After the baby arrives, moms usually love the idea of soaking their bottom in warm water, and a sitz bath is just the thing. The idea of taking a sitz bath to is speed up the process of healing by boosting the blood flow to the area with warm water. With a sitz bath, you also have the means to gently clean any areas that may be too painful to touch.
Your first sitz bath can often be taken 24 to 72 hours of birth, generally after you have iced your bottom for a couple of days. Ask your provider when you should start your sitz bath regimen. They can be done three times a day for 20 minutes, even if you have had stitches.
A sitz bath can be done in two ways:
- Using a sitz bath basin.
- Using your bathtub.
Using a Sitz Bath Basin
A sitz bath basin sits on top of your toilet rim and can be purchased from most drugstores or online, and they are affordable.
There are many conveniences of using a sitz bath basin. It allows you the comfort of sitting at toilet seat height, instead of lowering yourself into the bottom of your bathtub. They are designed to be easily cleaned (a definite hygienic advantage). They are also constructed so you can add additional water while the excess water flows through the vents and into the toilet. Plus, you can wear a robe or top for comfort while you sit for twenty minutes.
Using a sitzbath basin is easy.
- Lift the toilet lid and place the sitz bath bowl on the toilet rim.
- Fill the basin two-thirds of the way with warm water. Make sure the water temperature is comfortable. If the water is too warm on your wrist, it is too hot.
- Gently sit down on the basin. As you sit, the extra water will spill into the toilet through the openings of the sitz bath.
- Soak for 15-20 minutes
- When finished, dry your bottom by patting the area with a clean towel.
- Clean the basin each time you use it.
Sitz Bath in a Bathtub
To take a sitz bath in your bathtub, someone needs to clean it for you–before each use thoroughly. You will also want to make sure the room temperature is comfortable or wear a t-shirt in the tub, as the majority of your body will be exposed to room air. After that, it is easy to take a sitz bath in a tub.
- Fill your tub up with a few inches of warm water, just enough to cover your perineum, about 3-5 inches deep and no deeper than your hips.
- Be sure the water is a comfortable, lukewarm temperature.
- For your comfort, lay a folded bath towel on the bottom of the tub.
- Gently lower yourself down into the bathtub and sit on the bottom of the tub. Be sure someone is with you to help you in and out of the tub.
- You can lean back and bend your knees to expose your perineum to the water. This will also take some pressure off the perineal area.
What to Add to a Sitz Bath
While warm water alone may be enough to promote healing, some women will add bath salts or other ingredients to help reduce itching and swelling. Some of the more common add-ins include Epsom salt, sea salt, baking soda, apple cider vinegar, witch hazel, essential oils, and herbs. I will go through each one and talk about their benefits – or their not so great benefits.
Epsom Salt: Epsom salts will reduce swelling, discourage infection, and encourage healing. This is also helpful for hemorrhoids. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
Baking Soda: Baking soda is very soothing and may help reduce irritation and itching. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons.
Apple Cider Vinegar. Vinegar has antibacterial properties. Add 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar to your sitz bath.
Witch Hazel. Witch hazel helps to reduce pain, itching, and bleeding. Add 2 tablespoons to your sitz bath.
Blend: Combine 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Epsom salt with 2 tablespoons of witch hazel
Essential Oils. While many postpartum sitz bath recipes call for essential oil, aromatherapists discourage the use of mixing oil and water – they don’t mix. For one, you have to be careful of your tender parts, and the essential oil can come in direct contact with your down there sensitive skin.
Sitz Bath Herbs. Add sitz bath herbs to your sitz bath. Herbs have soothing, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that will aid the healing process.
Pre-Made Sitz Bath Herbs
When having a home birth, your birth kit may come with sitz bath herbs, or your midwife may blend her own herbs. Otherwise, you can purchase the following pre-made blends. Many come in pre-measured packs, while some come loosely packed.
- Birds & Bees Organic Sitz Bath
- Birth Song Botanicals
- Earth Mama Angel Baby Blend
Blending Your Own Stiz Bath Herbs
If you love the idea of blending your own herbs, the process is easy. For years in my midwifery practice, I blended sitz bath herbs for my clients. I loved the smell and the pleasure of filling sachets with blended sitz bath herbs, and moms loved them!
If you have a garden, you may already have some herbs for a sitz bath, such as calendula, lavender, or rosemary. You can simply pick them, dry them, and use them! If you don’t have a garden, you can buy herbs in bulk online, specialty herb companies, or locally.
Selecting Your Herbs
When making your own herbal sitz bath blend, choose 4-5 different herbs. You will need between 2 to 4 ounces of each herb, depending on your selection.
Herbs can be hard to find in small amounts. You can look for them locally or at specialty online herb shops, such as Mountain Rose Herbs or Living Earth Herbs. Living Earth sells herbs in two-ounce minimum packages, while Mountain Rose sells them in four-ounce minimum packages, but they are very reasonably priced. You may be able to find two ounce packages on Amazon or Etsy. Don’t worry if you have to buy more than you need. You can always package them up for other uses or as gifts.
