We all know the many benefits of breastfeeding for us and our babies. If we all know how healthy breastfeeding is, why is it that 80% of moms start nursing right after birth, and by 3 months, only half are still nursing? Because breastfeeding challenges are real. They keep you up at night, and they hurt! Issues like poor latch, tongue tie, sore nipples, low milk supply, problems with infant weight gain, clogged ducts, and mastitis are painful. They can be incredibly discouraging, especially if the mother does not have a reliable support system to help her through difficult times. 

Today's post is about how to treat clogged milk ducts and prevent mastitis. I'll give you practical midwifery tips that encourage and support you to continue to breastfeed your baby.

Your amazing body is made to give birth and to recover completely.  Having said that, after birth, your perineum is (at the very least) tender and sore. It might be torn or “scuffed.” Even without tears, it will be swollen, sometimes in strange ways. Walking around and sitting will both be uncomfortable at times, especially right after birth. When another part of your body is swollen and inflamed, you reach for an ice pack. Though that will work in a pinch, it’s not the most accessible area to place a bag of ice. That’s where padsicles for perineal relief come in.

The severity of complications from a lip- or tongue-tied latch can range from clear and frustrating to hardly noticeable. In generations past, wise women, midwives, and mothers knew to check the lips and tongues of babies at birth when they first learned to breastfeed. We lost some of that wisdom in the middle of the past century, so the most recent generation of care providers have fallen out of the habit of checking and correcting ties when helping a mama breastfeed. If you are struggling with your baby’s latch, your milk supply, or their weight gain, a lip tie or tongue tie could be at the root of the problem.