by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
Introduction
A lactation aid is a device which allows a breastfeeding mother to supplement her baby with expressed breastmilk, formula or glucose water with added colostrum (glucose water alone should only be used, in general, in the first day or two after birth) without using an artificial nipple. The early use of an artificial nipple may result in the baby becoming “bottle spoiled” or “nipple confused” because it interferes with the way a baby latches on to the breast. The better a baby latches on, the easier it is for him to get milk. If the baby does not get milk well from the breast, he may fall asleep or push away from the breast when the flow of milk slows down. Thus the baby may refuse the breast, be very fussy at the breast, gain weight poorly, lose weight or even become dehydrated. The mother may develop sore nipples. Though artificial nipples do not always cause problems, their use when things are already going badly will rarely make things better, and usually make things worse. The lactation aid is by far the best way to supplement, if the supplement is truly necessary. (However, proper latching on of the baby usually allows the baby to get more milk, and thus it is often possible to avoid the supplement). It is better than using a syringe, cup feeding, finger feeding or any other method, since the baby is at the breast and breastfeeding. Babies, like adults, learn by doing. Furthermore, the baby supplemented at the breast is also getting breastmilk from the breast.
A lactation aid consists of a container for the supplement; usually a feeding bottle with an enlarged nipple hole; and a long, thin tube leading from this container. Manufactured lactation aids are available and are easier to use in some situations, but not necessarily so. Manufactured lactation aids are particularly useful when the need for a lactation aid arises in an older baby, when a mother needs to supplement twins, when the need for a lactation aid will be long term, or whenever difficulty arises using the improvised lactation aid. Though the manufactured lactation aid is not inexpensive, the cost is about equal to 2 weeks of the usual milk based formula.
Please Note: Using a tube with a syringe, with or without a plunger, instead of the setup mentioned above, seems unnecessarily complicated and adds nothing to the effectiveness of the technique. On the contrary, it is more cumbersome.
Using the Lactation Aid (Improvised)
