If any of you nursing mom’s out there have had a clogged duct, you know they are no joke. They are incredibly painful and can take hours up to a full day to go away. It makes it hard to hold and carry your baby and wearing a bra can be out of the question.
For some unknown reason, I am especially prone to clogged ducts. I’ve stumped my OB and multiple lactation consultants as to why I get them whenever I wear a nursing bra. My (male) OB told me jokingly, “Well just don’t wear a bra.” Righttttt.
Clogged ducts are generally a result of your breasts not being completely emptied on a regular basis. This can happen if you baby doesn’t have a great latch and isn’t successfully emptying your breast, if you don’t pump long enough, or if you stop nursing as frequently. Wearing tight or constricting bras can also lead to clogged ducts.
It is important to help relieve clogged ducts because they can lead to mastitis. Mastitis is what I like to call Voldemort’s step-child. He-who-shall-not-be-named is a breast infection that many times brings along it’s pal the flu to join this evil party. I got mastitis two weeks after giving birth and I legit thought I was dying. My entire body ached and I had a fever over 101’F. I asked my friends for recommendations and my friend recommended Happy Ducts. I ordered it on Amazon Prime and have been a loyal user every since!
Happy Ducts is an all natural homeopathic tincture that encourages the lymphatic system in your breasts to drain. I HIGHLY recommend every mother-to-be or mom buy this on Amazon and have it stocked should a you get a clogged duct/mastitis. It’s very affordable and believe me, you will not want to wait the two days for it to arrive if you are in pain. In San Diego, the WishGarden Herbs brand is sold at Whole Foods and Sprouts but I have not personally seen Happy Ducts at either store. You can check your city to see if it’s stocked locally.
Happy Ducts is very effective when used in conjunction with following the steps below:
1. Continue nursing/pumping to keep emptying your breasts. This is very important!
2. Drink a lot of liquids like water and bone broth to stay hydrated. Coffee doesn’t count, it’s dehydrating.
3. Use a warm compress and do a breast massage before nursing to help encourages your ducts to drain. You can also massage the breast towards the nipple while nursing.
Here is to healthy breasts!
Tessa Bowman is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. She only promotes products she already uses and truly believes are beneficial. For more questions, feel free to email her at balanced.to.a.t@gmail.com