You have recently given birth to a beautiful baby and are working at getting the hang of breastfeeding when you suddenly begin to experience flu-like symptoms. Your body aches, you are running a fever, you're tired, and
last but not least, one or both of your breasts are hard, painful to the touch, and have red lines running up from the nipples. Hello mastitis.
Breast infections during lactation are emotionally as well as physically draining. Along with sleep-deprivation, raging hormones and possibly nipple pain from nursing, you now have to make a visit to your doctor's office or urgent care, right? Wrong. You (or preferably your husband) need go only as far as your nearest grocery store to find relief.
Fresh cabbage leaves have shown themselves to be a cheap, natural, reliable method of mastitis treatment for many women. Here's how to use cabbage to treat your mastitis:
- Place fresh cabbage leaves over your breast. They can be worn inside your bra or nursing shirt, or simply be laid over your breast while you are resting.
- Do not use the cabbage continuously, as constant exposure may have a negative effect on your milk supply. A regimen of two hours on, four hours off is recommended by midwives.
- In many cases, cabbage will draw out the infection within 24 hours.
My midwife and I recently discussed breast infections during a prenatal visit. When discussing the use of cabbage to fight mastitis, she related the story of a first time mother for whom she had recently delivered a baby.
"At 2:00 AM, the day after the delivery, I received a call from the father of the baby. He said the new mother was very sick with the flu. After a few questions I determined she had mastitis and told him how to use cabbage to treat it. He called me back at 6:00AM. 'It's gone. She is completely better.' "
While this method may not be 100% effective for all women, it is definitely worth trying. Using cabbage leaves to treat mastitis will save you time at the doctor's office and money for a prescription, as well as limit your exposure to antibiotics.
Breast infections during lactation are emotionally as well as physically draining. Along with sleep-deprivation, raging hormones and possibly nipple pain from nursing, you now have to make a visit to your doctor's office or urgent care, right? Wrong. You (or preferably your husband) need go only as far as your nearest grocery store to find relief.
Fresh cabbage leaves have shown themselves to be a cheap, natural, reliable method of mastitis treatment for many women. Here's how to use cabbage to treat your mastitis:
- Place fresh cabbage leaves over your breast. They can be worn inside your bra or nursing shirt, or simply be laid over your breast while you are resting.
- Do not use the cabbage continuously, as constant exposure may have a negative effect on your milk supply. A regimen of two hours on, four hours off is recommended by midwives.
- In many cases, cabbage will draw out the infection within 24 hours.
My midwife and I recently discussed breast infections during a prenatal visit. When discussing the use of cabbage to fight mastitis, she related the story of a first time mother for whom she had recently delivered a baby.
"At 2:00 AM, the day after the delivery, I received a call from the father of the baby. He said the new mother was very sick with the flu. After a few questions I determined she had mastitis and told him how to use cabbage to treat it. He called me back at 6:00AM. 'It's gone. She is completely better.' "
While this method may not be 100% effective for all women, it is definitely worth trying. Using cabbage leaves to treat mastitis will save you time at the doctor's office and money for a prescription, as well as limit your exposure to antibiotics.
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- Cabbage leaves should be placed directly on the breast.
- Cabbage can be used in a regimen of 2 hours on, 4 hours off.
- Cabbage clears up most breast infections within 24 hours.
Type in Your Comments Below
Brooklynn Meadows
06/06/2008
Very good! Shredded potato works wonders as well. You put shredded potato over the affected area, let it sit until it oxidizes (turns dark brown/black) then take it off. I headed off a full blown infection by doing this.
M.S.Medina
10/02/2007
Really interesting article Amy. I suffered with this after giving birth to my son. I didn't know about the cabbage thing though.
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