TY - JOUR
T1 - Nipple shield use does not impact sucking dynamics in breastfeeding infants of mothers with nipple pain
AU - Silva Coentro, Viviane
AU - Perrella, Sharon
AU - Lai, Ching Tat
AU - Rea, Alethea
AU - Dymock, Michael
AU - Geddes, Donna
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Nipple shields (shield) may reduce pain during breastfeeding, but the impact on infant sucking dynamics is not known. We examined the effects of shield use on sucking dynamics, milk removal and nipple pain in two groups of breastfeeding dyads; Pain Group (PG) shield used for nipple pain; Comparison Group (CG): no breastfeeding difficulties. Twenty PG (6±4 weeks postnatal) and 28 CG dyads (8±6 weeks postnatal) attended 2 monitored breastfeeding sessions with shield use randomized. Within-subject outcomes were compared. PG: shield use did not affect intra-oral vacuum (peak p=0.17, baseline p=0.59), sucking frequency (p=0.20) or milk transfer (40 mL vs 48 mL, p=0.80; percentage of available milk removed (PAMR) 55% vs 57%, p=0.88), and reduced McGill pain scores (p=0.012). CG: shield use increased non-nutritive sucking (10% more, p=0.049), and reduced nutritive sucking (18% less, p=0.017) and milk transfer (63 mL vs 31 mL p<0.001, PAMR 65% vs 36% p<0.001). For both groups feeding duration increased by 2 min (p <0.0001) and non nutritive portions of the feed increased with shield use. Conclusion: Nipple shield use improved maternal comfort and did not impact milk removal or sucking strength in PG, but significantly reduced milk transfer and nutritive sucking in CG.
AB - Nipple shields (shield) may reduce pain during breastfeeding, but the impact on infant sucking dynamics is not known. We examined the effects of shield use on sucking dynamics, milk removal and nipple pain in two groups of breastfeeding dyads; Pain Group (PG) shield used for nipple pain; Comparison Group (CG): no breastfeeding difficulties. Twenty PG (6±4 weeks postnatal) and 28 CG dyads (8±6 weeks postnatal) attended 2 monitored breastfeeding sessions with shield use randomized. Within-subject outcomes were compared. PG: shield use did not affect intra-oral vacuum (peak p=0.17, baseline p=0.59), sucking frequency (p=0.20) or milk transfer (40 mL vs 48 mL, p=0.80; percentage of available milk removed (PAMR) 55% vs 57%, p=0.88), and reduced McGill pain scores (p=0.012). CG: shield use increased non-nutritive sucking (10% more, p=0.049), and reduced nutritive sucking (18% less, p=0.017) and milk transfer (63 mL vs 31 mL p<0.001, PAMR 65% vs 36% p<0.001). For both groups feeding duration increased by 2 min (p <0.0001) and non nutritive portions of the feed increased with shield use. Conclusion: Nipple shield use improved maternal comfort and did not impact milk removal or sucking strength in PG, but significantly reduced milk transfer and nutritive sucking in CG.
KW - Breastfeeding
KW - Nipple pain
KW - Nipple shield
KW - Sucking dynamics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099484510&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00431-020-03901-3
DO - 10.1007/s00431-020-03901-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 33443588
SN - 1432-1076
VL - 180
SP - 1537
EP - 1543
JO - European Journal of Pediatrics
JF - European Journal of Pediatrics
IS - 5
ER -