Breast massage can be used before or during pumping to better empty the breasts and increase milk output. It can help alleviate clogged ducts and some of the discomfort that comes with engorgement.
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.
Massage works
When creating the Lilu Massage Bra, we focused on breast massage, since it has been proven to stimulate milk let-downs and helps empty the breast more fully. Breast massage puts pressure on the milk glands, causing them to release more milk and increase milk flow.
Pumps use suction
Breast pumps do not provide the compression recommended by lactation experts — they only mimic the suction from a baby’s mouth. Because pumps don’t mimic breast compressions, many moms end up supplementing their sessions with breast massage by hand.
Lilu mimics massage
With the Lilu Lactation Massager + Bra, gentle breast compression and massage happen during a pumping session without any additional work. Working closely with lactation experts, we designed the bra to perform gentle, efficient massage movements that helped moms pump ~35% more milk on average, rising to 55% for the top quartile.
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine advises against deep massage of the lactating breast, which can increase inflammation, tissue edema and microvascular injury. Its protocol specifically cautions against electric toothbrushes and other commercial vibrating or massaging devices.
The same protocol draws a clear distinction for gentle compression during pumping — the technique the Lilu Massage Bra was designed to reproduce.
Source: ABM Clinical Protocol #36: The Mastitis Spectrum. Quoted for reference; the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine does not endorse Lilu or its products.
“It should be noted that gentle compressions during breast pump usage, often termed ‘hands on pumping,’ provide an effect similar to hand expression and is safe if excessive manual force is avoided.”
We developed and tested the Lilu massager and bra with the help of hundreds of moms. We asked moms to record the time and date, duration, and milk output for each breast over seven days.
For days 1–2, moms pumped with only a breast pump and no compression. For days 3–7, they pumped with the same pump and the Lilu Lactation Massager + Bra. The data showed a significant increase in milk output when moms pumped with Lilu.
| Metric | Average pumped without Lilu |
Average pumped with Lilu |
Average increase per session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average of Total milk (oz) | 5.81 | 7.53 | 35.8% |
| Average of Total Milk Oz/min | 0.35 | 0.49 | 35.9% |
~40 participants completed the study with the Lilu Massage Bra Gen 1, across 650+ pumping sessions.
+35% average increase in milk output, rising to 55% for the top quartile of participants. +36% increase in milk flow rate — more milk, in less time. 80% of sessions showed higher output with Lilu.
Combining hand techniques with electric pumping increases milk production in mothers of preterm infants.
Read the study → (Stanford Health Care)
Compression stimuli increased milk ejection and efficacy of the breast pump.
Read the study → (St Petersburg University)
Simultaneous pumping is more effective at producing milk, and breast massage has an additive effect, improving milk production.
Read the study → (NHS University Hospitals of North Midlands)These institutions published the research cited above. Their logos identify the source of each study and do not indicate endorsement of Lilu or its products.
