I have been following the nipple shield thread with interest.  I happen to
hate them but I'd never say I wouldn't help a mom to use one.  As a single
mom, it is kinda like my Ms. Fix-it attitude.  I don't always have the proper
tool to fix something that broke but if some simple tool is on my kitchen
counter, I'll use it.  I use alot of duct tape--great stuff just doesn't look
so hot after you wind it around something broken.

Two summers ago, we had a hurricane and I had a tree to take down.  I used
some saw that was in my tool shed.  After I had cut down all of the small
branches of the tree, I was told by a self-proclaimed expert,  that I had
used the wrong saw.  Hm...so that's why it took so long to cut those branches
off.  But heck the job got done. Of course, I was not too humored by that
comment.  Especially since in Florida working outside in 90 degree weather
with a saw in 90% humidity puts you in a certain frame of mind.

So what's that got to do with nipple shields?  I have similiar sentiments
about nipple shield use.  The more these "tools" are around the more we will
use them.  We see that it fixes one thing, so we think it may fix something
else.  People who are new at fixing problems (like me with my duct tape or my
saw) use them because they are easily available without a thorough
understanding of the problem and how to correctly fix it.  The expert can use
a tool and make it look like an easy fix.  I watched my Dad hammer in roofing
nails into the shingles of my house--looked like a piece of cake to do.
After a very sore thumb and many bent nails, I realized it wasn't easy.

Nipple shields may have a place in some LCs' tool kits.  But certainly most
of us might want to bury them deep in our tool kit. Like duct tape in
repairs, their visibility reminds people that something got broken and isn't
fixed yet.  Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

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