For many mothers, breastfeeding can come with a fair bit of challenges and surprises. We often prepare ourselves for labour and have some post-partum support in place, but less commonly are we informed about issues we might encounter when breastfeeding our babies. Clogged milk ducts and even mastitis (inflammation of the breast) affects many mothers, but fortunately there are some great natural treatments for these conditions.
Why does it occur?
Clogged milk ducts are incredibly common in the first four weeks post-partum but can occur at any time. Engorged breasts from a high milk volume and inadequate milk draining are among the top factors for clogged ducts. This can occur with newborns if there’s an ineffective latch or sucking, an undiagnosed tongue tie or if baby is very sleepy resulting in missed feeds. As babies get older things like teething, distractible eating, missed feeds, abrupt weaning, longer sleep stretches and busyness can lead to inadequate emptying and therefore clogged ducts.
Aside from this, bacterial or yeast breast infections can also cause blocked ducts. And lastly, pressure on the breasts from things like tight fitting bras and sleeping on your front can be contributors.
What can you do?
First, it’s essential to have an understanding of the cause as it relates to you and your baby. In order to assist resolution and prevent recurrence, assessing the why is very valuable. For example, for a newborn, latch, sucking and tongue tie could be a cause. A lactation consultant would be a valuable part of the solution. For older babies, if this is a recurring problem, a lactation consultant is still an important addition as there may be unresolved latch issues. If baby is older and this is a first-time issue, consider missed feeds, weaning, longer sleep stretches etc. For this, you may benefit from incorporating some transient pumping to allow you to adapt to the new norm.
Tips for resolving clogged ducts:
- Heat before breastfeeding 10-20 minutes. You can do this however is easiest, hot shower, washcloth compress, Booby Tubes (check out Earth Mama Organics), breast soaks, etc.
- Cabbage compresses. This is great if you’re trying to decrease your supply a bit, if you’re engorged, in pain, your milk is coming in copiously and you have a blocked duct or mastitis. This is simple and effective for relieving pain and swelling. Remove layers of washed green cabbage leaves and place in fridge. Once cold, apply a layer over each breast making sure to cover sides and near the armpit. Keep it all held in place with a comfortable nursing bra or tank-top. Switch wilted cabbage for a new set, the more times you repeat the better the results. This will make you look like a mermaid in a shell bra but feel much better.
- Cold packs for pain relief.
- Breastfeeding tips: feed from affected side first, massage/compressions during feeding, alternate feeding angles.
What about Mastitis?
All the above, plus:
- Potato compresses. This is great if you don’t want to impact milk supply. Apply slices of raw soaked potato repeatedly in the first 24 hours of symptoms. Check out this page for details.
- Herbal remedies: Echinacea, Goldenseal and micro doses of Phytolacca. These herbs are very helpful, but the right dosage is extremely important to prevent harm. Consult a Naturopath before using these herbs.
- Probiotics. Research on probiotic strains L. fermentum or L. salivarius found bacterial reduction in breast milk samples and improved prevention of mastitis recurrence.
- Lecithin. A naturally occurring fat from plant and animal sources. It’s used to improve texture, shelf life and stability when added to foods. In supplement form, most often originating from sunflower or soy. It’s not well understood how it works, but it increases the fluidity of breastmilk, making it less sticky and easier to be removed from the duct. Lecithin can be used to treat mastitis and clogged ducts acutely or prevent recurrence with varying dosages. An acute dose is roughly 4800 mg divided through the day.
Above all else, ask for help, mama! Have someone look after baby for a bit, get some rest, and come in for some support. You can book an appointment with me here or by calling us at 403-452-0029.