Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Overall, these are awesome. They saved my breastfeeding relationship when I was ready to give up. My son has had latching issues from the day he was born. We worked with two lactation specialists which was a complete waste of time — my nipples were bloody and torn apart and I was in complete agony, but they insisted I needed to “get over it” and it would get better. Well, it didn’t, so I switched to exclusive pumping for over a month. I kept trying to nurse, but my son would have none of it. I was getting exhausted with pumping, and eventually the pumping affected my already lower supply (I have Hashimoto’s and was diagnosed with a lower supply because of it), so I had to supplement with formula for two feedings a day. My husband went in for an appointment with our family doctor and he told her if my issues during friendly conversation. She told him to tell me to try these nipple shields — that they saved breastfeeding for her. So I asked my lactation consultant at the time whether I should try it and she said, “you might as well not breastfeed if you use one of those.” That did not sit well with me, so I decided to go against her advice. Like my doctor, I can now say they do the same for me. My supply is back up to normal — I produce enough for my son to exclusively breastfeed with no need for formula supplementation. While these are difficult to clean and have a tendency to fall if easily, I’m willing to work with them since they have saved my breastfeeding relationship. The silicon is soft and thin — nursing no longer hurts. I find that many times throughout feedings, I can remove the shield and my son will nurse fine with a good latch. These are truly a lifesaver for me. I highly recommend them if you are having latching issues. My lacatation consultants never even recommended these despite weeks of discomfort and frustration and me being in the border of PPD because I was so disappointed in myself for failing at breastfeeding. If you are struggling with breastfeeding, I could not recommend trying these more. You don’t need anyone’s permission to try them — if I’d waited for that, I would have given up breastfeeding all together. If your not getting the support you need, take matters into your own hands and do what’s best for you and baby, and if that means going with a shield, do it. It’s better to have a baby on the breast with a shield than not at all.