I guess the question to ask is "what is the alternative?" If breastfeeding was going well and baby attached then most mothers probably wouldn't be using a nipple shield. But in this day and age with cultural practices around birth being what they are some babies come out stressed, and not with their proper instincts intact. They find it difficult to breastfeed. In this instance, with proper midwifery of LC support the nipple shield may be a useful tool to use in the short term to assist in breastfeeding. To me the alternatives mostly are not "Breastfeeding with a shield" or "breastfeeding without a shield" if it were that simple that's what would happen- no shield. When I see mums as an LC it's generally "breastfeed with a shield" or what? Express and bottle feed? That's not breastfeeding. Or struggling with attachment? I have seen no evidence that the thin latex nipple shields used correctly reduce supply 9as I said - compared to what?) In the long run what I see is that the tool that was a lifesaver in the beginning becomes a drag and at some point mum and baby are happy to get rid of it and go on to breastfeed well. and just about always babies learn to feed without the shield - in their own time. And the very few that don't may go on to feed for literally years with a shield (but in my practice I have just seen 1 baby feed to 8 mnths with a shield and that baby kicked the habit and went on to feed until he was over 2 - nearly all others give them up in the first 12 weeks or so