First Days Maternity Instant Perineal Cold Packs - Up to 20mins Cooling Effect - Absorbent, Disposable with Soft Cotton Cover - Ideal Hospital Bag Maternity Essentials (Pack of 6)

These are genius. After episiotomy stitches these cold pads were the only reason I could sit comfortably! They are not very absorbent so I suggest only wearing for 20-30 mins when they are at their coldest and then swapping out for a regular pad. However they are so cold and soothing, plus it helps that they are considerably cheaper than some of the key name brands on the high street.

I brought these ready to use after giving birth to my son. At the time of purchasing I did wonder if it was going to be one of those unnecessary items that I would regret spending my money on but my goodness were they appreciated! They are quite bulky so you do notice it’s there when sitting down and walking round, although it’s not something you would use when leaving the house anyway. But it’s not at all uncomfortably bulky and the cooling relief is brilliant. I would definitely buy these again if I have another baby and I would even buy them as a quirky but useful gift for a friend who’s expecting. My best friend didn’t even think of looking to buy anything like this when she had her baby but I’m sure they would have come in useful!

This provides such nice relief after birth and made me feel like I was treating myself. They're really thick and long so adds nice cushion down there. Can be difficult to snap the cold on and you can feel the cold liquid move around but that helped distract me from the pain.

The product was really helpful especially during the first week postpartum. It has helped me relieve the soreness. It is ready to use and does not need refrigeration. However, you need a little bit of strength in activating the cooling effect since you have to crush the inner bag to activate it. Also, the adhesive at the back of the pad is not really strong. The pad is massive and sometimes it comes off easily due to the weak adhesion. The 6 pads only lasted for two days and I wished I had ordered more.

I bought these as I read up about how they are so good if you have a natural birth, so I thought I would get them for my hospital bag. I ended up giving birth naturally with a lot of stitches and I found these brilliant, I only used them on and night for bed but they really eased the pain and discomfort, they are really long and still absorbent. They are easy to use you just have to twist them and it releases the ice pack part. Even though they are expensive they are worth it and I ended up buying 2 packs and I would definitely recommend them and purchase them again.

Quite hard to snap to activate, requires some force to break the seal inside to allow the ingredients to mix. Once activated it provides a cooling effect for around 5 minutes, nowhere near as cold as ice, but around as cold as something out of a fridge. Quite big, could have a softer outer material and be more ergonomic but nevertheless they do a job.

So big

Very good material, i didn’t use it as i had c section, not suitable for c section recovery, best for vaginal delivery,