The Best Nipple Shield

Best Nipple Shield

Sometimes referred to as a breast shell, a nipple shield is a piece of thin plastic placed over mom's nipple and surrounding tissue (areola). It typically has four holes in it that allows breast milk to pass to your baby. You would use a nipple shield if you have sore, cracked and/or bleeding nipples.

Nipple shields are a temporary solution that should allow your nipples to avoid further damage and give you time to heal. Shields can also be used to help women who have flat or inverted nipples and are experiencing difficulties nursing.

Our top recommended nipple shield is the Medela Contact Nipple Shield. It comes in small, medium or large sizes. We like this type of nipple shield because it has a cutout that allows more skin to skin contact between mom and baby. Medela also makes a traditional nipple shield that is completely round without a cut out. See in second picture below.

Here you can see the four holes in the top to allow breast milk through. And you can see the notch in the flange that allows for more skin to skin contact. 

Here's a traditional nipple shield (Round Nipple Shield) from Medela.