No offense on nipple shields, but I have never seen them do any woman any
good.  I have only seen them complicate the whole breastfeeding relationship.


If I get ONE MORE call from a mother who was given nipple shields by a
particular IBCLC at a particular hospital in my area, I am going to scream!!
I have had SIX calls in the last month (and I'm not even a LLL Leader
anymore) with the same scenario, "Hi.  I'm so-and-so, and I delivered at XYZ
hospital.  The LC there told me to use these nipple shields, but now I think
I have thrush.  The baby won't latch onto my nipple at all unless I'm wearing
the shield.  If she does, she sucks wrong and it hurts.  I HATE using these
things.  I wish it could just be me and the baby without all the contraptions
in between us."

AHHHGGHHH!!!  This woman seems to hand these things out like candy.  It's the
cure-all, "Breastfeeding?  Oh, okay, honey.  Here are some nipple shields.
This will make breastfeeding much easier.  You won't have sore nipples, and
your baby will latch on so well."  I can't BELIEVE this woman is an IBCLC!!
Sorry for venting...but her attempt to easily get babies to breast is making
me stressed out, because then I have to deal with undoing the damage!  Are
there any ethical considerations on this subject for IBCLCs?  Is there
something I can do?  I  mean, I wouldn't EVER attempt to tell an IBCLC how to
do her job.  After all, I'm not there with her and the mother when these
things transpire.  Besides, I'm sure we all approach breastfeeding problems
differently when working with mothers, but CLEARLY something is amiss here!
Any suggestions anyone?

Jessica Harrison Carlyon, MBA, CD, CLE

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