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Home › Articles › Breastfeeding Basics › Conquering Confusion

Conquering Confusion

Why Artificial Nipples Could Hurt Instead of Help

By Michele St. Martin

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at some point – perhaps it's necessary at times for her to pump her milk for feedings while she's not home – when's the best time to do this? Calandro admits this is a tricky call to make. "There is a little window when bottle-feeding is easiest to teach, and for most babies, that is around 4 to 6 weeks," she says. Trying too early could lead to nipple confusion, while waiting too long might have the effect of the baby refusing the artificial nipple due to dislike of the taste or flow.

This was Berry's experience. She was blessed with a good nurser in her son, Trey. Berry was afraid of nipple confusion and subsequently waited what she now feels was too long to introduce Trey to a bottle. He never took to the bottle, and Berry gave up trying. She now wishes she'd done things differently. "As strong a nurser as Trey was and still is, he probably wouldn't have been too adversely affected by my trying a bottle sooner," she says. "There definitely have been times that having the option to give him a bottle would be nice."

Catherine Foster has experienced both ends of the spectrum. Her daughter experienced nipple confusion when Foster gave her a pacifier. "[The baby] wanted to nurse 24/7 from the very beginning, and I was getting sore," she says. "I knew about nipple confusion and everything, but I was desperate. And sure enough, it caused her to start nursing wrong." Foster, who attended La Leche League meetings, called her La Leche Leader for suggestions about nursing and how to deal with sore nipples. With patience and persistence, she was able to get her daughter to nurse properly. However, she says, "Neither of my children would take an artificial nipple once they were established in nursing."

If nipple confusion does occur, Calandro encourages moms to seek professional help. She also counsels that all bottles be stopped and suggests frequent skin-to-skin contact between Mom and Baby. "Use a cup to feed for a day ... meanwhile Mom should pump to keep her milk supply up and to obtain breast milk for her little one," Calandro says. "Patience, patience and more patience!"

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