I would like to respond to Linda's post about using heat for engorgement. In fact, medically, heat is used in some instances for swelling, particularly for deep vein thromboses, and it works very well. I think each time a clinician encounters edema or swelling, he/she must think about the process. Engorgement in the early postpartum period is largely vascular, and I agree heat would just exacerbate this. But a woman who gets lots of plugs and swells secondary to the plugs further down the road postpartum may do better with heat or cabbage leaves instead of cold. -Anne Eglash MD