Should she ditch the nipple shields??

[Enid]

I am going to visit a friend tomorrow who is feeding using nipple shields - baby doesnt seem particulary contented or feeding for very long. My instinct is to say 'ditch the shields', but is that right? Little baby now doesnt want to latch on without them apparently. He is a week old. Would love some advice and she will appreciate it too, Thanks.

I would say yes ditch them, but I think your friend is going to need help from a bf counsellor if the baby won't latch on without them. If they were used for soreness in the first place, then it should be improving, but perhaps the latch needs to be looked at and sorted? I'm sure someone will come up with the number for the NCT line.

Definately needs to ditch them. Nipple shields reduce milk production by up to 40%. They do not cure the problem of poor attachment that has caused the pain in the first place. A way of getting the baby off is to start the feed with it in place then, when the milk is flowing slip it out. Definately get in touch with a B/F counsellor who will be able to offer practical support and advice.

I have to say I used them for a few days, I was in agony otherwise. I slowly weaned us both off them over a week or so. Do ditch them straight off, but try to get someone around to check positioning etc. Also ask her to speak to her midwife who maybe able to help.

This happened to me, Ds had no clue what so ever about latching on and as a first time mum nor did I. The hospital said use nipple shields and promptly sent me home - Thanks! My midwife came round to the house and told me nipple shields stop the maximum production of milk as the nipple is not stimulated properly she then showed me what it was all about and positioned us correctly, opened ds' mouth wide enough and 'shoved' what seemed like my whole boob in his mouth and from then on he was fine.

Enid - Could you be a bit cheeky and show her how its done (her, with baby I mean't!) or would she take offence? - Good luck

This happened to me and I was unable to do without the shields- yes i knew they weren't a Good Thing but I was in toe curling agony DESPITE the every midwife in the county showing me how to latch on my baby. I ended up feeling doubly guilty and hiding the them before every midwife's visit - so have lots of sympathy with your friend!

Finbar, I know what you mean abou toe curling agony and this was when I was b/f my third. I really could not get through without nipple shields for a few days(a week or two into feeding), even with previous experience and support from very helpful midwifes.

However, I do think they are only a short term solution (needs must or so they say) and yes, as Mears said, it is best to try and just use them at start of feed then slip it off quite soon after milk is flowing well.

Enid, do you think friend does want to continue b/f? If so, I echo Furball in saying could you perhaps show her how to latch (although as I said, even as a third timer, I had problems). Also, if she trys feeding baby from a different holding position (eg 'bagpipe' hold, this may relieve enough pressure from the sensitive part of nipple to help ease pain).

Help from

NCT

or

La Leche

Ooops NCT link playing up.

Here goes again:

NCT

I used them - not for pain, because let me tell you, I was in toe curling pain for a couple of weeks anyway, AND my nipples bled with them! - I have big boobs and my nipples simply would not go into that hard "liquorice torpedo" shape that is required. Therefore I needed some artificial assistance. I knew that it wasn't recommended, but the question had to be, did it feel right to breastfeed with or bottlefeed? And I really wanted to breastfeed. So I did until a little while before I went back to work, and although it wasn't easy, we did manage it, and ds put on weight and stayed on his centile and all was well. He was contented, and fed for what seemed like hours especially at the beginning, so that made a difference.

Hope that things work out for your friend, do bear in mind there are lots of reasons to use them.

I used them to let the scabs heal ( I know I wince with the memory too)

My son is nearly 6 weeks old and was 5lbs 12ozs at birth, I am still using nipple shields and he refuses to feed without them. He is my third and I have successfully breastfed two boys before this one. I try every day (not at every feed though, he gets too distressed) to wean him off but he doesn't want to know. Apparently he will breastfeed when he is "developmentally ready". I expressed in between every feed for the first 2-4 weeks so not only do I have plenty of frozen milk but also I have no problems with my milk supply. Weaning him off is not easy, does anyone have any tips? I have friends who have used nipple shields successfully for up to 5/6 months and have told me not to worry. He is putting on approx 2oz per day and midwife/health visitor is more than happy with his weight gain. Am I worrying over nothing? Thanks for any help. Kerry

yes i would say ditch them they are ok in absolute emergencies but she should get reliant on them ( which is easy when your nips are bleeding and feel like they are about to fall off)

err meant shouldnt get reliant on them

kezzie jane why did you need to use them if you have breast fed before
i used them when i bf first time (absolute agony cause i had flat nipples) but didnt need them second time around

I used them before with both my previous sons (but only for a week or so) - first one because he wouldn't latch on one side (flat nipple) and with the second because he was latched on incorrectly (same side) and I was in agony but both these children were 8lbs or above. My third is 6 weeks old and is only just 8lbs now. He did have approx half a dozen feeds on the bare breast however he did some cluster feeding and then wouldn't latch onto other side because the nipple was too soft and he is very lazy and won't open his mouth wide enough no matter how hard I try. A lady from La Leche came to visit me when he was 2 weeks old and observed and offered great support. She also reminded me it's 50/50 - he has to make an effort as well, it's not all down to me. She checked all her notes in her book and left me with lots of literature. Generally, it says that the "mother should be advised to use the nipple shields for as long as necessary" but also gives some tips on weaning them off. One of the tips is to wait until they've been feeding for a couple of minutes peacefully and THEN take them off and try to latch onto the bare breast. This doesn't work for me - I have so much milk that after a few minutes (and I've tried different delays - 2 mins up to 10 mins) it pours out and he can't latch on because it's too slippy. I realise that he is becoming dependant upon them - which is why I am trying so hard to wean him off. It's not as easy as it sounds in the books. Also it's advised to calm them down and attach when they are calm but again, this isn't as easy as it sounds either . I'm just asking for any tips and support from anyone who has overcome this problem or even breastfed on nipple shields and can offer support. It is very distressing for me and I don't want to give up breastfeeding him for this reason only because he is thriving. It's just having the shields available in a tub with the sterilising solution etc is more inconvenient and I can't "just feed" him anywhere. Thanks for any help & support.

