Effect of cold cabbage leaf application on breast engorgement and pain in the postpartum period: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The researchers’ aims are to determine the effect of cold cabbage leaf application on breast engorgement and pain during the postpartum period through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Between June and September 2021, researchers systematically searched Turkish and English databases using a combination of keywords. We calculated individual and general effect sizes of the studies to evaluate effect sizes. We obtained 25,996 results with the databases search and we included a total of eight studies for analysis. According to the pooled results, we determined that cold cabbage leaf application caused a significant reduction in breast pain, though no significant reduction was seen in breast engorgement. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found that cold cabbage leaf application was effective in reducing breast pain, but that more experimental studies are needed to determine its effect on breast engorgement.

CALLOUTS

• Breast engorgement is a common physiological problem for lactating mothers.

• Researchers state that the results of the eight studies included in the analysis suggested that cold cabbage leaf application was effective in reducing breast pain.

• More studies are needed to evaluate the effect of cold cabbage application on reducing breast engorgement.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.