In our family, we are all about reducing toxins in our home and finding natural alternatives to some of those more nefarious chemicals! We love using Young Living essential oils and they truly are a blessing to have on hand as a nursing mama!
If you are having any difficulty with nursing, to be fair most of us do at one point or another, it's great to reach out to a lactation consultant as they can be so helpful! We did this a few days after Ben was born and I’m so glad we did!
There are a lot of different ways to use oils when it comes to breastfeeding. The effects of them aren’t always immediate (although sometimes they are!), so make sure you’re patient and give them time to do their job.
For supply support, add 2 drops of Fennel vitality essential oil to a veggie capsule with an edible carrier oil (olive or avocado or almond oils to name a few) and take for up to 10 days. Fennel has been known to increase prolactin levels, which is the main hormone responsible for stimulating milk production. When it comes to your supply, don’t forget that getting the baby to the boob is really helpful when it comes to regulating your supply to their demand!
If you’re weaning or looking to decrease your supply, peppermint can sometimes help with this. I haven’t personally weaned Ben at all yet (besides his one meal a day of solid food) so I can’t speak from personal experience here, only what I’ve read. You can apply it (with a carrier oil) directly to your breasts, but be mindful of the timing because you don’t want baby to come in contact with it. ive been told that as your supply is decreasing you may experience some discomfort. Hand expressing is a great option to release enough milk to be content and cold ice packs too!
A lot of women I know have experienced a clogged duct. This is in no way fun at all and in fact some women say more painful than childbirth itself! So one remedy you could try is 2 drops Melrose, 2 drops Lavender and a few drops of carrier oil. You’re going to combine and massage around your breast (but not the nipple.) If you have a Hakka, that’s a great resource too! Add hot water to it (as hot as you can stand it) and mix with epsom salts, apply to your breast as usual. Another great option for a clogged duct is to add rice to a sock, heat it up and put around your breast before nursing. This helps with letdown and to remove the blockage.
Obviously every woman is very different with what works for them, so always reach out to other mom, trial and error and you can read some fantastic resources too!
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