nipple shields are NOT candy!
spamelita on Sep 13 2007 at 11:13 pm | Filed under: breastfeeding
Is it just me or do other people live in communities that have lactation consultants/educators/assistants that dole out nipple shields right off the bat for nearly every woman?
It’s so frustrating.
In our area, it’s not only “oh, you’re having latch issues? here’s a nipple shield!” but it includes advice like, “put a bit of formula in the nipple shield before you put it on so baby is more interested”. !!!
I’m just amazed that the source of the latch problem is rarely, rarely explored in our community. It’s just “put this on and it will help!”.
Then women wean because the whole issue of using the nipple shield at every feeding is seen as too cumbersome. Or worse, they wean because of their “low milk supply” that is factored in part from the shield (or the LC telling them that they need to ‘make more’ and give them herbs that they need to buy).
FWIW, I used to be much more lenient about nipple shields. After reading more and hearing from breastfeeding guru Jack Newman, I’ve changed my stance.
Here’s some good info on how we should approach nipple shields cautiously:
Counseling the Nursing Mother: A Lactation Consultant’s Guide
La Leche League: Nipple Shields - Friend or Foe?
While nipple shields may permit breastfeeding to continue in some special cases, more often they give the illusion of solving a breastfeeding problem without truly addressing the cause.
From the Compleat Mother magazine: Nipple Shield Hell
When Baby Refuses to Latch on - info from Dr Jack Newman
A nipple shield started before the mother’s milk becomes abundant (day 4 to 5) is bad practice. Starting a nipple shield before the mother’s milk “comes in” is not giving time a chance to work. Furthermore, used improperly (as I see it often being used), a nipple shield may result in severe depletion of the milk supply.
I realize, of course, that there are a minority of instances where nipple shields are helpful. I just don’t usually see them given as a temporary fix. I see them given out with an assumption that this is what your baby needs to breastfeed.
I also know that I likely live in an area that has lactation “specialists” that have a very different idea of what is normal and helpful than I do…and that can be my problem right there!
People register for them as the norm now, too.
Good post!
A couple of months ago, a friend told me that a friend of hers (who I had met a couple of times) had to switch to formula by the time her child was eight months, because she lost her milk due to nipple shields. “No one told her that could happen,” my friend lamented.
I corrected her. “Actually, I did, at your baby shower.”
Grrrr. Because it doesn’t come from the doctor, people just don’t believe it or even look into it. Never mind that I’m still nursing my 3-year-old and have spent a TON of time around nursing moms…
i used a nipple shield. my son’s latch was with his tongue back and gumming me to death. for me, the nipple shield helped him put his tongue down. then when he was really latched on well, i’d take the shield off and latch him to my nipple itself. it was so difficult, but by the end of the month i noticed that we had been successfully breastfeeding for quite some time and i was so so so happy.
Wow, two great posts back to back! Thank you for this and for the uterine rupture post.
I really wish you were practicing here in my neck of the woods! I feel that we are kindred spirits.
I have also blogged about this topic and am extremely frustrated by the increasing tendency to pass out “quick fixes” that ultimately do not solve the original problem with the latch.
Consumers do not know any better and think that this is the appropriate solution because it is coming from an “expert”.
In 21+ years as a lactation consultant, I can count on one hand the number of women I could not get off the nipple shield. I do not use them.
Much to my chagrin, the numbers of women being routinely advised to use a nipple shield have risen dramatically within the past several months.
Thank-you for reminding your readers that there are very few instances where a nipple shield might be indicated.
This medicalization of Breastfeeding must be stopped!
i feel that a nipple shield saved my nursing relationship with baby #1… but i admit i probably wouldn’t have needed it had i had better help in the hospital than the nurses - either that or less help since they gave me some bad advice… and a less hindered birth - i think the bulb suctioning (thanks for posting on that!) had something to do with his fear of latching.
i started using it at 2 weeks when my nipples were damaged and i was in pain nursing and i was really fearing putting him to breast… there was less pain with the shield - though i just used it on the more damaged side because i wanted him to keep practicing on the real deal. it also helped him learn to open his mouth wider to nurse, and within two weeks we weaned off it.
now i don’t think we would have needed this rigamarole if we’d had unhindered birth and unhindered breastfeeding… but given what had already happened, it was a helpful tool for us. when i had baby #2 in a much more unhindered way(!) i did end up with nipple damage again on the same difficult (flat nipple) side, but nothing a little lansinoh and time couldn’t cure.
i will have to read the articles you posted, as i’m hoping to become an LLL leader and would love to promote unhindered breastfeeding (there’s been great self-attachment discussion this week on LACTNET) - but also learn what can be done to get things back on track when the natural process is upset.
We used it at 2 months (we are at 3 months now) for 1 week. We were looking for something to improve my son’s suck and had noted he didn’t seem to draw the nipple into the rear of his mouth. I suggested a nipple shield. The LC said: “let’s use it at every feed for one week to really imprint that this is how he is supposed to suck.” By gosh it really worked! His suck is far better. Unfortunately, my already low-ish supply dropped to almost nothing by the end of that week. The good news was that it had done it’s job and I never have to use it again. I’d never think of using a tool like that without LC direction and followup and never for an extended amount of time.
One of my LLL co-leaders and I have this discussion frequently. We get several moms each month who have been given nipple shields at the hospital. We have never seen a case yet where there was a good reason for the mom to use them. Most of the time it takes months for these moms to wean their babies off of the shields. It’s rediculous!
I know that you’re speaking about the shields in general use terms. But your take and “heather’s” above comment makes me curious about your recommendations for their use with inverted nipples. I’m quite worried that should I ever have a baby I will have a hell of a time with nursing (which I am adamant about doing) because mine are so severely inverted.
How do you handle that situation?