Medela Contact Nipple Shields – BPA free, made
Medela Contact Nipple Shields – BPA free, made from ultra-thin soft silicone, includes 2 shields and case, 20mm, medium
From the brand
Breast Care
| Weight: | 40 g |
| Dimensions: | 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm; 40 Grams |
| Model: | 200.1593 |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Dimensions: | 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm; 40 Grams |
| Quantity: | 1 |
These have been a miracle for me and breast feeding due to my inverted nipples
Have to use tape to keep them down as they come off when baby moves but would still highly recommend
My nipples were getting so sore from the constant feeding of my good-sized, hungry newborn son! Quickly ordered these and he latched on straight away and no more pain for me, meaning we are both happy!
The best product ever for someone like me with inverted nipples. The beginning of breastfeeding was so painful I was in tears until my husband got these nipple shields. It helped to heal my nipples and it doesn’t hurt anymore
I am able to Breastfeed with no pain when using these. I also pump to bottle feed later and this allows baby to transition easily between breast and bottle due to the teats.
I used them to try to have my newborn latching and it work perfect in two attempts. They’re a bit tricky to put on and don’t really stay on the breast, if the baby it’s moving a lot and hitting them it’s a bit hard to use them.
Baby latches quickly and more importantly stays latched instead of popping on and off frequently. My boobs are much more comfortable – I’m not sure I could have carried in breastfeeding without them. I sterilise them once a day and wash with hot soapy water in between which is nice and easy.
Small cons- The case is not great and even though the suction on the shields is reasonable they’re easily kicked off by a wriggly baby. But for me that doesn’t matter because when they’re on and baby is feeding we are both so much happier!
– both types are made of very thin silicone so sit on your skin really well;
– the Medela shields cover much more skin area than the MAM ones so I found them more comfortable to use in the case of sore nipples/sores on skin;
– the Medela carry case is slightly better quality than the MAM one but you can’t use it to sterilise the shields like the MAM one (though you could just sterilise them in any microwave or normal steam steriliser obviously) ;
– I prefer the flatter shape of the MAM nipple shield on the actual nipple part and think it makes it easier for baby to latch on than the more rounded design of the Medela ones.
Overall these are great shields and crucially come in a slightly larger size than the MAM shields so better for large nipples.
I was about to quit on breastfeeding as it was too painful even using a nipple cream. It was a miracle, it felt so comfortable. I then tried these Medela shields for the first time and I have beeb using them since, there is less waste and they stick better than other brands.
I know we’re supposed to use nipple shields temporarily, but neither my baby nor I can give this up. He will be three months old soon, and thanks to this I now believe I’ll be able to breastfeed for as long as we would like.
The health visitors have advised me to try to breastfeed without it and to be honest I have tried and my baby can still latch without it, but I honestly don’t feel like it’s reducing my milk supply or causing any harm as my baby is gaining the perfect amount of weight. It’s our little secret cheat 🙂
I use a cold water steriliser to sterilise them once a day and then keep them in their box during all day and night just using a bit of warm water and washing up liquid to clean them after feeds. I was sterilising my first pair after every feed and they only lasted a week. I’ve been using my second pair for almost two months and just felt the need to replace then recently.
The size is quite important, my first pair was a medium and I then switched to small and although there’s not much difference when you look at it, it feels like it sticks better.
I was advised to get these by my midwife as I was having lots of issues with a ‘reluctant to feed’ baby who wouldn’t latch. As soon as I started using them my feeds got easier and easier and considerably less painful. I would advise using them for the first time under the supervision of a midwife/ medical professional as using them incorrectly can cause more pain, and if your latch is a few millimetres out a lot of chafing and soreness!
The yellow pot is really useful and discreet as I normally take at least two of these out and about with me ( the pack contains two) and I would advise buying a minimum of four as I tend to loose mine throughout the day.
They are easy to sterilise ( either in a steamer, or 5 mins in boiling water) and need a quick rinse in hot water after each use, I also give them a quick wash with washing up liquid then a rinse before sterilising.
The only downside is as they are clear, I tend to loose them, particularly during night feeds which I tend to do in the dark, as they are incredibly see through! They do also result in baby having a prominent ‘milk moustache’ and getting milk all over her face, so I need to detach her and mop up frequently.
It’s also worth noting that depending on which position you are feeding in, your baby’s nose should be touching skin so make sure you position the crescent moon shape accordingly.
If it weren’t for these I would still be expressing and bottle feeding, so for me they have made a significant impact and I couldn’t be happier with the result! After days and days of trying to get baby to latch naturally and not being able to do so these have entirely helped me!
I was in agony after a few days of feeding without using nipple shields so we got some Tommy Tippee ones from the supermarket – they were pretty rubbish and baby was finding it hard to latch onto them.
When I was getting really frustrated trying to use the Tommy Tippee shields, my husband did some research and ordered these Medela ones. I can’t recommend them enough!
