The Effect of Cabbage Leaves Compress on Breast Engorgement in Postpartum Mother

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Breast engorgement causes discomfort in the breastfeeding process. If untreated, it can make the baby reluctant to be breastfed. In turn, it may result in clogged milk which affects milk production and lead to mastitis/infection of the milk glands. AIM: The aim of the study was to know the effect of cabbage leaves compress on breast engorgement in postpartum mothers. METHODS: Pre-experimental was done with one group. The pre- and post-test design approach was applied. The population of this study is postpartum mothers who experienced breast engorgement. A consecutive sampling was employed as the sampling technique. The instruments to collect the data are using the observation sheet and breast engorgement rating scale based on Hill and Humenick ‘94. The data were then analyzed the Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: The majority of the characteristics of respondents who experience breast engorgement are postpartum mothers aged 20–35 years, with junior high school education, unemployed or housewives, and multiparous mothers. Before cabbage leaves compression, the majority of 29 mothers (96.7%) experienced engorgement on a scale of 3 and declined to a scale of 2 after the intervention. The result of the effect of cabbage leaves compress on breast engorgement in postpartum mothers was effective with a value of p = 0.000. CONCLUSION: There is a significant effect of cabbage leaves compress on breast engorgement for the postpartum mothers.