Sitz Baths - Why you should care...

A sitz bath is when you fill a CLEAN tub with a few inches of warm water and soak your perineal area. In addition to its use in cleansing, the sitz bath’s warm water increases blood flow to the perineal area which can promote faster healing.

A sitz bath also relieves:

* itching

* irritation

* minor pain

So if you’ve ever had a baby you might have heard about these soaks. Especially if you had some tearing or hemorrhoids.

Generally it’s ok to do them a few times a day for 15-20 minutes, if you’re feeling up to it. But also check with your provider if you have any concerns.

I normally add some kind of plain fragrant free epsom salt but there are also sitz bath kits or herbs. Just warm water is fine too! Just make sure it’s not too hot!

You can also use this time to do some skin to skin bonding or nursing with your baby or just take it as some alone time. Make sure to ask for help getting in and out and have someone hand you the baby if they are joining! Also make someone else clean the tub for you!