Hi, I'm commenting back to the advice of sitz baths (epsom salts) after birth. Maybe this is just me but I followed this advice and swelled up terribly from the heat. With the next two births I used menstrual pads frozen with witch hazel (this feels truly amazing!) for the first few days after birth. I have also had moms use a condom frozen with water (fits just right between whatever tissues your dealing with.) This is mainly for perineal stresses, but, I was concerned that heat might make the situation worse instead of better if it's too close to the time of injury. Ouch. Maybe I'm just the weird one, but I can't be alone (or can I!?!). Mia Hernandez [log in to unmask]