The silicon is really thin and therefore feels less intrusive, the taller teat shape results in a more natural latch, and there is even a gap in the material for baby’s nose to rest on the breast and breathe more naturally. I use them every day – they only require washing with soap and water between feeds, and 5 minutes’ boiling in a pan once a day (rather than soaked in boiling water between every feed like the Tommy T ones) and have a useful little box to store them in and carry in your bag/pocket discreetly if you’re going out.
Best of all, I feel virtually no pain any more when feeding, and my nipples are progressing almost as well as if I weren’t using shields, meaning I can actually breastfeed without them occasionally and it feels almost the same as with the shield – they just tend to begin to hurt a bit after a few feeds again, which I suppose is to be expected. Not even half as painful as it was initially though.
I would happily use these shields throughout the 6-12months of breastfeeding if I felt I had to.
So, pick Medela!
After a few very hard chomps while establishing breast feeding my wife was on the brink of giving up after almost 3 weeks, although many feeds did go well there were still more than enough painful ones, ( I had seen my wife go through an ecv attempt, which looked pretty brutal, without shedding a tear) but breastfeeding must have been causing her considerable pain, it was awful seeing her grit her teeth, almost jump and cry in pain on several occasions, eventually breaking down and saying she was practically living in fear of feeding time, as when he chomped it was very hard, I bought 2 types of nipple shield one was very thin and offered no protection, the good thing about these is the cone shape that protects the nipple is quite hard, and also makes a poor latch slip off rather than bite down on the nipple, my wife’s only concern was poking our son in the eye with the shield, they did take some getting used to but my wife has now regained her confidence in breast feeding and has been able to heal up too. Together with expressing and a few bottle feeds to get a break from feeding, these sheilds have allowed my wife to continue breastfeeding when she was about to give up, she is much happier and no longer dreading to breast feed.
Although they helped to restore my wife’s confidence in breastfeeding, a friend suggested tongue tie may be an issue we had it investigated and had the tongue tie snipped, this made a marked difference in our sons ability to latch and feed without chomping on the nipple. The shields are no longer needed, I strongly suggest getting your child assessed for tongue tie if chomping is the problem.
I bought these to have in reserve when my newborn arrived. I didn’t need them in the first few weeks but, after one cluster feeding session in which I was possibly a little lackadaisical about her latch, I needed to use them for a couple of days until my nipple had repaired.
I had asked the health visitor about what size she’d recommend and suggested that my nipples were an average size, and therefore opted for medium. Having used the product, I think a small would have been adequate. From my understanding the sizing is based on the size of your actual nipple and it is supposed to fit the width of the teat. The medium is definitely too big but, despite that, my baby seems to be feeding just fine with it. I would, however, agree with other reviews that they stay in place well, until such time as your baby becomes fussy. I then find myself having to reapply it as she’s knocked it off. A fussy baby can be a little frustrating and having to reapply a shield doesn’t necessarily help matters. That said, they work well and do what they need to. One thing to note, as my health visitor pointed out, they need sterilising between uses so this needs to be factored in. I bought them in conjunction with a cold water sterilising system and it works just fine for me.
I was literally on the brink of bottle feeding (which I really didn’t want to do), when another SCBU mum suggested nipple shields. I purchased the medium size, and initially had a lot of trouble attaching them properly, but eventually found that they fit comfortably. I was amazed when the first time using these my son was able to stay on and feed for a full 15 minutes! After a couple of days he was able to feed with the nipple shields for over 45 minutes, and he was gaining weight well, so we were finally discharged!
I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding my son for 5 weeks so far, thanks to the Medela shields. He’s gaining on average 9oz per week and is thriving beautifully, so they’re certainly doing the trick. This past week we have been able to introduce a bottle of expressed milk seamlessly, and he easily switches from breast to bottle, which I think the shields have helped with.
I haven’t given these 5 stars as I do often have trouble getting the shields to stay on during a feed, which is frustrating for both me and my baby when they have to keep having to be re attached. This doesn’t happen every time, but when it does it’s very tricky juggling a screaming baby and stubborn nipple shield! Also, he does take in more air with these and gets quite gassy as a result.
All in all I’m very grateful to Medela for enabling me to continue breastfeeding my son, however I wouldn’t recommend using these for too long as they’re very difficult to wean off of. Unfortunately we didn’t have a choice initially, but now I think I’m stuck with these for the remainder of our breastfeeding relationship. A bit fiddly but better than not breastfeeding at all!
The shields do start to cloud up through the washing and sterilising process after a while but as this didn’t impact on performance I didn’t see this as a problem.
The case is really useful as meant I could wash & sterilise a shield and have it in my nappy bag for whenever my daughter needed a feed when we were out and about.
Would thoroughly recommend to anyone struggling with getting their baby to latch onto inverted/flat nipples.
EDIT: My first is now 6 years old and I have two more aged 4 and 18 months. I used nipple shields with all of them and fed each of them until they were 16 months old when I chose to stop because my job requires me to travel for weeks at a time. Highly recommend these as your go to brand. All other brands fell below par for me.