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Published on August 31, 2007

A hospital registered nurse, Angsana Wongsiri, said there was a 40-per-cent incidence of breast tenderness and ache in first-time mothers within 72 hours of giving birth, and the pain increased if nothing was done to treat it.

Most doctors prescribed hot-and-cool compresses and massaging the breasts to release milk, which only eased the symptoms for a short while, she said.

Angsana's study divided 40 post-natal mothers into two groups. One group was treated with hot-and-cool compresses and massage, and the other group with the cabbage wrap.

It was found that wrapping cabbage leaves around the breasts and covering them with a strip of cloth to hold them in place for 20 minutes helped eased the pain and tenderness.

This is because cabbage is a cooling herb that absorbs heat, reduces liquid accumulation in breast tissues and better supports the breast during the treatment, she said.

Angsana said the idea of using cabbage leaves came from seeing foreign-made cabbage-based creams for breast tenderness and ache. However, since processing cabbage into a cream would require a lot of research, time and expense, she decided to use the plant in its natural form.

The treatment with raw cabbage leaves had yielded good results, similar to the imported cream, she said.

The treatment would also be used on new mothers whose babies had died at birth, because they suffered similar symptoms, Angsana said, adding that further study would focus on the active substances in the cabbage leaves for future medical treatments.

The Nation

CHIANG MAI