Firstly, welcome back you lucky people who went to the ILCA conference - we
missed you!

Secondly Dianne, what a BRILLIANT piece on nipple shields - can't wait for
the next really flat, totally ungraspable nipple to try the s-t-r-e-t-c-h
technique on!  Reassured too to see that the participants at your meeting
did NOT see a lot of inadequate breastmilk production/drainage as a result
of shields.  In the last year or so I've been feeling more confident about
using them as the proverbial "last resort" when all else fails, largely as a
result of info relayed from a friend who was lucky enough to go to Australia
and attend a couple of workshops there.  I also find that they enable
latching to take place where it was impossible before, bring out
flattish/inverted nipples, give the baby a successful way to "milk" the
breast and obtain his own milk, and seem to help with tongues that are not
being placed ideally.  Once the baby has been breastfeeding well with the
shield for a little while you can wean him off by starting WITH the shield,
removing the baby at an opportune moment, whipping off the shield and
re-latching the baby very quickly.  Some babies only need a day or two with
the shield, some seem to need up to 3 weeks - maybe I'm lucky, but I've
never had what I would consider to be a "failure" - that the baby CONTINUES
to need the shield forever.  It takes patience, and meticulous
positioning/latching techniques, but it works.  REALLY looking forward to
the JHL on this too.

Thanks again for this technique - I'm hoping it will avoid the part where
the shield sometimes folds up and the baby is left chomping on just the
plastic "nipple" bit so you have to start all over again ...

Pamela, Zimbabwe