Breast massage can be used prior or during pumping to better empty the breasts, increase milk output, it can help alleviate clogged ducts and some of the discomfort that comes with engorgement and more.
While breast massage is helpful, the reality is most moms don't have the time or energy to use their hands every single pumping session. The Lilu Lactation Massager + Bra does the massage for you, so you don't have to.
When creating the Lilu Massage Bra, we focused on breast massage, since it has been proven to stimulate milk let-downs in breastfeeding moms and helps empty the breast more fully. Breast massage is a method that puts pressure on the milk glands, causing them to release more milk and increase milk flow. By gently squeezing their breasts, moms are able to pump more successfully.
Breast pumps do not provide the compression that is recommended by lactation experts and only mimic the suction from the baby’s mouth. Because pumps don’t mimic breast compressions, many moms end up having to supplement their pumping sessions with breast massage, making the entire process much more complicated and difficult than it needs to be.
With the Lilu Lactation Massager + Bra, we can incorporate gentle breast compression and breast massage into moms’ pumping sessions without them needing to do any additional work. Working closely with lactation experts, we designed and programmed our bra to perform gentle and efficient massage movements, that help moms pump 30-55% more milk.
We developed and tested the Lilu massager and bra with the help of hundreds of moms. We asked moms to keep record of the time and date, duration, and milk outputs for each of their breasts for 7 days.
For days 1-2, moms were asked to pump with only a breast pump without any compression, then for days 3-7, moms were asked to pump with the same breast pump and the Lilu Lactation Massager + Bra.
The data we collected from this study showed that there was a significant increase in milk output when moms pumped with Lilu vs. when they pumped without Lilu.
Combining hand techniques with electric pumping increases milk production in mothers of preterm infants.
Simultaneous pumping is more effective at producing milk . . . and breast massage has an additive effect, improving milk production.
