Nipple shields

[AmberB22]

Hi all just after a bit of advice. I had a baby boy nearly 4 weeks ago. Due to gestational diabetes and baby having low blood sugar at birth we had major problems latching him on, therefore he had to have formula and expressed breast milk for the first couple of days, until a midwife suggested I try nipple shields. Have been exclusively breast feeding since apart from the odd top up with formula at night and he is putting on weight brilliantly. I keep reading how nipple shields should only be used temporarily and I don't feel comfortable bf in public because of the extra hassle and mess with use of the nipple shields. Should I carry on with them as he is clearly getting what he needs and putting on weight or should I be working harder to get him off them?
Any advice and similar stories appreciated!

[MoodyOne]

I used nipple shields for my DS first 3 months ... I had undiagnosed thrush which made BF so painful (as he was my first I just thought this was normal) anyway everyone said come off them as they effect your supply ect, but he was fine with them for 3 months. I then was trying to wean him off them by starting the feed with them and taking them off half way through (he pops on an off all the time) and just one time he knocked it off before his feed and since then he's been fab ... 7 months EBF x

[LomboDePorco]

You don't "have to" do anything. If the shields are working then that's great and you can keep going. But if you want to, you can try cutting back, as above, by starting the feed and then taking it off half way through. I used them exclusively for a few months with both of mine as newborns and then no longer needed them once the babies knew what they were doing and I'd recovered from tongue-tie injuries and the inverted nipples had been reshaped!

[SleepForTheWeek]

I also used them for 3 months and did as a pp said - start the feed with the shield on, then unlatch and remove shield. It took a while, and longer on one side than the other, but with consistency we got there and we continued to feed for 2 years.

I also hated bf in public because of them, totally knocked my confidence. Much easier without shields but they are better than not being able to bf at all