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