Miscellaneous Treatments for Problems
By: Dr. Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC

The following describes the use of some treatments for breastfeeding mothers who are having various problems.

Cabbage leaves for engorgement

Severe engorgement about the third or fourth day after the baby is born can usually be prevented by getting the baby latched on well and drinking well from the very beginning. If you do become engorged, please understand that engorgement diminishes within 1 or 2 days even without any treatment. Continue to breastfeed the baby, making sure he gets on well and nurses well. However, if you should get engorged to the point of severe discomfort, cabbage leaves seem to help decrease the engorgement more rapidly than ice packs or other treatments. If you are unable to get the baby latched on, start cabbage leaves, start expressing your milk and give the expressed milk to the baby by spoon, cup, finger feeding or eyedropper and get help quickly.

1. Use green cabbage.
2. Crush the cabbage leaves with a rolling pin if the leaves do not accommodate to the shape of your breast.
3. Wrap the cabbage leaves around the breast and leave on for about 20 minutes. Twice daily is enough. It is usual to use the cabbage leaf treatment two or three times or less. Some will say to use the cabbage leaves after each feeding and leave them on until they wilt. Some are concerned that such frequent use will decrease the milk supply.
4. Stop using as soon as engorgement is beginning to diminish and you are becoming more comfortable.
5. You can use acetaminophen (Tylenol™, others) with or without codeine, ibuprofen, or other medication for pain relief. As with almost all medications, there is no reason to stop breastfeeding when taking analgesics.
6. Ice packs also can be helpful.
7. If you are one of the women who gets a large lump in the armpit about 3 or 4 days after the baby’s birth, you can use cabbage leaves in that area as well.

Herbs for Increasing Milk Supply

It is quite possible that herbal remedies help increase milk supply. There are several drugs that obviously do increase milk supply, and of course it is reasonable to assume that some plants and herbs might contain similar pharmacological agents. Almost every culture has some sort of herb or plant or potion to increase milk supply. Some may work as placebos, which is fine; some may not work at all; some may have one or more active ingredients. Some will have active ingredients that will not increase the milk supply but have other effects, not necessarily desirable. Note that even herbs can have side effects, even serious ones. Natural source drugs are still drugs, and there is no such thing as a 100% safe drug. Luckily, as with most drugs, the baby will get only a tiny percentage of the mother’s dose. The baby is thus extremely unlikely to have any side effects at all from the herbs. Two herbal treatments that seem to increase the milk supply are fenugreek and blessed thistle, in the following dosages:

Fenugreek: 3 capsules 3 times a day
Blessed thistle: 3 capsules 3 times a day, or 20 drops of the tincture 3 times a day

The tincture container states that blessed thistle should not be taken by nursing mothers, presumably because of the tiny amount of alcohol the mother would get. There are some preparations of both herbs that are labeled “not for use by nursing mothers”. Don’t worry about this; these herbs are safe for the mother to take because so little gets into the milk. Teas also seem to work, but to take enough to make a difference, you will be drinking tea all day and night, since the amount of the herbs you get is much less.

Other herbal treatments that have been used to increase milk supply are: raspberry leaf, fennel, goat’s rue, brewer’s yeast, alfalfa and many others. The effectiveness of none of these treatments, including blessed thistle and fenugreek, has been proved. Remember! Herbal treatments are only part of the solution to “not enough milk” (see protocol to increase breastmilk intake by the baby).

Lecithin

Lecithin is a food supplement that seems to help some mothers prevent blocked ducts. It may do this by decreasing the viscosity (stickiness) of the milk, by increasing the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the milk. It is safe, inexpensive, and seems to work in some cases. The dose is 1200 mg four times a day. There is more to preventing blocked ducts than taking lecithin. See Blocked Ducts and Mastitis.

For information on “all purpose nipple ointment”, gentian violet, grapefruit seed extract, vitamin B6, nifedipine, and nitroglycerin paste, and fluconazole, see Treatments for sore nipples and sore breasts, or gentian violet and fluconazole.
 

About The Author:: Dr. Jack Newman is a Toronto pediatrician who has practiced medicine since 1970. In 1984 he established the first hospital based breastfeeding clinic in Canada, at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He now holds breastfeeding clinics in several Toronto area hospitals. Jack has been a consultant with UNICEF's Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and has spoken at conferences around the world. He is the father of three children, all breastfed.  Dr. Newman is the author of "The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers"

NOTE: The article above titled "Miscellaneous Treatments for Problems (1)" was written by Dr. Jack Newman and is the opinion of its author.  "The New Parents Guide" does not guarantee the information to be factual.  Always use the guidance of your personal doctor or your child's doctor over information you read on this site or elsewhere; your doctors know what is best for you and your baby.