As a company that developed a completely unique and innovative breastfeeding product to help nursing moms increase their milk supply, breastfeed more comfortably and meet their breastfeeding goals, there are two questions people ask us all the time:
- How do Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs help increase milk supply and relieve and prevent common breastfeeding problems?
- What is unique about Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs, and why should I choose Rachel’s Remedy over another breastfeeding hot/cold pack or home remedy?
These are both great questions, and the answers are important for you to understand when making a choice about what types of products are truly going to serve you and your baby in the best way possible.
How does Rachel’s Remedy help increase milk supply and relieve and prevent common breastfeeding problems? How does moist heat help?
We’re putting these two questions together because it’s important to understand how moist heat works. Simply put, moist heat helps increase circulation and allows blood vessels to open rather than constrict.
Strong circulation is the body’s natural way of promoting healing and maintaining health. Moist heat is the most effective type of heat because the moisture helps heat penetrate the surface of the skin faster and deeper than with dry heat.
And as it turns out, moist heat has important benefits unique to breastfeeding women.
Studies comparing moist heat use against dry heat or no heat, have shown that moist heat helps improve let-down and also increases milk supply. It does this by stimulating the production of oxytocin. Also known as ‘the love hormone,’ oxytocin is the hormone responsible for triggering let-down. The increased circulation also relaxes the blood vessels, and this combined with improved let-down helps increase milk supply.
Studies also show that use of moist heat helps to relieve and prevent engorgement, clogged ducts and mastitis. Having something to help relieve engorgement, clogged ducts and mastitis, and to prevent clogged ducts and mastitis is a very BIG deal. Clogged ducts are very painful, and can lead to mastitis if not properly treated.
You want to do anything you can to avoid getting mastitis. Imagine taking care of a little baby while feeling like you have the flu - yeah, it’s that bad. Some women become so ill that they end up quitting breastfeeding before they were ready to stop. Prevention is key when it comes to breastfeeding comfortably and meeting your breastfeeding goals.
Moist heat helps to relieve engorgement and nipple pain (some of the most common breastfeeding discomforts and faced by almost every breastfeeding mom when starting out) AND helps relieve milk blebs and blisters.
Basically - you’ve got a breastfeeding problem? Moist heat is most likely your answer (but not for thrush).
Buy Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs or add to your baby registry here!
Why choose Rachel’s Remedy over another hot/cold pack?
Until Rachel’s Remedy became available, there was no practical way for women to easily get the health benefits of moist heat. Before Rachel’s Remedy, the only moist heat solutions were dripping wet washcloths (water everywhere, wet clothes, and no available hands to hold the baby!) or several baths and showers per day (who has time for that when caring for a baby or trying to get other work done?!).
Our founder Rachel, developed Rachel’s Remedy when she could not find a wearable moist-heat pack when suffering from repeated clogged ducts that eventually turned into mastitis. She tried other hot/cold packs, and found they were not effective. She tried holding warm wet washcloths in place but they got cold very quickly and she couldn’t wear clothes while using them. She even tried leaning into bowls of warm water (recommended by a doctor - agh!!!). After talking to several other breastfeeding moms, she found this was a common frustration. That was the “ah-ha!” moment, and a few prototypes later, the only wearable moist-heat packs were born!
Be careful - while there are other hot/cold packs you can buy, Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs are the only FDA-cleared hot/cold pack on the market AND the only hot/cold pack with wearable moist heat. Oh, and they are made in the USA! Our Breastfeeding Relief Packs fit right into any bra and keep clothing dry. They can also be used cold when cooling relief is needed (for example, to help relieve engorgement after nursing or pumping).
Wearable Moist Heat is What Every Breastfeeding Mom Needs
Clearly there’s a reason doctors and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants consistently recommend moist heat as a form of treatment and prevention - it’s because it’s one of the most effective ways to naturally increase milk supply and to relieve and prevent breastfeeding problems like clogged ducts, mastitis, nipple pain, milk blisters, engorgement, and general discomfort. Moist heat has been so widely recommended for so long that it’s hard to believe the only options before Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs were hot baths/showers or dripping wet wash cloths. Rachel’s Remedy provides relief for when you’re on-the-go (and let’s face it, all moms are on-the-go!).
When making the decision about which hot/cold pack you’d like to use, there is no alternative to Rachel’s Remedy. Yes, there are other hot/cold packs - but Rachel’s Remedy is the only moist heat and cooling relief pack available on the market - and it’s also the only FDA-cleared hot/cold pack on the market! If you want the most effective solution for your breastfeeding concern or to prevent common problems, choose Rachel’s Remedy. When preparing to breastfeed, make sure you have Rachel’s Remedy from the start.
Buy Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs or add to your baby registry here!
Our mission is to support breastfeeding moms so that they can breastfeed comfortably and meet their breastfeeding goals. We’d love to hear from you - if you have more questions or a general comment, please leave your thoughts below!
Sources:
Seifert, M., Seacat, J. Medical Management of Successful Breast-Feeding. Prevention in Primary Care, Pediatric Clinics of North America. 33(4) 1986, August. 743-63.
Resmy V, Nalini S.J., Sumathi, G. Effect of Lukewarm Water Compress On Prevention of
Nipple Pain and Breast Engorgement Among Primiparous At A Selected Hospital In Chennai.
Journal of Science. 2014. 4(10). 620-624.
How long and how often do we use them? I have mastitis and it’s helped so much.
Hello. How long do you leave the pads on your breast and how often do you use it? Thank you.