Thursday, June 5, 2014

Mama Cloth

There are many reasons why a woman may want to try re-usable menstrual cycle products. There are several options available, but the focus of this post will be mama cloth. Mama cloth is simply a pad that you re-use. They are made of many different materials, styles, colors, prints, etc. You can buy them from a WAHM, a cloth diaper store, online, or even make your own. Mama cloth comes in all different sizes and absorbency.

What are some reasons a woman might want to switch from disposable products to re-usable?


Disposable products are full of chemicals. They are bleached, typically with chlorine, are full of plastic, and most have odor neutralizers or fragrances. Because they are considered medical devices, manufacturers do not have to disclose all of the ingredients in your pads and tampons. 

Think about it. You are placing these items up against or IN your lady bits...  

A lot of ladies also discover that using cloth pads has helped them to have lighter periods that are over quicker and they experience less cramps. Anecdotal, yes, but I have also found it to be true for me. 

Cost

I estimate that when I used disposable pads and tampons, I spent $10-15 a month. I started my menstrual cycle when I was age 11. The average age menopause starts is age 51, according to Web M.D. For me, that is 40 years of menstrual  cycle. I have five sons, so take off 45 months of pregnancy and average postpartum cycle started at 4 months, so take off another 20 months. That leaves me with 415 months of having a period. Multiply that by $15 and that is $6225 in disposable menstrual cycle products in my life time!

Luna Pads are a popular brand. Their deluxe kit is $145.89. I decide to buy two kits, spending $291.78. Say they only last 3 years, which is a very low estimate, since they will only be used monthly and not daily. Even purchasing two new deluxe kits every three years, I will only spend $3793.14 in my lifetime. That is a difference of $2431.86! There are so many different cloth pad brands out there and I know some are less expensive. If you make your own, the savings will be even more! I don't know about you, but there is a lot I can do with an extra $2500! 

I rinse my cloth pads and either throw them in with my cloth diapers or I wash them with my towels. I then throw in the dryer on low, so having cloth pads does not increase my utilities at all. 

Environment

Let's face it: anything we can re-use and not throw away helps with landfills and our environmental footprint. 

In conclusion, Mama Cloth for the WIN!!!

Knickernappies. They are stackable for asorbency. 

Postpartum made by me! Snap in inserts, reusable shells, with a sleeve for an ice pack. 

Fuzzibunz, panty liners, medium, and heavy flow sizes.

Pink Daisy, light, heavy, and overnight.



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