Complementary Medicines in the Treatment of Breastfeeding Problems: an Overview

Document Type : Review Article/ Systematic Review Article/ Meta Analysis

Authors

1 Department of pediatrics, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran

2 Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Science, Bandar Abbas, Iran

4 Student research committee, school of nursing and midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

5 Reproductive and Family Health Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

6 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

7 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran

Abstract

Background: Breastfeeding problems can lead to early cessation of breastfeeding. Given the importance of maintaining exclusive breastfeeding, this study was conducted to review complementary medicines for treating breastfeeding problems.
 
Objectives: The goal of this research is to review complementary medicines on the treatment of breastfeeding problems such as nipple trauma, pain, mastitis, and breast engorgement.
 
Methods: To identify clinical trials on the treatment of breast engorgement in postpartum women, domestic and international databases, including PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus, were systematically searched without time limits until September 10, 2024. The key search terms were (herbal OR complementary OR Acupressure OR Massage) AND (breastfeeding complications OR breastfeeding problems). Only articles published in the English language were included. Additionally, all clinical trials and systematic reviews are evaluating the effect of Complementary therapies on breastfeeding problems. The quality of articles was evaluated using the Jadad scale.
 
Results: Four potentially relevant systematic reviews were identified, yielding 21 articles for this overview. Ginger (Commiphora mukul), Hollyhock leaf, Oketani, and warm compression, in the form of massage, were found to be effective. There is a significant difference between cold compression and hot fomentation in relieving breast engorgement among postnatal mothers. Two studies have shown that cabbage is more effective than routine care. The results of two other studies did not show any difference between the two groups. Overall, the findings on the effect of acupressure on breast engagement are controversial, and there is no consensus about the effect of hot or cold compresses. Herbal medications had a positive effect on the treatment and prevention of fissure and nipple pain. Peppermint water was more effective than breast milk, lanolin ointment, or placebo in preventing nipple cracks. Different types of breast massage were beneficial in relieving immediate pain and resolving symptoms, as well as lowering the rates of mastitis and three scores measuring the severity of inflammation (tension, erythema, and pain). Pain scores did not significantly change after 4 weeks of auricular acupressure.
 
Conclusion: Massage, acupuncture, and herbal medicines can have beneficial effects on improving breastfeeding problems. Given the interest of patients in complementary medicine and the low cost of this treatment technique, it can be used as a valuable technique to improve engorgement. However, caution should be exercised in interpreting the findings due to the limited number of studies and their small sample size.

Keywords

Availability of data and materials: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

 

Conflicts of interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this work.

 

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

 

Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable.

 

Financial disclosure: No financial support was received for this study.

 

Author contributions: Conceptualization, project administration, and funding acquisition: Sahebeh Dadashi, Masumeh Ghazanfarpour, Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi; Maryam Mirzaei; Narges Mirzadeh ;Methodology: Shahrzad Zolala, Jamileh Ahmadi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi, Masumeh Ghazanfarpour and Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi; Software: Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi, Sahebeh Dadashi and Jamileh Ahmadi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi; Validation and supervision: Jamileh Ahmadi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi, Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi and Masumeh Ghazanfarpour; Maryam Mirzaei; Narges Mirzadeh ;Formal analysis: Shahrzad Zolala, Hossein Ali Kharazmi and Sahebeh Dadashi; Investigation: Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi, Sahebeh Dadashi and Masumeh Ghazanfarpour; Resources: Jamileh Ahmadi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi and Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi; Data curation, Jamileh Ahmadi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi and Masumeh Ghazanfarpour; Writing the original draft: Mohammad Hasan Mohammadi, Jamileh Ahmadi, Hossein Ali Kharazmi and Masumeh Ghazanfarpour; Review and editing: All authors.

 

 

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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