This is a very interesting thread.  Look how far we have come from  "all 
nipple shields are evil and those that use them just don't know any better  at 
best or are flat out incompetent" ! Hahaha.  I find it interesting that  there 
are so many methods and policies for their use. So many ideas about  when and 
how and which ones work best for who.  It reinforces what I tell  myself all the 
time---in this work there is more than one right way to  accomplish the same 
goal. Every mother and baby is different. I find  it very important to stay 
open minded about ideas that I thought were outdated  or new ideas that 
challenge what I have always thought to be standard.   This work keeps me on my toes 
for sure!  

I always tell moms this  too....what I say may be different from what another 
LC says and does and the  next one you see may be different still.  It 
doesn't mean any of us are  right or  wrong.  We just all have different ideas and 
ways of  practicing.  Even as I say this, I try to accept this, but it is still 
hard  when another LC is doing something so different from what I 'believe' 
is correct  or the majority of text, research, videos, etc are saying to do.  
When it  is all said and done, who knows which of us will be the right answer 
for this  mom.  She has seen three so far. Haha.  But, reading this discussion  
on nipple shields ties into other issues of difference that make me feel 
better  about disagreeing with someone who has twice the years and probably 100 
times  the experience...if not more.  Reading this thread has really reinforced  
for me that it is okay to be different and more than one way works.  
 
How on earth anyone practices as an LC without LACTNET is beyond me! Being  
here allows me to see into so many ways of working I would never be exposed to  
otherwise. It keeps me from being locked into old ideas and stuck with  only 
what I learned 15 years ago.  It allows me to see that things change,  the 
information and suggestions we held so true for years are being replaced or  
built on and we need to do the same.  It is LACNET that allows me to learn  and 
grow as a professional.  I can't imagine how anyone manages without it!  Thanks 
so much to the wonderful women who keep this gift giving to us all.
 
Best,
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC, RLC
Florida, USA

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