When is it time to wean your baby off the nipple shield?

Many women have satisfying and prolonged breastfeeding relationships using a nipple shield the whole time. They make using it as easy as possible - tucking a single shield into their bra, for instance, when they are out and about, simply placing it over the nipple before they offer the breast. There's no need to fuss with stretching the shield, or even putting water or milk on it - just make using the shield as easy as possible.

It’s quite true that babies become accustomed to the shield. This is not an ‘addiction’, but a matter of conditioning over time, and familiarity.

There's no right time to try to stop using the nipple shield. Remember that the research shows that nipple shields don't impact upon milk transfer, although there may be individual women who do find that the shields don't work for them, and the shields do need to be used correctly. Here are some things to consider.

• If you have had a difficult breastfeeding journey with a baby who has had an element of conditioned dialling up at the breast, and things are now going well with the use of the shield, there is no need to hurry your baby off the shield. Being too persistent about trying to feed without the shield might cause your baby to start dialling up again at the breast, which is not a good outcome!

• If you've beeen using the nipple shield due to pain and have now sorted out the breast tissue drag problems, you might be ready to be more persistent in offering your baby the breast without the shield. You might decide it's safe to tolerate some frustration in your baby, because her hunger is a powerful motivator to try breastfeeding without the shield. Only you will know just how resilient your baby is likely to be with trying something new. But we definitely don’t want to accidentally develop a conditioned dialling up in your baby because you feel you need to keep on trying to encourage baby to feed without the shields!

You might like to first try bringing the baby on to the breast without a shield at night. In particular, side-lying breastfeeding, with the stable fit and hold of a gestalt approach, offered when the baby is sleepy but ready to feed, can help babies come back onto the breast without a shield. Sometimes, women allow the baby to start their breastfeed with the shield, then slip it off half-way through when the baby is more satiated and content to see if baby will come on without it.

Will a nipple shield weaning kit help?

Parents can now buy a nipple shield weaning kit, which has the tip of the silicone nipple cup cut off at three different heights. I am not convinced this is worth investing in - firstly, your baby will need to adapt to a new kind of shield. Then you will need to teach the baby to adapt to each variation of the shield. But this kit is available on the market, and some women will be interested in trying it out.

Perhaps it's more important to focus on enjoying life out and about with your baby, using your breast (plus shield) as a tool for dialling your baby down, slipping that shield out from your bra when you need it, than to find yourself focussing a lot on trying to wean your baby off the shield? Only you know what's right - but I'm always wanting to make everything as easy and as enjoyable as possible for you and your baby. Nipple shields can be a useful technology and we don't need to invest too much time and worry into weaning baby off them, if the weaning isn't happening easily. Just try again further down the track.