Kezziejane I cannot help you here, but I wold suggest perhaps calling back the La Leche lady and getting her in to help you out again.

Good luck

how sweet that this has been revived

btw - the friend gave up breastfeeding by four weeks old

Kezziejane, I used shields but only for a short space of time, also I didn't have that much milk so not really the same as you. But I discarded the shields by slipping them off once the feed had been going for some time. Have you tried removing the shield towards the end of the feed when your milk flow is slower? Or expressing before the feed so that your milk is no longer pouring out? Hope you manage to get this problem sorted out.

Hi, DS is now attempting to latch on - on some feeds. He is starting to open his mouth wider and suck harder to get more of the breast in his mouth, so there is hope yet!! I do keep trying (but not at every feed) when he is calmer and I have found that trying when he comes off for winding (halfway through) and then he can latch on for a period of 1-4 minutes, but this period does seem to be getting longer (started at 10-30 seconds a few weeks ago). So I am happier . I just need to be patient I think and keep up the good attempts! Thank you for your continued support. Will keep you posted. Kezzie

Kezziejane, you asked for support from anyone who has 'breastfed on nipple shields'. Well, hello there! DD is nearly 8 months and I've fed with n/s since he was (gulp) five weeks old. They changed everything for me. I found that I could really relax and feel the letdown instead of sobbing through every feed, and though I promised my MN cheer team that I would bin them at some stage, DS was conspicuously thriving, and so that stage never came . I did start mix-feeding pretty early on, but kept the breast/formula feeds 50:50 until very recently. His weight gain certainly couldn't be attributed solely to formula.

Yes it's a faff and no b/f expert has said that N/S are anything other than detrimental to the long-term prospects of bfing. Still, they worked (are working) for me and DS.

Chaffing and soreness led me to nipple sheilds which neither of us liked. My MIL (very old school midwife)had me improvising with the more rigid teat from a feeder bottle cuppedover my nipple, which looked rediculous, but worked perfectly for us. After a few days I was more comfortable and stopped using it. Dd wasnt seduced by the plastic and we had no probs after that. I wanted to do things by the book, but MIL reminded me that motherhood relies on talking it through, then improvise! Bf for a year with both daughters. Good luck

Hi bakedpotato - thanks for your support - very much appreciated. I did express for the first 4 weeks inbetween pretty much every feed to make sure I had enough milk for him (and after some feeds to empty the breast aswell) I have suffered mastitis 4 times since having him but because I have caught it early every time and have dealt with it accordingly, it has never become a problem. Apart from that - I'm trying to stop beating myself up about using N/S, after all he is still getting the breastmilk and we still have our bonding time both of which is important to me. He is consistently putting on weight, sleeping very well and overall is very content. (he sleeps between 2 hours and up to 7 hours at night - we had our first sleepthough!). Tonight I even had chance to get the older two children showered and in bed, stories, teeth cleaned everything and he slept through the lot. So, finally, I think I'm content and happy. I'll keep trying with weaning him off but at the end of the day, it's not so important to me anymore. Kezzie

Hi Everyone! HE'S OFF THE SHIELDS AT LAST!!! It started last Wednesday/Thursday when I got mastitis (for the sixth time!) in BOTH breasts and also got an infection as well in the left breast. GOD I was in agony. Anyway following a trip to the doctors where I got some anti-biotics and a trip to my mums (she looked after my elder two children) I finally got some much needed rest and she brought him up to me when he was hungry but not starving. He latched onto the left side with the help of the shield (as it was rock hard) but when I offered the right hand side WITHOUT the shield, he just latched on! It was as if he just "got it" and since then (today is the seventh day) he's not needed the shields for either side at all! So, the light at the end of my tunnel is finally here! At last. So for anyone else out there - there is hope. DON'T GIVE UP, KEEP PERSERVERING! Oh, and he is a much more settled peaceful feeder now! Thanks for your support . Kerry xxx

Great news! I used shields for a few days and was grateful that they helped me go on bfing but I was glad to stop using them too.

kezziejane - my son is 12 weeks old and have used shields since second day due to flat nipples. I tried every day without them and he couldn't do it. Stopped trying sometime ago and maybe tried once a week. Then he magically got the hang of it about a week ago. He too puts on about 1-2 oz a day so don't worry. For me, it is now more convenient to not use them (sterilising, slight hassle in public) but I was quite happy continuing to use them. As long as YOU are happy and junior is piling on the pounds then who cares - shields, formula, whatever!

What a moron I am. I missed your last posting kezziejane - hoorah for you too. It is a great feeling! I feel much more free.