I replaced the broody pillow with a thin, stretchy, old fleece pillow case and it was much better...that's what I'll be using. The heating pad I'm using doesn't have a plastic side or area as it's built into a velour/velux type pad that cannot be removed. Surprisingly, though, this entire pad can be machine washed...it unplugs entirely from the power cord for this purpose. Never saw a heating pad this nice!