6: things settle
Blood loss decreases and you can move to thinner pads. The compresses stay useful — they are reusable and last the whole postpartum period. Many women keep using the peri bottle for weeks.
What your insurer's maternity kit does not contain
The maternity kit you get from your health insurer is put together for the birth itself: alcohol, gloves, a mattress protector, cord clamp and liners. For the weeks afterwards there is little in it. Depending on your insurer you get one to fifteen maternity pads, and a peri bottle or gel compresses are not included.
That is not a criticism of the kit — it was made for something else. But it does mean this part is yours to arrange, ideally before the birth.
Build it yourself or buy a set?
Buying separately works perfectly well, and above you can see exactly what each thing is for. If you would rather have it all ready in one go, these are the three sets:
- Postpartum Recovery Set, 4 pieces — perineum gel compress, gel breast compresses, maternity pads and nursing pads. The most complete start for the postpartum period.
- Postpartum Recovery Set with peri bottle — the same build, with the rinse bottle instead of the nursing pads.
- Breastfeeding Starter Set — milk collector, gel breast compresses and nursing pads, for if you are going to breastfeed.
You can browse everything separately in Maternity kits. A set also makes a good gift for the mother — almost everyone brings something for the baby.
Not sure about something?
This article is about comfort, not medical advice. If you have any doubts about blood loss, fever, pain or a painful breast, call your maternity nurse or midwife. That is what they are there for, including for a question you think is small.
Read also: Maternity kit: what is in it and what do you buy on top? and Recovery after birth: cold compress, peri bottle and rest.