I have chatted about nipple shields with our local LC (who is also our
local PHN) and who sees moms in hospital.  When she sees difficulty
latching, she frequently gives the couple a nipple shield.  I shared
with her my info from the Breastfeeding Answer Book that cautions
against them.  She feels that some babies, those with smaller mouths,
shorter tongues, etc.  need a nipple shield for a short time until they
"grow into their mothers" and that she wants to send them home nursing.
I think she finds it to be a quick fix.  I seem to be the one who picks
up the pieces and has to try to get the couple nursing directly, often
while struggling with rapidly declining milk supply.  Most recently, a
mother had to turn to a hospital-grade breast-pump and finger-feeding to
recover her milk supply.  Fortunately, she was a woman of good humour
and determination.  She found herself starting from scratch and was able
to get her baby nursing at ~ 6 weeks.  She does feel put off by all the
interventions, as one thing clearly led to another, and feels that if
she just had a bit more support to get him latching well in the first
place.....She'll be wiser the next time.

A trick that I recently read about, but haven't had anyone try yet, is
to turn the shield inside out, shave a wee bit off the tip from the
inside, turn it around and let baby nurse.  Continue shaving it a wee
bit at a time, and hopefully baby nurses happily along while the shield
just disappears.

Leslie White  LLLL
Deep River Ontario. . . where it is snowing and two LLL Leaders wish for
more discretion used in beginning nipple shields.

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