Advice on using nipple shields

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Nigel Reed - 26 Aug 2007 05:10 GMT

To start off, my wife is a lurker here and a regular on m.k.p.

We had our little boy on Wednesday morning 22nd August at 3:25am.

Right away, we started breastfeeding and the baby was taking in the
colostrum. We were concerned, however, because he likes to suck on his
lower lip and my wifes nipples are a little flatter than we'd like.

Our midwife suggested using a nipple sheild made by Medela. We started
using it today (day 3) and this evening her milk started to come in. The
baby has been drinking and passed a seedlike poop this evening, however
we cannot seem to get him off it and he cries non-stop until placed back
on the nipple.

I managed to get him to sleep by offering my finger to suck on but
shortly after he went asleep and I removed it, he started crying again.

While sucking using the nipple shield, he does tend to stop sucking and
either lose interest or fall asleep until the breast is pulled slightly
and he starts to sucking again.

I'm not sure what I'm asking. Maybe has anyone had similar problems?
Could it be something she ate that is making him fussy? Could it just be
gas that we've not been able to bring up? Any suggestions or advice
would be gratefully received right now.

Regards
Nigel

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Anne Rogers - 26 Aug 2007 18:44 GMT

It sounds like the suggestion to use nipple shields is to improve the
latch - I've never found any evidence to suggest that this works and
most people seem to think the opposite. Nipple shields can be a great
tool to teach a baby to latch who is not doing so and also to make
feeding bearable if the mother is experiencing great pain.

Newborn babies a very needy, they need to be held almost all the time
and fed very frequently, I'd encourage your wife to breastfeed on demand
without the nipple shields, whilst paying attention to latch and
encouraging baby to get a good one - it's probably easiest to do this
with help from someone face to face, or at least on the phone, where are
you? Different things are available in different places, so if you let
us know, we can point you in the right direction, but as a starting
point, La Leche League is international, so you can find out your local
or national contacts from their website.

Cheers
Anne

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Larry Mcmahan - 27 Aug 2007 21:22 GMT

Nigel,
I am not sure I completely understand your problem, but I heartily
endorse Anne's response. The only point of the nipple shield, as Anne
said, is to correct a poor latch. Once this is accomplished, the
shield should be dropped as soon as possible, as they can cause other
problems in the longer term.

If your wife's nipples are somewhat flat, one thing that can help in
the long run is allowing the baby to "comfort suck" more after he
as mostly "filled up." Of course, the short term risk is sore nipples,
but they will quickly "toughen up" and can be treated with treatment
with Lansinoh(R) application between nursing.

Regarding fussiness, the mother' diet can sometimes cause problems,
but they usually show up between 4 and 6 weeks, not in the first
week. One thing that can alleviate this a bit, and also encourage
your wife's milk supply is fennel seed tea. Use a heaping tablespoon
of fennel seeds to a quart of boiling water. Let steep 15 minutes.
Try to drink a quart a day, mostly in the later afternoon or evening
(when mom's milk supply is lowest).

If you have further questions, be sure to post here. It has a lot of
helpful parents who are willing to speak up.

Good luck,
Larry

> To start off, my wife is a lurker here and a regular on m.k.p.
>
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> Regards
> Nigel

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Family Forum / Pregnancy / Breastfeeding / August 2007

Advice on using nipple shields