Life
This Mom's Totally NSFW Breastfeeding Hack Is Low Key Genius
For many moms, breastfeeding can be incredibly difficult and even painful. Given all the possible frustrations that can occur during breastfeeding (sore breasts, the baby won't latch on, etc.), it's no surprise that some mothers just want to give up on breastfeeding altogether. Sometimes enough is enough, right? If you're a breastfeeding mom who is having a hard time with nursing — don't worry, you're not alone— you'll love this story about a mom's vibrator hack that really helps with breastfeeding.
It goes without saying that breastfeeding and vibrators aren't commonly associated together and that some of you might be so confused right now, which is more than OK. Many acts of genius aren't always accepted or understood right away, which is probably why this mom's breastfeeding hack is getting so much attention. No matter what your initial thoughts on this clever breastfeeding trick may be, however, one thing is for certain — you'll definitely appreciate this mom's brave attempt to try something new.
According to Kidspot, a 21-year-old mom named Danielle tried the breastfeeding-vibrator hack after she developed four bad cases of mastitis while breastfeeding her 9-month-old son. For those of you haven't had any issues with mastitis (count your lucky stars, btw), it's when a person's breast tissue becomes infected. And yes, it's as bad as it sounds. According to the Mayo Clinic, a person suffering from mastitis can experience the following symptoms: "breast tenderness, generally feeling ill (malaise), breast swelling, pain or a burning sensation continuously or while breast-feeding, skin redness, often in a wedge-shaped pattern, and fever of 101 Fahrenheit (38.3 Celsius) or greater." Needless to say, it's not fun to breastfeed when you have mastitis.
On top of Danielle's issues with mastitis, she also developed blocked ducts, according to Kidspot. Blocked ducts can occur when "breasts are not getting completely emptied of milk on a regular basis," according to Baby Center. Blocked ducts typically lead to a case of mastitis (a blocked duct can easily become infected) and can cause breasts to develop symptoms of "redness" or "swelling," according to Baby Center. Similarly to mastitis, this condition does not bode well for feeding a hungry baby.
Given Danielle's unfortunate predicament, she did what any suffering mom would do — she consulted the internet. After some digging around in a community group for moms, Danielle learned that using a vibrator on your nipples is an effective way to unblock ducts and to reduce pain. Since Danielle had tried other breastfeeding hacks before (heat packs, showers, rubbing), she thought she had nothing to lose with the vibrator. Fortune favors the brave, right?
"It didn’t hurt to use the vibrator — it was the least painful of everything I had tried before," Danielle said of the breastfeeding hack, according to Kidspot.
The best part? Danielle hasn't had any issues with mastitis since using the vibrator. Danielle revealed, according to Dearly:
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.
If you're interested in trying out Danielle's piece of breastfeeding advice, I'm happy to introduce you to the the LaVie lactation massager (as shown above), a "handheld vibrating device that claims to help relieve the pain of engorgement and plugged ducts," according to Cafe Mom. According to La Vie's website, the waterproof device boasts multiple "vibration modes," is "soft on skin and easy to hold," and is "rechargeable." Although most vibrators could probably do the trick here, it might be worth it to spring for a product that was literally designed to help breastfeeding moms. It's also a good sign that the product has five-star reviews.
So, it looks like the moral of the story here is, vibrators are your friend in more ways than one. If you're struggling with breastfeeding and are in loads of pain, do yourself a favor and give this vibrator hack a whirl.
Watch Romper's new video series, Romper's Doula Diaries:
Check out the entire Romper's Doula Diaries series and other videos on Facebook and the Bustle app across Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.