Hello all and to Bonnie and others interested in this thread:

     It sounds as though Bonnie and her babies had a good experience in using
the shield in an appropriate way.

      I think that the problem with shields is that many hospital nurses were
using them indiscriminately for any baby that didn't latch on right away. I
always describe it as putting a bandaid on a cut that really needed suturing,
i.e. it gives a quick fix and makes everyone (that is, mom, baby and nurse)
happy for the moment, but doesn't solve the problem.

     The best thing we did was to get rid of the shields so that they cannot
be misused. The worst case I know of was a mom who was discharged using the
shield and called the hot line several weeks later, with the baby still using
the shield, as she had not been told anything but "use this". Now, only the
LC's have access to the shields and can use them when appropriate.

     When is it appropriate?? When the situation arises where all else has
failed and the alternative is switching to bottles. If the purpose of using
the shield is to bring the mom and baby closer to breastfeeding, then it can
be justified, as long as it is an informed procedure (i.e. less stimulation
might lead to less milk, and a weaning plan) and works best with an already
established milk supply. I would be very hesitant to use the shield in the
first few days and pumping should, of course, be instituted. I'll be
interested in the experiences of others.

Kathy Rubin IBCLC RN in NJ