Pediatr. praxi 2019; 20(3): 188-191 | DOI: 10.36290/ped.2019.039

Problems of using nipple shields

Bc. Martina Kotíková

Novorozenecké oddělení KNTB Zlín, a. s.

The paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey on the use of nipple (or also breast) shields in physiological newborns. In practice, they are often discussed in connection with their too frequent use. The problem of their application is the alleged reduction in lactation and then prematurely terminated breastfeeding or affect the baby‘s mouth with a yeast infection. The investigation was carried out in neonatal departments of three hospitals, marked as „Baby friendly hospital“ to verify the truth of the current evaluation of this aid. Data collection was in the form of written questionnaires distributed at the time of hospitalization to nursing mothers and subsequently electronically (by e-mail) three months apart. Two groups of respondents were approached for comparison. The first was the women who used the nipple shields, the other the women who did not use it. The investigation did not confirm the reduced lactation of mothers or the premature termination of breastfeeding. On the contrary, the length of full (exclusive) breastfeeding with the nipple shields was slightly higher than the length of full breastfeeding without it. Infection of the baby‘s mouth with a yeast infection was higher in normally breastfed than in those who were breastfed with a nipple shields. However, the respondent sample was very small to be representative.

Keywords: newborn, breastfeeding, nipple shields

Published: June 20, 2019  Show citation