Breastfeeding Moms Will Love The Breast Masks & Lactation Massagers From Frida Mom's New Breast Care Line

Oftentimes, the only messaging moms-to-be get around breastfeeding is about its benefits to babies, leaving them unprepared for the physical difficulties and pain that come along with it. That messaging (or lack thereof) is what inspired the new Frida Mom Breast Care product line. The products are designed to soothe and provide relief for the pains and struggles of breastfeeding, with messaging that lets new moms know they're not alone.

In an interview with Romper, Frida's CEO, Chelsea Hirschhorn, shared her own journey with breastfeeding and how it inspired the new product line. "The reality is that women are blindsided by the physicality of breastfeeding – raw nipples, uterine contractions, painful clogs," she says. "No one tells you that it can be as painful as your vaginal recovery." She breastfed and pumped with all three of her boys, and those experiences left her determined to put the lessons she learned to good use.

"Women are expected to 'push through the pain' [of breastfeeding]," Hirschhorn says, "but the easier solution is to create a less painful and more intuitive experience." Frida Mom's Breast Care line aims to do just that. It consists of a variety of products like an adjustable nursing pillow, lactation massager, breast warmers, self-care kit, breast masks, and more. "Our new Breast Care line... is designed to set mothers up for everyday success regardless of what stage of that journey women are in whether she’s nursing, pumping, weaning, or choosing to never start at all."

Looking back on her breastfeeding journeys, Hirschhorn says three experiences still stand out to her. "The first is the toe-curling pain I felt when my uterus started to contract the first time that the baby latched to my nipples," she says. Those contractions, which she describes as just as painful as labor contractions, led to a gush of blood and worry for her health and safety. "The emotional agony debating whether that was 'normal' at 3 in the morning was traumatic," Hirschhorn explains.

The second was trying to choke down the lactation tea and cookies for weeks on end in an effort to increase her milk production. "I ultimately decided whatever I made would be good enough, and if I needed to supplement with formula, so be it," and she says this is what inspired Frida Mom's lactation gummies. The engorgement breast mask, which has cabbage, sage, and jasmine, was thought up because Hirschhorn knew there had to be a better solution to stopping lactation than cabbage leaves and duct tape. "I succumbed to the cabbage leaf folklore, and while it certainly 'slowed the flow,' the experience left a lot to be desired," she recalls.

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None of this is to say breastfeeding was all bad for Hirschhorn. In addition to the fond memories of bonding with her boys while breastfeeding, she also recalls some really funny moments. One was after she had her third baby and was in her room pumping. Her two older sons barged in to find her sitting there with the bottles attached to her. "They stopped dead in their tracks, pointed at the plastic bottles hanging from my nipples, and started to imitate the noise of the pump," she says. They all got a good laugh out of it.

Another memory she can't help but chuckle at was when she went to pump right before attending Obama’s last White House Correspondents Dinner (no big deal). As she was getting set up, she realized she had forgotten the bottles and bags for her pump. "I ended up holding the cones to my breasts and standing over the sink watching the 'liquid gold' go down the drain," she recalls, "but it was totally worth it to watch [Obama's] mic drop IRL!"

Hirschhorn's personal experiences in breastfeeding, the good and bad, are what allowed her to develop such a thoughtful line of products for breastfeeding moms. "Frida’s mission has always been to address the pain points and realities of parenting," she says, "postpartum recovery begins with a woman's lack of knowledge and ability to prepare for what's really about to go down – lactation/breastfeeding is no different."

You can shop the Frida Mom Breast Care line on the Frida/Frida Mom website, through the Frida Mom Amazon store, or at a variety of retailers.