Nipple shield
Also called nipple shields, shield, shields, contact nipple shield
A nipple shield is a thin, flexible silicone cover worn over the nipple while a baby feeds at the breast. Midwives and parents bring one in when a baby struggles to latch or a nipple is sore or flat.
How it's said
I fed my DS1 using nipple shields for eight months since he wouldn't latch otherwise.
I have very flat nipples and have been breastfeeding really successfully with nipple shields!
We use nipple shields when all other techniques have been tried and when milk supply is sufficient to flow through the shield.
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- A flange, which pump brands also call a breast shield, is the funnel-shaped part of a breast pump. A nipple shield is worn over the nipple while the baby feeds at the breast.
Where it came from
Nipple shields are old. A 2015 review in Frontiers in Public Health traces their design back to the sixteenth century, when they were made from lead, wax, silver, wood, pewter and animal skins.
Rubber and thin latex came later, and today's shields are silicone. An NHS maternity leaflet now describes a nipple shield as a flexible silicone cover.