Debbie, In the past nipple shields were made of thick - and then later thinner - rubber, not made out of silicone like they are today. Then it was suggested that mothers cut a little bit away from the tip of the nipple shield every day, so eventually the nipple would protrude through the hole, and the baby would transition to the breast. Even though all materials now say NOT to cut away the tip because the material of the silicone nipple shields today would become sharp where the cut was made, I am sure there are old publications still floating around out there that have the information about cutting away the tip. I have a funny story about this. In my early days as an LC I went on a home visit to a mother whose baby was on the older rubber nipple shield, and mother wanted to transition the baby off. She had been told by someone else to cut away a little of the shield every day and she informed me that she had been doing that. She was concerned that she would lose the nipple shield in the night or that the baby would choke on it. I assured her that the nipple shield, even though cut, was still big enough and wouldn't be a choking hazard. When I got to the house her mother and sister greeted me at the door. They thanked me for coming and also mentioned how worried they were that the baby would choke on the cut nipple shield. I thought this was very odd. Then the mother brought out the shield. She had not understood the directions. She had cut away from the rim! All that was left was what looked like a thimble! No wonder they all were worried that the baby would choke. She actually had been placing that little thimble-shaped, what-was-left-of-the-nipple-shield piece on her nipple and nursing with that on. I had to turn around and stifle a laugh! I told her that by observing how much she had trimmed the nipple shield down I was sure that she wouldn't need it any more! I didn't want to hurt her feelings or embarrass her. I have told this story many times since then to other LCs. One time, though, a fellow LC told me I probably should have told her the truth - what if she shared her "successful" way of transitioning her baby off the rubber nipple shield with other mothers. LLLI carries a tear-off sheet entitled NIPPLE SHIELDS that mentions slightly about the rubber nipple shields of the past, and then gives management info for today's silicone ones. If anyone would like a sample of it, email me privately with your name and mailing address, and I will be happy to send one out to you. These are copyrighted and can't be copied. They are available in the LLL catalog in pads of 50, and also at bulk rates, so they are very reasonably priced. Katy Lebbing, BS, IBCLC, RLC La Leche League Leader Manager, Center for Breastfeeding Information Education and Member Services La Leche League International [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 20:57:18 EDT From: "Debbie Albert, Ph.D., IBCLC" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Cutting the nipple portion of the nipple shield Can anyone tell me where this practice originated? I am currently working with a mother who set her up with nipple shields, and then started progressively cutting them down. Now of course, the mother has quite a wonderful crack on her left nipple. I will check the archives for previous discussion, but could someone enlighten me on the "purpose" of this. The doula told this mother that the baby will get more milk this way. I don't buy it, and all I can think of is --OUCH. I would never cut a shield except to create a nose area on those 20 mm shields. When will those poor 20 mm women deserve a contact shield? Debbie Albert, RN, Ph.D., LMHC, IBCLC, RLC Tampa Lactation Counseling Tampa, FL *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html