Cloth menstrual pad

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Cloth menstrual pads are a reusable alternative to disposable sanitary napkins.

Generally these are made from layers of absorbent fabrics (such as cotton or hemp) which are worn by a woman while she is menstruating, for post-birth bleeding or any other situation where it is necessary to absorb the flow of blood from the vagina. After use, they are washed, dried and then reused.

Basket of various cloth menstrual pads
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Basket of various cloth menstrual pads
Cloth menstrual pad
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Cloth menstrual pad

Contents

[edit] Other Names

  • Cloth Pads
  • Mama Pads
  • Rags
  • Moon Pads
  • Reusable menstrual pads
  • Reusable pads

[edit] Current use

Commercially available - The majority of commercially available pads are manufactured by work at home mums or small businesses and can be purchased through some health food stores, select specialty stores and via the Internet. They are available in a range of lengths and thicknesses, similar to disposable pads, with longer pads for night use and thinner and shorter pads for light use. Some manufacturers will allow the buyer to select the fabrics, shape and size of the pad so that they can be custom made to fit an individual woman and be as efficient as possible.

Handmade - Some women make their own cloth menstrual pads. These pads range from folded wash cloths to pads similar to the cloth menstrual pads available commercially. Some women design their own styles while other women use patterns found on websites such as http://www.clothpads.org.

Washing & care - Cloth menstrual pads may be hand or machine washed, and then dried on a clothes line or in a clothes dryer, depending on the instructions from the manufacturer (different fabrics require different care methods). Some women choose to rinse out their pads in cold water before putting them in the wash with their other clothing, others do not rinse, but put the soiled pads straight into the wash.

Stains sometimes occur, however this is limited if the pads are rinsed out or soaked in cold water immediately after use. Some women prefer darker coloured fabrics which do not show stains as much as light fabrics do. Causes of staining include: allowing the blood to dry on the pad, and using hot water when washing the pad. Drying cloth pads in sunlight can help to fade stains.

When changing cloth menstrual pads away from home, some women place the soiled pads into a waterproof or ziploc bag to keep them from drying out and to contain or prevent odor, and then wash the pads when convenient.

There is no need to routinely boil or sanitize cloth menstrual pads, however this may be required if the woman has recently had a candidiasis infection (to prevent reinfection)[citation needed].

Fabrics - The fabrics used range from 100% natural fibres to 100% synthetics. Some commonly used fabrics include:

Some styles of cloth menstrual pad have a waterproof layer to help prevent the pad leaking through while other styles of cloth pad may rely on more layers of absorbency and not include waterproofing.

Specialty fabrics such as hemp and PUL may be purchased from online nappy/diaper supply stores.

Fasteners - Some styles of cloth menstrual pad have wings that fold around the gusset of the undergarment and a fastener to hold the pad in place. Some commonly used fasteners include:

Cloth menstrual pads that do not have wings to hold them in place may use a fabric such as corduroy, that can help to stop the pad from moving.

[edit] History

Through the ages women have used different forms of menstrual protection. The Museum of menstruation has articles and photos of some early forms of menstrual protection. Including among other things, knitted pads. Women often used strips of folded old cloth (rags) to catch their menstrual blood, which is why the term "rags" was used to refer to menstruation.

Disposable menstrual pads appear to have been first commercially available from around 1895 through Curads and Hartmann's. Disposable pads had their start with Red Cross nurses using Kimberly-Clark's wood pulp bandages as a menstrual pad that could be thrown away after use. Products like the Johnson & Johnson Lister's Towel failed because of a lack of publicity. Kotex would appear to be the first of these early disposable menstrual pads to really take off.

Until the birth of disposable pads, women used a variety of sewn or makeshift pads made from a variety of fabrics, often leftover scraps, to collect menstrual blood. Those could generally be washed and used again. Though some women have used anything absorbent, including grass to collect menstrual blood. Cited here. Some women, mostly ones living in rural areas or from a low socio-economic status, did not use anything to collect menstrual blood and it has been said that they left a trail of blood behind them. Even after they were more widely available, they were too expensive for many women to afford[citation needed]. It also took women several years to be able to comfortably buy these products[citation needed]. One solution to this was to allow women to place money into a box (so that the woman would not have to speak to the clerk) and take a box of Kotex pads from the counter themselves[citation needed]. So it took several years for disposable menstrual pads to become commonplace.

Cloth menstrual pads made a comeback around the 1970s. With the number of cloth pad manufacturers and online communities devoted to this increasing in the 1990s and the early 2000s, they would appear to be gaining popularity.

To this day women in countries such as Africa and in other rural parts of the world and in underdeveloped countries reusable or makeshift pads are still used to collect menstrual blood. Cited here.

[edit] Advantages

[edit] Environmental advantages

[edit] Economical advantages

  • It is less expensive (in the long term) to buy and produce cloth mentrual pads compared to disposable menstrual products.
  • Can be made by hand for little or no cost

[edit] Personal advantages

  • Customizable to each individual's needs and preferences (e.g. fabric color, fabric type, laundry detergent used, size, shape, style).
  • No inconvenient sticky tape to get caught on hair or skin.
  • More breathable then the average disposable pad.
  • When in use they are less likely to cause undue strange [plastic-like] noises when moving, as they are not made with the same material as disposable pads.
  • Eliminates the need to dash to the store to buy more disposable pads because you have run out.
  • Machine washable cloth pads, once thoroughly rinsed of blood, may be thrown into the wash by themselves or with other loads of laundry (clothes, bedding, towels etc.).

[edit] Health advantages

  • Less likely to cause rashes, contact dermatitis, and may reduce the scent of menstrual blood on the cloth pad. As well as helping women afflicted with certain types of vaginitis.
  • Some women experience lighter menstrual flows, less days menstruating, as well as lessened cramping.
  • Women with sensitive skin and allergies may find cloth pads to be more comfortable against their skin. Particularly cloth pads made of undyed organic cotton.

[edit] Disadvantages

[edit] Environmental disadvantages

  • None that can be founded.

[edit] Economical disadvantages

  • Can be expensive to purchase initially.
  • Not as easily available (generally not stocked in supermarkets, pharmacies etc.), but widely available online.

[edit] Personal disadvantages

  • More time consuming due to the need to wash, dry, and care for the pads. It should be noted though that certain brands and fabrics can be laundered in the washing machine and dryer.
  • Usually bulkier than the average disposable pads.
  • Removing stains can be difficult, depending on if it the blood has dried or not, the fabric color and material, and detergent used.
  • Women have more contact with their own blood.

[edit] Health disadvantages

  • Special care may need to be taken if the user has a Candidiasis infection (i.e. Yeast infection), once the infection is treated, the cloth menstrual pads may need to be boiled or sanitized to reduce the chances of reinfecting herself [citation needed].

[edit] Cloth menstrual pad manufacturers

This is a random selection of cloth menstrual pad manufacturers, to give an indication of how varied the styles and shapes of cloth menstrual pads there are. Listed in no particular order

Canada & USA

UK

Australia & NZ

[edit] Links for more information and Cloth communities

Websites with more information

Online support communities

[edit] See also

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