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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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Conquering Confusion-Why Artificial Nipples Could Hurt Instead of HelpNipple confusion, also known as nipple preference, can occur when artificial nipples are introduced to babies before breastfeeding is well established. It happens because the baby learns to use the artificial nipple of a bottle or pacifier, and then has a hard time making the adjustment to the different way of sucking at the breast.

There are some members of the medical community who question whether nipple confusion exists, but most lactation consultants will tell you that they see it frequently. As with most other difficulties new breastfeeding mothers may experience, nipple confusion can be overcome.

The Cause

Babies who experience nipple confusion prefer the ease of drinking from a bottle with an artificial nipple to the "work" of nursing at the breast. Nipple confusion can take one of three forms:

  • A baby may accept the breast but refuse to suck.
  • A baby may refuse the breast altogether.
  • A baby may attempt to suck but latch incorrectly.

The latter is what happened to Alttara Scheer of Hartsdale, N.Y. Scheer's son, Cullen, experienced a severe case of nipple confusion – he spent the first few days of his life in the NICU, and she wasn't permitted to nurse him for the first day. On day two, Scheer began to breastfeed her son, but was told that her son couldn't come home until either her milk came in or until she gave permission for Cullen to drink formula. "Of course, I wanted my baby home with me!" she says. "The sooner the better. And, since I was initially not allowed to breastfeed him, my milk was slow to come in." Scheer agreed to the formula ("Under duress!"), and that was the beginning of two and a half months of agony.


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