Are you a breastfeeding mom who’s got some extra breast milk laying around?

Well, don’t throw it out. Here are 21 helpful uses for breast milk that you may not know. Okay so just about everyone knows that breast milk is literally like liquid gold for breastfeeding mamas.

It not only nourishes a baby with the perfect diet possible for them but also has several health benefits for breastfeeding moms as well. And this is because breast milk is made up of a healthy combination of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

But did you know that you can use breast milk for more than just feeding your baby?

Not many moms know this. But it is true! You can use breast milk as a home remedy to help relieve a ton of different ailments for yourself and your baby.

(THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS HOWEVER, I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT I DO NOT BELIEVE IN OR USE MYSELF. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT MY DISCLOSURE POLICY HERE)

DISCLAIMER – I am not a doctor of any type of healthcare professional. I am simply a mom who breastfed and successfully used breast milk as a home remedy for my baby and myself. Please seek advice from your family physician for expert advice.

Breast Milk Uses For Baby

1. Ear Infections

Just about every baby has an ear infection at some point during infancy. And instead of rushing towards antibiotics that not only destroy the bad bacteria in your baby’s body but also the good bacteria that your baby needs to stay healthy, try using a few drops of breast milk.

Simply add a few drops of breast milk in the ear that is affected every few hours to help treat it. Of course, always consult your pediatrician first.

2. Blocked Tear Ducts

Some babies experience crusty and teary eyes in the first few months of life and it is usually caused by blocked tear ducts.

Many moms swear by dropping a few drops of breast milk into the irritated part of the eye to help treat it naturally.

3. Pink Eye

When you hear pink eye the first thought that may come to mind is rushing your kid to the doctor and getting a prescription, but if you are a breastfeeding mom and have some expressed breast milk, you can add a drop or two in each eye a few times a day to help clear up pink eye at home.

4. Baby Acne

Baby acne is completely normal for newborn babies.

In fact, it is just the natural process of their bodies clearing out the maternal hormones that they were receiving in mom’s uterus. But you can clear up these blemishes by dabbing a bit of breast milk on the affected areas with a cotton ball and get some really great results.

5. Eczema

Both of my babies have some eczema patches that we have to keep moisturized regularly, but when I was still breastfeeding I applied some extra expressed breast milk to my baby’s eczema patches and used it as a moisturizer.

It actually worked really well and cleared up the patches.

6. Teething Relief – Breast Milk Popsicles

When your baby is teething it can be a very difficult time. Between the chewing and irritability, teething is just plain hard of your baby and you. But there are a few things that can help with the pain.

When my little one was having some pretty bad teething symptoms, I would freeze some pumped breast milk into little popsicle molds for him to chew on like these ones. Or if you have mesh feeders like these, you could add a cube of frozen breast milk inside and let them gnaw on it.

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7. Diaper Rash

Unfortunately, while your baby is wearing diapers, they are likely to have a diaper rash from time to time. It happens. But instead of reaching for the store-bought diaper rash cream, give breast milk a try.

If the rash just looks a little red and irritated try using a little breast milk on your baby’s bottom and let them have a few minutes diaper-free to air out.

And if your baby’s rash looks really red and like a yeast infection, be sure to consult your doctor first since breast milk will probably not help in that case.

RELATED POST – My Top 5 Reasons to Cloth Diaper Your Baby!

8. Skin Rashes

Adjusting to a new world outside of mommy’s tummy can be a little hard on the skin. And sometimes a baby just has rashes on different parts of their body.

Applying a little breast milk can soothe the skin and also be a great moisturizer.

9. Breast Milk Bath

A breast milk bath is just like it sounds. It’s a bath that is mixed with water and expressed breast milk. And it has so many great benefits for your baby’s skin.

Just add some expressed breast milk to your baby’s bathwater next time and let them soak a bit to soothe any skin issues that they may be experiencing.

