***As a pre warning my review is about a "feminine" product and discusses the delights of giving birth, I've tried to keep it as non-graphic as possible however some may find uncomfortable reading***

I had my twin boys 4 weeks early and because I had a "planned induction" I knew I would be kept in hospital longer than the usual 24 hours for natural births at our local hospital. It was initially discussed that I would spend around 5-7 days in hospital post birth and as much I packed a huge bag to take to hospital with essentials for me and two babies, I could not take everything I needed. Because of this I had to depend on Mr Lools to bring in additional supplies which included maternity pads. Trusted with going shopping for more he purchased the Asda Little Angel Maternity Towels.


*** Asda Little Angel Maternity Towels***
The description on the pack of these maternity towels are "have been specially designed for use after childbirth, the soft materials ensure comfort and the contour channels ensure protection from leaks in the days after the arrival of your little angel."

The Little Angels Maternity Towels look like any other brand of maternity towels do. A thick white pad around 30cm long and 8cm wide and 2.5cm thick. On the reverse side of the towel is a peel off section covering the adhesive strip to keep in place on underwear. Maternity Towels and pads are advised to use following giving birth over other feminine hygiene products because they have been designed especially to cope with absorbing the heavy blood lost post giving birth.

The Little Angels Maternity Towels have on the packaging that they were the winners of the Mother & Baby Awards 2008/2009 Retailer of the Year gold award winner for 2 years running Soft and absorbent Comfortable protection Maternity towels.

The Little Angel Maternity Towels are available from Asda stores and from Asda.com and cost 98p per pack of 10. This price is average and the same as other brands of maternity towels so is very reasonable. However it is worth noting that although these are inexpensive especially in the first few days you go through a lot of these and will need at least 2 packs of these in your hospital bag for a standard hospital stay; more if you are required to stay in hospital longer.


***My Experience***
Prior to using the Asda Little Angel Maternity Towels I had been using Boots Maternity Towels. Although I would not have described wearing the Boots Maternity towels to be the most comfortable experience I did find that the actual maternity towel could not have been better it was the actual giving birth experience that was giving me the discomfort.

Post birth I would have described myself to be quite understandably feeling delicate "down there" however on reflection I could have been a lot less fortunate when having a natural birth and delivering two babies. I escaped with what is known medically as "grazes" and had no tears, I didn't needing cutting (!!) and I had no stitches so I was not in as much pain as some of my other friends after to giving birth. However walking and sitting down still had to be done slowly in the first week or so. In the first few days I had enough maternity pads in my hospital bag so had been using a different brand of maternity towel in the most painful and sore few days. However as my hospital stay was quite long Mr Lools brought in more maternity towels which were the Asda Little Angel brand.

Looks wise these were almost identical to the Boots products I had been using. The Little Angel Maternity Towels come in a sealed plastic wrapper and are not individually wrapped so you simply take a pad out of the pack feel off the adhesive wrapper and use. Like all other maternity pads because they are so thick the pack is very bulky so does take up a considerable amount of space in a hospital bag.

I first used the Little Angel Maternity Towels about 2-3 days after giving birth and I was not very impressed. The actual pad was a lot less comfortable than the Boots Maternity Pads I had previously been using. I felt the actual pad did not feel as soft and cushioned and when moving around it rubbed because it felt stiffer and less flexible. With being in hospital I did not do much walking however walking to and from the meal rooms when wearing the Little Angels Maternity Towels was quite uncomfortable and I felt very sore after, which I did not encounter with the softer Boots products. A few other friends who had A LOT more pain after giving birth also actually commented they could not use these products at all.

Like other brands of maternity towels the Asda Little Angels products are thick and quite bulky to wear giving the feeling of having a brick between your legs. Not so much an issue when you are in hospital surrounded by other women also wearing pyjamas and who have also gone through giving birth but when back into the real world I must admit you feel more self-conscious. I did feel that these maternity towels from Asda were more noticeable than the other brands I used because they lacked as much flexibility and was one of the many reasons I did not continue to use these and sent Mr Lools out for more of the Boots products.

Absorbency wise the Little Angel Maternity Towels were very good and coped with the heavy blood loss post birth no better or worse than other brands I used. Post birth blood loss will vary on the individual but I found that I needed to change after about 2 hours on the times I used these.


***Overall***
Giving birth is never going to be a comfortable experience and some pain and discomfort after is to be expected. However I would not recommend the Little Angel Maternity Towels because in my experience they added to my discomfort. The towels look the same as other maternity towels and at 98p for a pack of 10 are around the same price. Absorbency wise I did not have any issues with these towels and would say they were as good as the other brands I used.

My issue with the Little Angel Maternity Towels was how uncomfortable I found them to wear. I did find them bulky in the same way other maternity towels are but I also found that these Asda towels rubbed as I walked and sat down and did not feel as flexible. I felt very delicate but I imagine if I had suffered a more traumatic birth this would have been much more of an issue and would have really made me uncomfortable.

Not a product I will be putting in my hospital bag again!