Jennifer queries,

<< But yet another variable is the fact that most women do not produce
 the same amount from each breast. Most of the women I have talked with
 as a fellow pumping mother have a 'good' breast and a low producer.
 Personally, I was able to get twice as much milk from the left than
 the right. So if the cold was used on my left and warmth on my right,
 how would  I know which actually worked better? Because  I got more
 milk from the left then cold is better?
 Just another thing to take into consideration. And this may partially
 discount some of the other studies that use cabbage vs. ice or cold
 cabbage vs. warm cabbage if there were no controls within the same
 mom. >>

Nope -- the amount of milk pumped is not the issue -- it is the measurement of
relief from the engorgement.  While expressing milk will cause the mother to
feel relief, many don't express much at all.  Just because lady A pumps out 6
ounces and lady B pumps out only 2 doesn't mean the treatment wasn't
effective.  So you don't look at how much you pump, you look at the degree of
swelling; the degree of edema, the discomfort as evaluated by the mother, etc.
You might look at how quickly the breast lets down (would that measure whether
or not heat hastens the MER?), and so on.

The other studies, if you read them, do compare mom to herself as well as
overlooking all the group & controls.  BTW, some of the articles on cabbage
use it inappropriately which may be why it didn't work.... (i.e. -- 20 minutes
4 times a day isn't going to cut it IMHO....)

Jan Barger, cabbage worshiper