10. Insect Bites

I really cannot stand bugs – especially mosquitos. The biggest reason is that they always get me and I mean horribly. I’m not sure why but mosquitos seem to pass by my husband and daughter and go straight for me and my son.

So when we do experience the wrath of these little pests, adding a few drops of breast milk to the insect bites can help soothe and heal the skin.

11. Sunburn

Did your family stay out in the sun a little too long? Just pat a few drops of breast milk onto the sunburn to ease the pain and help soothe the burnt skin.

12. Chickenpox

Chickenpox is so horribly itchy. I have heard that many moms are having great success with relieving the itchiness from chickenpox by expressing a little breast milk and applying it to the affected areas.

13. Cradle Cap

When I first started having babies, I heard all kinds of silly home remedies that would help clear up my baby’s cradle cap, but many of them only made it worse. But when I had my second baby, someone recommended using breast milk to soothe the cradle cap.

And guess what. It worked like a charm. So if your baby is experiencing some cradle cap and you are a nursing mama – try massaging some breast milk into your baby’s scalp a few times daily to help clear it up.

14. Introducing Solids

Starting solid foods can be so much fun for you and your baby, but if your baby doesn’t like the taste of solid foods alone – try adding some expressed breast milk to the foods to give them a familiar taste.

Breast Milk Uses For Mom

15. Cracked or Sore Nipples

Breastfeeding is hard work and hard on your nipples.

Yeah, you can use store-bought nipple cream, but you could also express and apply a little breast milk onto your sore or cracked nipples and let them air dry for some pretty amazing results that are completely natural.

16. Chapped Lips

Winter is the season of chapped lips – especially for our family. And if you are a breastfeeding mom, you can apply a little bit of expressed breast milk to your lips to moisten and hydrate them.

17. Makeup Remover

So when I actually do wear makeup, I normally only apply it around my eyes. I’m just very simple, but I hated having to use makeup removing cloths and face washes that didn’t really get anything off. So I found a natural approach for my make up remover.

When I was still breastfeeding, I was able to express a couple of drops of breast milk into my hands and apply it to my face where I had makeup on. And it took it off so easy without any rubbing or discomfort.

18. Contact Lens Moisturizer

So I love wearing my contact lenses when I am going out. It just helps not having something on my face when I’m running a ton of errands. But there have been numerous times where my contact lenses have been very dry and I didn’t have any eye drops to moisten them.

And I learned from a mom friend that breast milk can be used to moisten your contact lenses. Just apply a few drops to your contact lens and then place them back in your eye. The results are truly amazing.

19. Burns

Getting burnt stinks big time. Especially that feeling that you get after burning your self like it is constantly on fire. I have tried a couple of natural remedies when I’ve been clumsily and burnt myself, but did you know that you can apply a few drops of breastmilk to your burn to soothe it?

It really does help with that constant burning feeling and helps your skin to heal.

20. DIY Breast Milk Soap

They say that having natural milk in your soap can help moisturize your skin so why wouldn’t we use breast milk from humans to make all-natural DIY breast milk soap.

It’s really amazing to see the benefits that breast milk can bring to our skin. Here is a great recipe for DIY Breast Milk Soap.

21. DIY Breast Milk Yogurt

Does your baby love yogurt? Mine is a huge fan. In fact, he eats it daily.

But what I didn’t know when I was a breastfeeding mama is that you can make DIY breast milk yogurt. It’s really great for babies and isn’t hard at all. Here is a great recipe for DIY breast milk yogurt.

Even More Breastfeeding Posts You Will Love:

Are you a breastfeeding mama who has used breast milk as a home remedy? What is your favorite way to use breast milk for natural healing?

1 Comment

Trish on at 10:33 am
Heather,
Thank you for this list. I loved it. My coworker’s (another nurse) brother has cancer and has been drinking pumped (?) breatsmilk for a few years. Their mom is a lactation consultant and insisted he use it as it is a perfect food.
Trish
http://www.habibihouse.net

21 Mind-Blowing Ways to Use Breast Milk You’ve Never Thought Of