Frida Is Changing the Archaic Postpartum Care Game With Its New Line of Brilliant Products

Updated on Aug 4, 2019 at 12:05 AM

POPSUGAR Photography | Alessia Santoro

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So you've just given birth and are thinking about the 40,000 products you have ready to go for your baby — but then you have to pee, and it's obviously a damn war zone down there, but no one has given you any products to specifically care for yourself after birth. Unless you count the flimsy mesh undies, wee-wee pads, burn relief spray found in the foot care aisle of the drugstore, and diapers ripped open and filled with ice cubes "products." After having her second child, Frida CEO and mom of three Chelsea Hirschhorn decided that this archaic "care" process for postpartum moms needed to change, and by the time she had her third child, Frida Mom, a line of postpartum products that actually cater to new moms, was also born.

At an event in NYC for the launch of Frida Mom, I was handed a card congratulating me on the birth of my son, a 9-pound, 8-ounce cherub whose head apparently caused third degree tears in my perineum. Now I have 12 stitches holding my womanhood back together and two painful hemorrhoids — thanks, kid. Although I've never actually experienced this phenomenon myself, having been a parenting editor for the last four years, I've learned more than my fair share about postpartum life than any childless woman probably has before — and that, Chelsea says, is actually part of the problem.

No one is really educating soon-to-be brand-new moms about what's going to happen to their vagina after a vaginal birth, or what their recovery process is going to look like if they deliver via C-section.

"You're expected to tend to a newborn in between concocting ice remedies from the incontinence and burn relief aisles of your local drugstore while perched on a wee-wee pad."

"The problem with postpartum recovery begins with a woman's lack of knowledge and ability to prepare for what's really about to go down. The intimidation factor — before, during, and after — is debilitating," Chelsea said in a press release. "Then you're expected to tend to a newborn in between concocting ice remedies from the incontinence and burn relief aisles of your local drugstore while perched on a wee-wee pad — my exact discharge instructions after I delivered my first child."

This is the beauty and genius of Frida Mom.

Its portfolio of products includes those similar to the makeshift versions offered in hospitals and DIY'd once back at home, but instead of each visit to the bathroom taking an exorbitant amount of time and energy — not to mention the pain involved — Frida Mom's five-step system and supportive postpartum undies make it so you can actually get through your recovery feeling supported and taken care of.

And Chelsea backs every single one of these products, which are now available at Target, Amazon, and BuyBuy Baby. "I tested every single product myself during my third vaginal delivery and recovery to make sure we nailed it," says Chelsea. "And we did."

Read more about each product in the Frida Mom line below, and see clips of Chelsea's first birth — back before she knew how much change she would bring to postpartum care — in the line's introduction video above.

Frida Mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear

The Frida Mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear ($16 for eight pairs) is completely changing the mesh underwear game. They feature a soft and comfortable mesh-free boy-short design that stretches to fit your body — and they are actually absorbent! The best part? Even though they're disposable, you can wash them and rewear if you need to.

Frida Mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear

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$16

The Frida Mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear in Action

Frida Mom Disposable C-Section Postpartum Underwear

Similar to the Disposable Postpartum Underwear, these latex-free pairs of Frida Mom's Disposable C-Section Postpartum Underwear ($16 for eight pairs) are high-waist briefs that sit over your C-section scar comfortably.

Disposable C-Section Postpartum Underwear

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$16

The Frida Mom Disposable C-Section Postpartum Underwear in Action

Frida Mom Upside Down Peri Bottle

Unlike the upright squirt bottles given to new moms in the hospital, the Frida Mom Upside Down Peri Bottle ($16) features a design that means it can be used to clean yourself no matter how full it is and that your hands don't have to go into the toilet and get all wet with the bottle's rundown.

Frida Mom Upside Down Peri Bottle

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$16

Frida Mom Instant Ice Maxi Pad

Chelsea said that when she gave birth the first time, she was given a size five diaper ripped apart and stuffed with ice cubes to shove into her flimsy mesh underwear. The Frida Mom Instant Ice Maxi Pad ($20 for a pack of eight) kills two birds with one stone, acting as a cooling maxi pad that adheres to your underwear with a strip, just like a regular pad. It'll stay cool for 20 minutes and doesn't need to be stored in the freezer beforehand — no stuffed diapers necessary.

Frida Mom Instant Ice Maxi Pad

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$20

Frida Mom Perineal Witch Hazel Cooling Pad Liners

The soothing Frida Mom Perineal Witch Hazel Cooling Pad Liners ($12) completely eliminate the need to make what Chelsea calls a "salami sandwich" in your underwear. Rather than lining up multiple small, round medicated pads so that every part of your undercarriage feels the relief, these pad liners are the length of the Frida Mom Instant Ice Maxi Pads. One and done!

Frida Mom Perineal Witch Hazel Cooling Pad Liners

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$12

Frida Mom Perineal Witch Hazel Healing Foam

Instead of a cold spray that gets absorbed right into your pad or sprayed directly onto your aching vagina, the Frida Mom Perineal Witch Hazel Healing Foam ($13) sits right atop the rest of your setup and reaches all the right places once you've pulled up your underwear.

Frida Mom Perineal Witch Hazel Healing Foam

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$13

Frida Mom Postpartum Recovery Essentials Kit

The Frida Mom Postpartum Recovery Essentials Kit ($50) features all of the above — aka everything you need to get through your postpartum recovery as comfortably as possible. It comes in a box that opens up to reveal a caddy that sits atop the back of your toilet bowl so that you can grab what you need when you need it (or cart it to the hospital and keep everything organized in your room's tiny bathroom).

Frida Mom Postpartum Recovery Essentials Kit

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$50

Frida Mom Delivery and Nursing Gown

The Frida Mom Delivery and Nursing Gown ($30) puts current hospital gowns to shame. Chelsea designed the super soft gown with a "your favorite T-shirt" feel, and it features a button-up back (so that you have the choice to not have your tush out while the back of the gown flaps in the wind on your walks through the hospital hallway during labor) and two button sections on either side of the chest for nursing and skin-to-skin time. Oh, and it has pockets!

Frida Mom Delivery and Nursing Gown

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$30

The Frida Mom Delivery and Nursing Gown, Front and Back

Frida Mom Labor and Delivery Postpartum Kit

The Frida Mom Labor and Delivery Postpartum Kit ($100) includes everything above — the entire Frida Mom Postpartum Recovery Essentials Kit as well as the Frida Mom Delivery and Nursing Gown, a pair of Labor and Delivery Socks, and a cute gray bag that holds all of the essentials.