Easy Clogged Milk Duct Remedy
A clogged milk duct while breastfeeding can be incredibly uncomfortable or painful and potentially lead to mastitis. Attend to clearing it up as soon as possible to avoid an increase of symptoms and a case of mastitis. When baby #3 was nursing, I ended up with a stubborn duct that wanted to clog on more than one occasion. It was very painful and made nursing painful as well as stressful. I tried massaging while nursing and hot compresses to no avail. I came across Mama Natural's list of ways to treat clogged ducts and the lavender tea bags caught my interest. I didn’t have tea bags on hand, but did have lavender essential oil.
Here's what I did, and it worked. Like. A. Charm.
Remedy
1. Massage coconut oil gently and thoroughly over the entire effected area.
2. Put one drop of lavender essential oil on fingers and massage gently, again, over the same area.
I started to feel the knot soften and was able to clear the duct the first time I tried this. I was shocked at how easy and effective it was! If you don't have lavender essential oil on hand, check out Mama Natural's post for her list of remedies. For ideas on how to prevent and treat mastitis, check out this post by Mommypotamus.
I got mastits with my first child, twice, which was very painful and just a miserable experience. You are at highest risk of developing mastitis in the first three or so months of breastfeeding, so be sure to take really gentle care of yourself. New motherhood is not a race to bounce back into your old self again, or a competition to see how much you can accomplish right after baby arrives. The first several months are a special, yet difficult time. Give yourself lots of space to rest, nap, and just do the absolute necessities. Our culture DOES NOT glorify or support rest, or rather, restoration. It glorifies accomplishment and productivity and societal contribution. Taking care of yourself is something you will have to intentionally fight for, so do it. Don't run yourself into the ground trying to do all and be all. Just give yourself, and your baby, this time to just be. And you may very easily avoid this uncomfortable infection that sometimes requires an antibiotic to fix.
Have you had a clogged milk duct you successfully treated with a favorite home remedy? Share in the comments!
