Does cabbage actually help when you stop breast feeding?

My son is 1 year old now, and my wife wants to stop breast feeding; she said that if she puts cabbage in her bra, that will help "dry up" her milk. Is this true? if YES, why? What in the cabbage helpe stop lactation?
Does cabbage actually help when you stop breast feeding?
cabbage leaves help when the breasts become engorged with milk, which will probably happen when she stops nursing. Cabbage is a pain in the butt..she can use icepacks aswell.



Adv. Registered Nurse Practitioner MSN
Reply:by Debbi Donovan, IBCLC (see more from this expert)





Q:I have read that cabbage leaves can be helpful in reducing your milk supply as you wean your baby. How can cabbage help?





A:Cabbage leaves can help you to remain more comfortable as you are decreasing your baby's feeds by helping to relieve any engorgement you might be experiencing. They may also help to reduce your milk supply. The exact action of the cabbage in reducing engorgement is not known at this time, but in practice they have proven to be helpful for many mothers.



To prepare cabbage leaf compresses:



Ahead of time, wash cabbage leaves, allow to dry, and place in a zip-lock style bag, refrigerating until needed.

Apply after slightly crumpling in your hands (or with rolling pin) to crush veins.

Use one or more of the cabbage leaves, as needed, to cover all areas of your breast, including the upper and outer quadrants --under your armpit. Your bra will hold leaves in place.

Reapply in two hours or so, as the leaves begin to wilt.

Use as needed to help with engorgement, and possibly to help diminish your milk supply when weaning. (Be cautious if using while continuing to breastfeed, as this therapy may decrease your milk supply.)

Upon application you may find you begin to get relief in as little as two hours. Milk may begin dripping from your breasts if they are very engorged. Use cotton nursing pads between your bra and the cabbage leaves to help avoid any leakage. Best wishes!



References:



Cool Cabbage Compresses, Rosier W, Breastfeeding Review, 1988

Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, Lawrence, 1994

Do Cabbage Leaves Prevent Breast Engorgement? A Randomized, Controlled Study, Nikodem VC, Birth, 1993

A Comparison of Chilled Cabbage Leaves and Chilled Gelpacks in Reducing Breast Engorgement, Roberts KL, Journal of Human Lactation, 1995

A Comparison of Chilled and Room Temperature Cabbage Leaves in Treating Breast Engorgement, Roberts KL, Journal of Human Lactation, 1995
Reply:it didn't dry up my milk 10 weeks later I still have milk all it did was help with the pain.
Reply:It did dry me right up in a week or so.
Reply:I have breast fed all 3 of my kids and no that never really worked for me. I have tried packs of frozen pees that helps with the engorgement a little. She just has to let a lil of the milk out when it gets to uncomfortable (just enough to relieve some swelling and pressure)but not enough to were her body thinks it needs to produce more milk. When she stops the feedings her body will natural slow the production down of milk until it stops.The worst of it is only about a week away then your wife can have her body back again :)
Reply:Mostly it's just that they're easy to grab from the fridge, shaped just right, and nice and cold and so on. There's most likely nothing magic about cabbage, tho.



"This study compared the effectiveness of chilled green cabbage leaves and chilled gelpaks in reducing breast engorgement in postpartum mothers. Thirtyfour lactating women with breast engorgement used chilled cabbage leaves on one breast and chilled gelpaks on the other for up to eight hours. Their pain levels were established pre-treatment and compared post-treatment for both conditions. There was no difference in the post-treatment ratings for the two treatments. Mothers reported a statistically significant drop in pain with both treatments; 68 percent obtained relief within one to two hours. The majority of mothers preferred the cabbage leaves."



http://jhl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstr...



"The effectiveness of cabbage leaf extract was compared with that of a placebo in treating breast engorgement in lactating women. In a double-blind experiment with a pretest/posttest design, 21 participants received a cream containing cabbage leaf extract, while 18 received placebo cream. The placebo group received equal relief to the treated group, with the two groups showing no difference on all outcome measures."



http://jhl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstr...
Reply:yeah get some ace bandage and put moist cabbage form the refrigerator and wrap it around ur breast and not only will the cool feel good but overnight it will heal and yes this is the best way to relieve urself ive done it 2 times and cabbage is a natural dissolvent it will soak up anything
Reply:I had to reduct the ammount of milk I was making when my baby was just a few days old so I got the leaves of a cabbage, not the acctual cabbage and put them in my bra for a few hours.The health nurse warned me that it is really affective. She was right! It nearly dried my milk up. Go to your local fruit shop and ask for the big green leaves that come on the cabbage. They should have some out the back in the big bin. Just give them a wash and her milk should dry up in a few days.
Reply:I was told by my doctor that cabbage contains sulfur, which is the key ingredient to dry up the milk in the breasts. I had done this with 2 of my babies and both times I used the cabbage, within 24-48 hrs, the milk glands were dried up. Hope this helps explain some things to you.
Reply:I don't know for sure but it has been used by the majority of the mums I know. I didn't use them to "dry" up the milk. I used them to cool my breasts. They hurt soooo bad!
Reply:It does supposedly relieve the discomfort of engorgement while weaning...

http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/...



I never understood the concept, lol, but I have heard that it does work. Just make sure that she doesn't use purple cabbage -- a friend of mine did so, and, well... let's just say that the purple dyes!
Reply:Yes it does help when i had my first child my doctor gave me cabbage while i was in the hospital to dry up my milk and to help with the pain of sore breast