Jack says,
<< You hospital based LC's mustn't forget those of us
that are faced with a mother of a 7 or 10 day old using a nipple shield. It
is my feeling (not proved) that it is easier to get a baby latched on who
has been on a bottle than on a nipple shield. (And easier still, if the baby
is finger feeding or cup feeding, but that's another story). >>
Urkkk....I find myself in the very awkward position of finding myself
disagreeing with the very erudite, famous, and beloved Jack N. However,
though I seldom use a nipple shield in the hospital with babies that don't
latch, and DO prefer to have the milk in -- in abundance -- before beginning
such a venture should it be necessary, I have found, in my
not-as-quite-vast-experience-as-Jack's that it is MUCH easier to transition a
baby from a shield to the breast than from fingerfeeding and certainly from
bottle feeding to the breast. And, gulp, I've never had any problems w/
decreasing milk supply....(dear Lord, please...) perhaps because every mother
that is using a shield must agree to pump w/ a hospital grade pump after
every feed using that shield for at least 5 to 7 minutes. Whether or not she
feeds the baby the pumped milk depends on assessment of wet & poopy diapers
and baby's request. And I'd like her in for a weight check within 2 to 3
days of starting the shield. AND, as soon as the baby is comfortable nursing
w/ the shield for 24 hours or so (no difficulty w/ latch) we begin the
weaning process.
Now of course, I'm not at the house w/ the mom, so I don't know that she is
pumping. And I don't know that she is actually using the shield; but perhaps
is bottle feeding anyway. But I've found the mothers are much happier if
they truly are desirous of bf to do it this way -- at least the baby is in
close proximity to the breast, rather than being fed by a bottle. Mom knows
that the goal is to get the baby breastfeeding w/o the shield...that this is
a temporary crutch.
More than once I've had to help a mother get her milk supply to less than
over-enthusiastic after we've gotten off the shield....am working with one of
those dear moms now.
I did have one mom who breastfed for an entire 9 months using the shield.
Baby gained beautifully. She had really taut skin and very flat nipples --
and a boy -- and he would never latch to the breast regardless of what we
did. Her second baby (a girl) latched on immediately to the breast and never
looked back.
I had one baby (an N of one does not a scientific study make, I'll admit) who
was so hooked on finger feeding (someone had told her to GET RID OF THE
SHIELD!!!) that at 2 months the baby refused all bottles, nipple shields,
cups, or ANYTHING except finger feeding. Now THAT was a slow and frustrating
proposition!!
I guess the moral of the story is that Jack and some others have one type of
experience, and I, and some others, have had another type of experience. And
our experiences aren't based on research, but on our experience. And if my
experience changes, and I find that the shields are causing more problems
than the bottles, I'll change my practice. Just as I moved from finger
feeding and using bottles (for mothers who wouldn't cup feed) to using the
shields and seeing much happier mothers and satisfied babies in the process.
That's not to say all of the babies are eager to use the nipple shield --
some of them even fight that. But.....
Food for thought.
Jan B. in Wheaton
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
