Kim Campbell wrote about very forceful MER and the mum being at risk of
having to wean. I knew a mum a couple of years ago who used a nipple shield
purely to slow the flow, and fed with this for about 7 months. Apart from
the fast flow, the baby never fed peacefully, but seemed to fight a lot and
was very colicky. The mum stuck it out to 7 months but felt she had had
enough by then and weaned. Normally I am very reluctant to suggest the use
of nipple shields, but if the alternative is weaning, then I think it is
worth a try. Perhaps the mum Kim is helping could continue the night feeds
lying down as now, and only use the nipple shield during the day. Hopefully
this would avoid the problem of the baby getting so used the shield she
would refuse the bare breast. As her supply adjusts, and baby grows and is
more capable of handling the flow, she could gradually wean off the shield,
only using it on the "fullest" feeds, eg first feed after a long sleep. The
other word of warning is to be careful which brand of shield she tries. In
Australia there are several brands available, but only a couple worth
choosing from, and the final choice is usually individual to the
mother/baby dyad.

Joy Anderson IBCLC
Western Australia

P.S. To Kathy Bruce. Just to let you know that I received the Lactnet
t-shirts safely (but not the VISA bill yet!). Thanks a lot - I will get one
to Fiona ASAP.