On 10/5/2013 1:35 AM, Sonya Shaver wrote:
> Do any of you recommend certain brands or types of nipples as being better than others?  I usually describe to women what to look for when they go to the store to look at bottle nipples, but a lot of times people just want to hear a particular brand or type as a starting point at least.

Sonya,
For whatever it worth, I do not recommend any specific brand, instead 
concentrating more on the (a) general "educated consumer" approach and 
(b) the actual "feeding" part of the bottle-feeding.

"Educated consumer" part definitely includes notions that
(a) at least in United States infant feeding devices are neither 
regulated nor standardized and as such all the claims of "better", 
"breastfeeding-friendly", etc are not usually  substantiated.
(b) not all expensive and "new" is actually better then old and cheap
(c) size and form do not always matter ("not always" being the operative 
word here, so see below)

Actual "feeding" part first of all includes the discussion of the 
differences between the mechanics of bottle and breast feeding and the 
reasons/goals of the substitution. Thus the most important aspects there are
(a) introduction of the paced bottle feeding concept 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH4T70OSzGs , which immediately does 
exclude the use of the most of the expensive fancy bottles/nipples,
(b) discussion of bottle size (the utility of using a couple of 2-4 oz 
bottles per feeding vs.the speed and convenience of one 7-9 oz), as well as
(c)  the need for bottle per se in an older infant, whose breastfeeding 
routines are already safely established.

Hope that helps,
Alla

Alla Gordina, MD, IBCLC, FAAP
General Pediatrics
Breastfeeding Medicine
Adoption and Foster Care Medicine

Global Pediatrics and Family Medicine
NJ Breastfeeding Medicine Educational Initiative


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