Cutting a nipple shield was a way to help baby slowly become adjusted to
the feel of the real nipple in his mouth. It was a common practice when
shields were made of rubber.
But now they are made of silicone. The cut edge is very sharp and can
injure baby &/or mom. So we now recommend against cutting the shield. I
have never heard of cutting it to help baby get more milk. The holes in the
shield are large enough for easy flow. The fear of insufficient intake
comes from the reduced nipple stimulation because the shield creates a
barrier to that stimulation. I don't see how cutting the end of the shield
would help increase areolar stimulation. I suggest the doula needs an
in-service to update her knowledge on shield use.

Mom can try removing the shield mid-feed when baby naturally releases the
breast and hope he accepts the bare breast. If not, try again tomorrow. It
sometimes seems like a switch flips in baby's head one day when he just
takes the breast without a fight. It's like baby was letting mom know
exactly who is in control of this feeding thing.

Phyllis Adamson, IBCLC, RLC
Glendale, AZ
[log in to unmask]

  The doula told this 
> mother that the baby will get more milk this  way.  I don't buy it, and
all I can 
> think of is --OUCH.  I would  never cut a shield except to create a nose
area 
> on those 20 mm  shields.   

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html