SO determined to EBF. Flat nipples

[msq]

I am so so determined to breastfeed my baby boy who I'm having on September 2nd by scheduled c-section. I will be 36w3d so I know there is a possibility he could have to go to the NICU. I really don't want him to have bottles or pacifiers at all until we establish breastfeeding.

The problem is that I have pretty flat nipples, they do poke out a bit if stimulated or cold...

I am thinking about trying breast shells, or a product called the lansinoh latch assist. Have you heard of or had success with these products? I am also going to get a breast shield to have on hand as a last resort.

 

[Pearls18]

You can breastfeed absolutely fine with flat nipples, even people with inverted nipples can BF. The nipple is just the tip of the rocket as it were, it is where the milk comes out so it doesn't matter how deep or not the "point" is that it comes out, it is the areola which are stimulated to get the milk out. Nipple shields are not needed, and can cause a lot of problems, they are very, very rarely recommended by BF peer supporters and are usually only used when a woman is in a lot of pain, although the latch should be looked at very carefully if this is the case. There is no reason you should have any more latch difficulties compared to anyone else

 

[Chellxx]

I have very flat nipples but have breastfed fine for 10 months. At first I had to just squish the nipple a bit to get her to latch but it's perfectly do-able. Keep the breast shells to hand just in case but try to confident and remember your body is designed to feed a baby you just need to find a comfortable way of doing it for you both x

 

[luna_19]

I have pretty flat nipples and bf fine, no need to.do anything differently. That's why it's called breastfeeding and not nipple feeding

 

[mrs.ginger]

IF you were to have trouble, maybe pump for a second? JUST long enough to pull your nipple forward a nudge?

 

[tablefor4]

I have used breast shells successfully with two of my babies. Flat nipples meant that when I was very engorged there was no nipple at all for baby to get to take some milk off and my breasts were too full to express comfortably.
I popped them in my bra as baby was rousing to be fed (so maybe 5 minutes beforehand).The breast shells had a two fold benefit - the pressure of them in my bra took off sufficient milk to allow a proper latch, and secondly they helped the nipple protrude a bit more which made latching easier especially when the nipples were tender.

The first pair I bought - I think they were Avent ones - had a soft silicone piece that went against the skin but in my opinion, the softness did not provide enough pressure to drain off some milk (and they were quite expensive compared to the second more basic pair that were made of just hard plastic). If you sterilise them, you can keep the milk that ends up in them if you are bottle feeding with breast milk.

My baby is 3.5 months old now and I rarely need to use them, but they were a lifesaver in the first 12 weeks.