MCHN just told me using a nipple shield will make my milk dry up...really?

Just got back from a visit to the MCHN. She's generally a really nice lady, older, but not too old fashioned. She's pro-breastfeeding which makes this statement even more confusing...when she asked how BFing was going, I said great (it is!) and that we're still using the nipple shield, even though I offer without the shield, DD still doesn't take my boob without the shield. No biggie for me, I mean I do plan on making more of an effort with offering her just my boob, but on top of trying to sort out sone family issues atm, we're moving houses next week, so I figure we can keep going with the shield now while DD is feeding so brilliantly, and that's one stress I don't need to think about right now. Anywho, the MCHN said that really, I should be pushing the boob more, the sooner the better, because studies have shown that using a nipple shield for too long reduces milk supply and causes milk to dry up? Is that true or was she pulling it out of her bum? Like I said, she's pro BF so her comment took me by surprise. I figure, people long-term express with no issues, surely people use a shield for more than a few weeks too? Can someone help me out?

Not as far as I know, a friend from school was having a lot of trouble with breastfeeding and used shields for about a month until her bub would just take the boob.

He's now 6months and they are doing perfectly fine and BF is going strong!

The MCHN was the one that said to try the shields :dunno:

I've never hear that before but I did hear a LC tell someone out the local BF clinic that she didn't care if this particular lady BF with a shield forever if it kept her breast feeding so maybe it's not true as she never mentioned anything about milk drying up???
Anyway hope someone can give you a better answer soon, sounds like you're doing a great job :)

The ABA website says to use them under supervision.

I always thought they could cause attachment issues and the baby might struggle to drain your breast properly which could cause it to dry up. But I know people who have used them as an ongoing thing with no problems.

Yes there is a relationship between using nipple shields and supply problems. There is a fantastic article here that might help give some context for the MCHN's comments: Nipple shields...Friend or foe?

Thanks so much ladies. And thanks for that article MD, I'll read it now. I definitely don't want to decrease my supply :( It's really good at the moment. I do worry about her attachment, that has been an issue since day one, we were spoon feeding, then cup feeding, it was hard to get to this stage. I dunno, maybe I'm just a bit scared to go onto the next stage, because things are going so well right now.

I haven't read the article MD linked to, but my understanding is that the stimulation of bub's tongue on the nipple sends a a message to mum's brain to produce milk. Nipple shield = less stimulation = less milk. It's particularly an issue for women who struggle with supply, like me.

I think the short answer is maybe. Though the shields these days are pretty thin, so many women are able to use them long term with no issues.
Is she getting plenty of milk? Watch the nappies. If it's working, it's working and all good

They might... but they also might not. I breastfed my DS with nipple shields the whole time - all 22 months, until he self weaned when I was pregnant with DD.

She eats heaps, gets 6-10 wet nappies a day, has 6-10 feeds a day. She's gained stacks of weight too.

Sounds great :).

I will say, the sooner you can wean her from the shields the better. With my DS he (and I) got used to them pretty quickly - so when I tried to wean him off them (at about 2 months after seeing a LC) he was already too used to the shields and wouldn't take my nipple.

I'm guessing we have the same nurse!

You have come so far - spoon, expressing and now shield. Nipple can't be far away. Isla will surely pick that up the same way she's picked up the rest.


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they can over the long term PZ but you're litle princess is only a few weeks old so if it is working for you stick wth it, just something to be mindful of later down the track. Hopefully she will graduate onto bare boob when she is a bit bigger, lots of babies do. Well done on getting her onto the breast with the shield!

I used a nipple shield with Ds2. Didn't change anything in regards to my milk supply.. Infact I had way to much.

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The MCHN was the one that said to try the shields :dunno:

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Mine too

It can decrease supply but not always.

I was told the same thing after I had Pie.

With DS2 I had used them for about 8 weeks and then moved to the breast, no problems, no supply issues, easy peasy.

