Breastfeeding can be a great experience – but not when you’re constantly getting clogged ducts and mastitis, or if it takes you forever to pump. A lactation massager can help with both of these issues. Here’s a complete LaVie lactation massager review.
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What is the LaVie Lactation Massager?
The LaVie Lactation Massager is a tool that allows breastfeeding parents to use vibration on their breasts, which can help with getting milk to flow.
One way that vibration can be especially helpful is with clogged milk ducts.
How does the LaVie Lactation Massager work on clogged ducts?
If you find yourself dealing with a clogged duct, the advice you’ll get to resolve it can be overwhelming – everything from dangle nursing or pumping to using epsom salt in a Haakaa.
As noted above, vibration is another tool that can help many people clear blocked ducts quickly. For example, some people have tried putting an electric toothbrush (or whatever they have around the house that vibrates) on a clogged duct and have found that that helped work it out.
The LaVie massager is shaped in a way that allows you to use both vibration and compression to get plugged ducts out. The vibration helps loosen the milk and the shape makes it easy to push the milk out, while nursing or pumping help pull the milk out.
Additionally, it’s waterproof, so you can use it in the shower (where the warm water may also help get the milk moving and clear the blockage).
Here are some stories I did showing how to use the LaVie lactation massager in a little more detail:
By using the massager whenever you feel a blocked duct, you will hopefully be able to clear it before it becomes mastitis.
Other than clogged ducts, how can the Lactation Massager help breastfeeding parents?
Vibration can also help with letdown, which is when your milk ducts release milk and it starts to flow. Usually, this happens in the first few minutes of nursing or pumping.
If you’re not sure when your milk lets down, this diagram might help you understand what a letdown looks like while pumping:
However, instead of 1-2 minutes, some people experience a very slow letdown, where it can take up to 15 minutes for the milk to start flowing. This can make for very long pumping sessions.
Vibration seems to speed up the letdown process, both for first letdowns and for subsequent letdowns.
It can also help some people empty their breasts faster and more effectively. If it feels like pumping takes you forever, it may be worth trying vibration to see if that speeds up the flow.
Why is the massager shaped the way it is?
The shape of the massager was designed to help with different issues.
The wide side helps to stimulate milk flow and soften the breast, while the narrower scoop edge helps move fluid and express milk.
The tip helps bust clogs and empty ducts faster.
Who is a good candidate for a LaVie Lactation Massager?
The LaVie Lactation Massager is helpful for any breastfeeding parent, both those that are nursing and those that are pumping.
Even if you’ve never had a clogged duct, you never know when it might happen and you want to make sure you resolve it quickly before it becomes mastitis. Nothing is worth that pain!
Have you used this massager? Let us know your LaVie lactation massager review in the comments!
(*Note: LaVie makes two lactation massagers – a smaller one with just vibration and a warming massager that has heat AND vibration. They are both super helpful – use the code EPUMP on their website for 10% off!)
References- LaVie Lactation Massager. https://lactationmassager.com/
- Interview with Ella Weinberg, LaVie, conducted 4/11/18.