I may be going out on a limb here, but I need to say this: the nipple shield has been a godsend for me in many situations. When I read this recent post, I became somewhat worried about my practise, and the number of times I have used the shield. Have I done a disservice to these moms? Have I abused it? I think these are feelings many of us have and perhaps worry about (?)
Perhaps your local hospital is handing them out to every mother when the first sign of latch difficulty is occuring?  That would be wrong. But I must say, when i have a mom down in our NICU with a great milk supply who is being pushed by the nurses to use a bottle because the baby cannot create enough intraoral pressure to achieve a latch, and when I see the baby latch wonderfully with the shield in place - I would MUCH rather see baby at the breast with the shield than with a bottle in his or her mouth. The bottle signifies the end of breastfeeding for most moms. The nipple shield represents an attempt to keep the baby at the breast.

The piece that seems to be missing is the follow up by hospital staff in the situation written about. I feel this is important. However, some babies do so well with the shield, that the mothers choose to comfortably use them unitl they decide they are ready to wean off of them at their own pace. So if the baby is breastfeeding well, and the mother is ecstatic and happy about her breastfeeding relationship, should we be excessively worried and upset about the use of the shield?  I'm just not sure. 

Hope to hear more feedback on this,
Bravely,
Brenda Phipps, BS, IBCLC

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