Breastfeeding comes with its fair share of pleasure and pain.
The pleasure? Well we know just how proud a mum feels to see those adorable Michelin rolls on a breastfed baby and know that her breastmilk created this cuteness. And of course, there are so many other benefits of breastfeeding that we’ve talked about in the past.
But the pain of breastfeeding is something less talked about. The stress of getting nursing established in those early days, the guilt of not being able to breastfeeding (for whatever reason), and then the real physical agony of issues and conditions like blocked ducts, milk blisters and mastitis.
Blocked ducts in breastfeeding mums
Mums who experience blocked ducts know this danger of not unblocking them quickly – if this does not happen, then it can very quickly lead to mastitis, which is a nasty and painful condition that you want to try and avoid at all costs.
So when one Australian mum saw an unusual way of unblocking milk ducts shared in a mummy group, she did not hesitate to try it, even though it’s very unusual to say the least!
“I’m pickin’ up good vibrations, oh my my what a sensation…”
The 21-year-old mum from Queensland only known as Danielle says she had suffered from mastitis (where milk ducts become blocked and milk is forced into the surrounding breast tissue) four times since she had her baby – now nine months old.
She had tried everything – from hot packs to hot showers – to help ease the pain. But nothing worked as well as this very clever mum hack that she tried out.
“I’ve had mastitis four times with my nine-month-old son. I had tried everything – heat packs, rubbing it, pumping, hot showers – everything.”
So what did she try this time?
A vibrator!
Danielle explains that from all the methods she had tried before, using the sex toy was the least painful and the most effective: “It didn’t hurt to use the vibrator – it was the least painful of everything I had tried before.”
A rather unusual use for a vibrator!
It worked a treat
She never expected this clever hack to work, but Danielle admits that it certainly did!
“I am weaning my son at the moment and had blocked ducts for a day before using the vibrator for 10 minutes. I was worried I would get mastitis again but I haven’t after that and have used the vibrator again since.
“Yes, I was surprised it worked ha, ha!”, she laughs.
The mum of two just wishes she knew about this neat trick when her now three year old daughter was a newborn: “She was a premmie and I had mastitis a lot – so it was very difficult because it gives you aching muscles and joints, headaches temperatures and flu symptoms.”
So, how do you do it?
If you want to unblock those ducts, using the vibrator in the traditional way won’t release anything except an amazing orgasm.
For this hack to work, you’ve just got to gently massage your breasts with the vibrator instead! The motion and vibrations will help bring about relief, and hopefully prevent conditions like mastitis from developing.
Try it and let us know if it works for you?
For a comprehensive read on mastitis and preventing it, please read this article: Mastitis: Signs, Symptoms and Treatment Options.
Meanwhile, do share your own tips for how to clear blocked ducts in breastfeeding (we take both naughty and nice suggestions!).
Reference: Kidspot.au, Featured image: LEESA SMITH/KIDSPOT/SCREENGRAB