breast feeding with nipple sheilds

crissrn27, RN · Mar 23, 2007

and I misspelled shield in the topic line and can't edit it:rotfl: :eek: darn fingers

LPNJessi · Mar 23, 2007

I used the sheild for a little bit and I ws able to successfully wean off of it. I think the sheilds have there purpose and make it easier for some women to breastfeed. I didn't mind whether I used it or not as long as the baby was getting food.

SmilingBluEyes · Mar 23, 2007

We use shields rarely. Proper latch and positioning are critical and often many nurses introduce them inappropriately to people who need more help with proper technique ---not anatomic problems needing these. For truly flat, or very inverted, impossible-to-draw-out nipples that are sore, I can see. But these are not as common as many think. In some cases, it's really a bad idea to use these unless you KNOW for sure they are necessary. Where I work, generally, our LC has to pretty much prescribe them, if you will, before we use them.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Mar 23, 2007

We use shields rarely. Proper latch and positioning are critical and often many nurses introduce them inappropriately to people who need more help with proper technique ---not anatomic problems needing these. For truly flat, or very inverted, impossible-to-draw-out nipples that are sore, I can see. But these are not as common as many think. In some cases, it's really a bad idea to use these unless you KNOW for sure they are necessary. Where I work, generally, our LC has to pretty much prescribe them, if you will, before we use them.

Same deal where I am. Mom has to sign a consent that's witnessed by a LC & all sorts of rigamarole. I have seen them used when mom's nipples are so raw they look like hamburger, but that was only once. For sore nipples, a good latch makes a world of difference; in between feeds, I have them put colostrum on their nipples & let them air out. That works better than just about anything else. Lansinoh works too, but colostrum is like an antifungal, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and it's cheaper.

LPNJessi · Mar 23, 2007

I in fact have inverted/flat nipples that are very hard to get out and I needed to use the sheild. But I weaned her as quickly as I coud.

Daywalker · Mar 23, 2007

My first baby had a horrible latch; I actually pumped and bottled for a few weeks while my breasts healed. The nipple shield was invaluable in reintroducing the breast. I was able to ditch the shield after 3 weeks. I also used it briefly with baby #2 while a cracked nipple was healing. I'm in the "use it if you need it" camp.

strn96 · Mar 24, 2007

At our hospital, nipple shields are used quite a bit. Overused IMO. We are a small hospital, around 550 births per year, and no LC. I will give them to new moms who have really flat or inverted nipples if unable (after several tries) to get baby to latch w/o; esp if mom is getting very frustrated and talking about giving up on BFing. My opinion is that breastfeeding with a nipple shield is better than not breastfeeding at all.

tulip928 · Mar 24, 2007

At our hospital, nipple shields are used quite a bit. Overused IMO. We are a small hospital, around 550 births per year, and no LC. I will give them to new moms who have really flat or inverted nipples if unable (after several tries) to get baby to latch w/o; esp if mom is getting very frustrated and talking about giving up on BFing. My opinion is that breastfeeding with a nipple shield is better than not breastfeeding at all.

Does your hospital have high quality breast pumps? Using a pump can help pull flat or inverted nipples out in the beginning. Then the baby has something to latch on to. Before the baby feeds, use a pump on the breast for a few minutes. After the mom goes home, she needs do continue with using the pump for a few minutes before the feed. It also helps with let-down before the baby is put to the breast so the baby isn't as frustrated.

crissrn27, RN · Mar 24, 2007

My opinion is that breastfeeding with a nipple shield is better than not breastfeeding at all.

These are my thoughts too. I get fussed at reguarly for giving nipple shields to moms that are gonna "give up" ---I doubt many of these continue beyond the hospital but its worth a shot. We have 3 LC's and they DO NOT like shields. I work nights, so if one of them wants to come in the middle of the night to help a bf mom thats going to be a bottle feeding mom if we don't do something NOW, then I will stop giving shields to these guys. I always give package insert, warn of risk, teach s/s of good breastfeeding (pee and poop, weight gain, etc) first. I guess I could give the baby a bottle or cup over night and let them start again in am, but I hate for moms to get in that mindset, then its so easy to say, no, just keep giving the bottle, imo. Alot of our moms aren't real "into" the bf thing, so its pretty easy for them to give up.

strn96 · Mar 24, 2007

Does your hospital have high quality breast pumps? Using a pump can help pull flat or inverted nipples out in the beginning. Then the baby has something to latch on to. Before the baby feeds, use a pump on the breast for a few minutes. After the mom goes home, she needs do continue with using the pump for a few minutes before the feed. It also helps with let-down before the baby is put to the breast so the baby isn't as frustrated.

We have a terrible pump set-up. We only have one electric pump, and the patient charge for the disposable bottle/tubing set-up is around $100 (for a pump set-up that pt will only be using for a day or so!) Most of my pts are far from wealthy, so I hate to add that kind of charge to them. If pt has her own pump then I do recommend this, but unfortunately that is not usually the case. Nurses on our unit have complained about pump, but TPTB don't really seem to listen well.

SmilingBluEyes · Mar 25, 2007

These are my thoughts too. I get fussed at reguarly for giving nipple shields to moms that are gonna "give up" ---I doubt many of these continue beyond the hospital but its worth a shot. We have 3 LC's and they DO NOT like shields. I work nights, so if one of them wants to come in the middle of the night to help a bf mom thats going to be a bottle feeding mom if we don't do something NOW, then I will stop giving shields to these guys. I always give package insert, warn of risk, teach s/s of good breastfeeding (pee and poop, weight gain, etc) first. I guess I could give the baby a bottle or cup over night and let them start again in am, but I hate for moms to get in that mindset, then its so easy to say, no, just keep giving the bottle, imo. Alot of our moms aren't real "into" the bf thing, so its pretty easy for them to give up.

I hear you. On nightshifts (which I worked 7 straight years) and weekends, our LC is nowhere near the hospital and therefore, a lost resource to us. It has been easy, therefore, for our LC to condemn the use of the shields in many cases (and maybe, we did use them hastily in some cases). However, when you have 4 or more couplets and even just 2 of them have issues with breastfeeding, well, you can see the setup for NOCs and weekends. I often considered going back and getting my LC for these reasons. We just did not have that extra help needed that dayshift did w/the LC who was able to help people overcome BF issues we could not.

I still am considering my LC if for nothing else, to be able to really help people with serious problems BF so they don't give up. Time is the problem, however. It's hard to split your time among so many demands on your shift. That is why I stress patients get in touch with LLL or our LC after d/c if they have any unresolved issues, so they do not give up.