When formulating your blend, think about dividing them into three parts: base, supporting, and aromatic. The following herbal combination will give you approximately five days of herbs when taking three sitz baths per day. This is the same formula used for making herbal padsicles.
1. Two Base Herbs: Select two base herbs, 4 ounces of each herb. These are the main healing ingredients.
- Calendula Flowers – antimicrobial, antiseptic, promotes wound healing.
- Chamomile Flowers – anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, helps promote wound healing.
- Comfrey Leaf – anti-inflammatory, relieves pain, helps speed wound recovery.
2. Two to Three Supporting Herbs: Select two or three supporting herbs, 2 ounces of each herb. These herbs are your secondary healing ingredient.
- Rosemary – anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal.
- Yarrow – anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, relieves hemorrhoids, promotes wound healing.
- Uva Ursi – anti-inflammatory, urinary antiseptic, astringent, helps with hemorrhoids.
- Plantain Leaf – anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, astringent, helps with hemorrhoids.
- Witch Hazel Leaf – anti-inflammatory, astringent, helps with hemorrhoids.
3. One Aromatic Herb: Select one aromatic herb, 2 ounces. These are also healing herbs and have a pleasing scent for mom.
- Lavender – soothing scent, calming effect and has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.
- Jasmine Flowers – lovely scent, calming and has anti-bacterial properties.
- Rose Petals – wonderful scent and has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.
4. Sea Salt or Epsom Salt: One to two teaspoons of salt are added when you steep the herbs – per sitz bath. It is not mixed in with the herbal blend.
Mixing Your Herbs
If you bought the above herbs in the proportions suggested, the only thing you need to do is throw them all together in a large bowl and mix.
If you purchased herbs in different proportions than suggested, you need to measure them out before combining the herbs.
- Two base herbs: 4 ounces each
- Two to three supporting herbs: 2 ounces each
- One aromatic herb: 2 ounces
Ounces Versus Handfuls
Herbs are sold in ounces, but they are not always measured in ounces in a home setting. If you have a kitchen scale, this is a great way to measure herbs – exactly. If you prefer, you can use a measuring cup – or a handful.
Cups don’t precisely equal dry ounces, and handfuls are not an exact science, so test your handfuls out! The following will give those who like to “eyeball” their measurements an idea of how much herbs to use.
- One ounce of dried herbs equals about one large handful of dried herbs, or about one cup.
Packaging Your Herbs
Now that you have a large, lovely bowl of mixed herbs, you need to decide how you would like to package them. This gives you an idea of how much herb blend per sitz bath you need.
- One BATHTUB sitz bath takes about one large handful (one cup or one ounce).
- One BASIN sitz bath takes one small handful (one-half cup or one-half ounce).
Packaging
- Loose Leaf. Store the mixture in mason jars or large ziplock bags. With this method, you take just out one portion at a time and prepare your herbs.
- Muslin Bags. Portion your herbs and put them in organic cotton 4X6 muslin bags from Amazon. With this method, you drop the herbs into the muslin bags, tie them, and they are ready to go. This type of packaging makes lovely gifts.
- Knee High Nylons. Yep, that’s right. This is the method I used in my midwifery practice. For 14-16 bags, you will need 7-8 pairs. With this method, you stick your hand all the way to the bottom of the stocking, reach into the bowl, grab a portion of herbs, then invert the stocking so that the herbs are at the bottom of the stocking. Tie off close to the herbs, then cut the remaining nylon.
Steeping Your Herbs
There are a couple of ways you can prepare your herbs: 1) Steep them in a pot on the stove; 2) Steep them in a 2-quart (64-ounce) mason jar. When you are ready to steep, ADD 1 to 2 teaspoons of sea salt per sitz bath portion.
The mason jar method is very convenient, as you can prepare one or more jars and have full day’s worth of sitz baths.
Steep in a 2-quart mason jar. With loose herbs, put a large handful of herbs into the jar, fill with boiling water, and loosely cover. Steep the herbs for 2 to 4 hours, or even up to 8 hours. The longer they steep, the more properties that will be infused into the water. You will need to strain the herbs when you put them in your sitz bath. If you have muslin bags or nylon bags, put one bag into the jar and fill with boiling water. If you have purchased pre-made sitz bath herbs, you can steep them the same way.
If you don’t use the herbal infusions by the end of the day, refrigerate them. They will last for about three days.
Get Comfortable
Now that you have prepared your herbs, you can do a few things to make your sitz bath experience as pleasant as possible. Start by making the room temperature comfortable. If you like, light a candle. Have plenty of towels nearby. And be sure you let everyone in the house know you need some privacy.
For mothers with children running around, privacy may seem impossible, but you need to etch out a time – just for you. For privacy, you might find these tips helpful:
- Let people in the house know you need privacy for at least 20 minutes.
- If you have older kids, set a timer on the counter in the kitchen so they have a concrete way of knowing how much time has passed.
- With toddlers, have someone watch them.
- For women who prefer to be entertained, turn on some music, play a game on your mobile phone, catch up on phone calls, or read.
