Plugged Ducts & Mastitis: A Holistic Approach to Care

Recorded September 17, 2023 

"I used KT tape last night on a client with mastitis who wasn’t able to remove milk for a few days. The milk just wouldn’t flow no matter what she did. Milk started flowing before I was finished putting the last piece on. Mom was able to nurse and her breast felt empty after the feed. I’ve never seen a mom so happy and relieved. Jennifer Tow thank you for sharing so much knowledge with us. You’re changing the world!"...Stephanie Simon, IBCLC

While parents are finally being told to not perform deep tissue massage and that most cases of plugged ducts and mastitis are the result of an inflammatory process, treatment options have not expanded beyond "don't pump, take NSAIDs, use ice", leaving NSAIDs and antibiotics as the most frequent interventions, risking a litany of known side-effects.

When IBCLCs are relegated to such limited information, parents who wish to avoid the risk of unnecessary antibiotic exposure are left to seek information on social media. To their benefit, they often end up knowing more than their practitioners do and frequently have better outcomes. To their detriment and ours, this information vortex has resulted in a "social media as health care resource" environment that makes everyone an expert and creates a wild west where it's difficult to distinguish from good and bad advice.  

Having suffered with the consequences of chronic breast inflammation and mastitis while nursing my daughter 31 years ago, I have a special interest in this topic. I was very fortunate to be treated by a holistic MD and in hindsight, was able to come to a deeper understanding of the inflammatory process, underlying causes and effective prevention and treatments that I have recommended for nearly 3 decades.  

 

There are many effective options for resolving plugged ducts and mastitis, such as an anti-inflammatory diet, supplements, herbs, K-taping, homeopathy and home remedies, yet access to this information is extremely limited among lactation professionals, leaving parents who wish to avoid the risk of unnecessary antibiotic exposure little option but to seek information on social media.  This lecture covers a wide range of options that IBCLCs may offer clients, options they can easily access to effectively resolve these inflammatory conditions.

Objectives:

Understand the concept of inflammation as an underlying cause of plugged ducts or mastitis. 

Identify factors that can lead to breast inflammation.

Discuss the common treatment recommendations and their benefits and deficits.

Gain awareness of the treatment options parents are currently accessing and recommending to one another via social media. 

Appreciate the relevance of the parent's personal and cultural beliefs and interests when offering options. 

Develop an advanced tool kit that offers parents a broader range of safe, effective options to resolve plugged ducts and mastitis beyond the typical interventions. 

FEE $97

3 L-CERPs

IBLCE APPROVAL: CLT114-33

Jennifer Tow, BFA, MA, IBCLC, LMT, CSOM.

Jennifer has practiced holistic lactation and guided parents in raising their children holistically for over 30 years. A fascination with the physiology of wellness has led her on a decades-long journey exploring the influences on infant health that come to define long-term human well-being. She has a special interest in the areas of epigenetics and the microbiome, gut-brain health, oral functional competency and airway development, exploring the profoundly far-reaching implications of this work for breastfeeding dyads.

While residing between the USA & France from 2010-12, Jennifer established an international client base and now sees most of her clients on-line, specializing in collaborating with her clients in resolving complex breastfeeding issues. With a Master's degree in Holistic Health Coaching, her reputation for guiding parents through these issues stems from her ability to integrate holistic modalities and an expanded skill-set, such as myofunctional therapy and bodywork techniques, into her practice.

She is a writer and lecturer, offering workshops internationally and via webinar on lactation & epigenetics, gut health & healing, tongue-tie & airway development and holistic lactation practices. She offers a year-long advanced course in Integrative and Holistic Lactation. She is a founding member of IATP (the International Affiliation of Tongue-tie Professionals) and founder of the Holistic Lactation Institute.

Jennifer is the mother of three children born at home in 1988, 92 & 98 and a granddaughter born at home in 2009. She has come to deeply embrace the wisdom and humility gained from gestating, birthing, nursing and parenting those three amazing human beings.

NO REFUNDS OR CANCELLATIONS FOR THIS WEBINAR.

We reserve the right to refund registration in full and cancel the attendance of participants where concerns of intellectual property infringement are at issue or for any other reason deemed appropriate.