When I had Pie & was struggling with her attachement - just that she wasn't really motivated - I asked for a nipple shield (still in hossy) as I had used them successfully with DS2. I was told by the hospital LC that they didn't use them anymore, they would dry up my milk & she would get in trouble for giving them to me. She said she had more success getting babies back to the breast form a bottle, than from a shield.
On the basis of that advice I went home bottle feeding, and never got back to the breast.

So... my 2c... I know you can't discount all the studies & knowledge that is out, there , and who knows - we may be the exception that proves the rule - but I really , really thinnk if everything is working for you then don't mess with it! Be mindful of it, if your supply takes a big dip be aware that may be a reason - but what you are doing now is working. If it ain't broke.....

PZ, this is one of many areas where there is lots of mis-information. Old style nipple shields used to be quite thick and definitely did have an effect on supply. The newer shields have not been researched enough to really know for sure, but anecdotally many mums use them for extended periods without any supply issues. In fact, there is a study which has shown that some premmie babies can transfer more milk when shields are used. There are also mums who report supply issues while using shields, however it is unclear whether this is because of the shields themselves, whether they weren't fitting properly or whether it's due to the underlying problem with the baby's attachment that has resulted in the use of the shield in the first place.

If the shields are working for you and you are happy to keep using them, then there is no reason not to. You need to do what is right for you. I found them a PITA (especially because I was bad at remembering to take them out with me), but they were the only thing that allowed me to breastfeed in the early weeks so I also think they have their uses. You are doing a great job - keep it up and keep questioning the information you get!!

I had to use a shield for the first 3 weeks as my little girl just would not latch on. She decided when she no longer wanted to use it - this caused some issues as she still wasn't able to latch on easily but it is getting better (2 weeks post shield). But I would have continued using it for as long as she needed it regardless of what anyone would say to me.

My LC wanted her weaned off it after 2 weeks, I just lied and said we were getting there.

If you are worried about supply I was advised to express for no more than 5 minutes each side after a feed. However, I think this expressing has created issues as now i have too much milk.

Whatever you choose, good luck!

it didn't impact my milk supply one iota.

after a week or so, every few feeds I'd try without it, so that I could stop using it when DS could manage without, but my supply wasn't affected at all.

I was a complete jersey cow for ages, and would feed and then express the extra, to store it up for later.

i used a shield for 4 months, and im still feeding great at 14 months!

What MantaRay said! I think most of this school of thought is an overhang from people's concerns about the old thick ones.

I used one for 3 months, and went on to BF DS for 2.5yrs, always had great supply. I think you just be guided by the baby - some might take longer to feed with a shield for instance, but as long as you let them finish, and feed them on cue, then they should still be able to regulate your supply even with the nipple shield. Sounds like you are doing great!

PZ, I used a shield with my first son for 5 months. My initial CHN was a bit like yours she made me scared that I was under feeding my child, I went to a LC who did get him to latch but my goodness it took forever (that was at 6 weeks) I went home still trying to not use the shield but my poor little man just couldn't latch for a variety of reasons, I'm flat, he had short tongue etc. By midnight he was beside himself I got the shield out and he was a happy little camper. I then started seeing another CHN and she was very supportive, and said the stress of me worrying about trying to get him off the shield was probably more likely to dry up my milk than the shield itself.

Anyway my supply didn't decrease he was putting on good amounts of weight, he probably took a bit longer to feed but being my firstborn that didn't worry me as I didn't have other children to tend to. I also used to offer a top up before he went to back to bed which he always took. At around 5 and a half months he started pulling the shield off whilst he was feeding that got a bit tiresome, especially out in public when this baby would be waving a shield around. So I decided it was time to try again and he started latching no problems and was breastfed til 14 months. I think being older his mouth was bigger and tongue had grown and he just attached better. If I hadn't used the shield he would have been FF from about 6 weeks of age, so for me the shield was the difference between breastfeeding and not.

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