Hi guys,

This is a question on behalf of a client of ours who is having some troubles feeding her 3 day old. She has quite flat nipples, and the baby will not attach well, although when she used a nipple shield, he attaches very well. The main problem with that is that she is experiencing significantly more pain feeding with the shield than without. She has tried different feeding positions, shaping the nipple and areola (he will attach and take 5-6 good sucks if she shapes, but after that will lose his attachment again).

At this stage, she is preparing to use the shield in the short term and hoping that once he gets a bit older and bit more awake he will have enough energy to draw her nipple and areola out more, but I am wondering what the current professional opinion is about nipple shaping devices, like the Avent niplette or the medela nipple shield/shaping thingies? Do they work? Are they recommended? Or do they cause more problems than they solve?

And any other suggestions for flat nipples?