Dear Cindy,
I think that this is the inherit problem I have with nipple shields.  In my
personal, and professional experience, the baby will 'imprint' the first
thing put in her mouth.  The use of the nipple shield undermines this
imprinting of the breast.
So many subtle things that are done immediately after birth impacts all of
this.  Somehow, we've decided to make nipple shields this 'training
ground', when all we are really doing is forgetting that babies
instinctually go to their mother's breast.  So the shield itself becomes
the recovery from all of the things sabotaged after birth.  Instead of
using the shield, I use biological nurturing as the recovery method, and
had great success with this.
Of course, there is the mother who wants these training wheels and doesn't
have the reserve to spend time with the baby in the biological nurturing
position.  I tend to remind them that the nipple shield causes more
problems that it solves.

We are in a culture that goes for the 'quick fix' instead of working
through anxiety.....I'm re-reading a great book about this.
Melissa Senf, RN, IBCLC, LLLL (also learning how to find spell check on
this new email)



On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 6:07 PM, Cindy Garrison BS IBCLC RLC <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I often liken them to training wheels - they help get the baby started if
> he/she hasn't figured out the purpose of sucking - and once baby sees the
> bigger picture he/she will be able to handle things just fine without it.
>
>
> Cindy Garrison BS IBCLC
> Canonsburg, PA
>
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