Nipple Shield

From my own personal experience, it is very natural to want to breast feed the baby. It is healthy for both mother and the baby, it is easy and economical and it is a wonderful experience.

All that said; it can be hard for a first time mother, who may have inverted/sore nipple, to breast feed the baby in the first days. I had to cry for two days in the hospital in pain cause baby was hungry and I could not bare the thought of her being hungry and at the same time I did not want to feed her because my nipples were bleeding.

After I complained to one of my friends, she told me to ask the nurse for something called 'nipple shield' or 'rintakumi' as they call it here. It covers the nipple and it is meant for short period of time, till the breast is used to a baby's latch, which surprisingly does not take that long.

For my second child, who was born in the States, I had my shields ready with me from the beginning!