Particularly well-suited to giving baby your expressed breastmilk or supplement at the breast, e.g. for premature babies, babies with sucking difficulties, adopted babies, children with cleft lip/palate. The SNS is also great for stimulating milk production in a natural way perhaps after a break in breastfeeding and to get the baby used to breastfeeding again.

The Medela SNS was originally designed to help adoptive mothers breastfeed. When a baby sucks on the mother's breast for a period of days or weeks, a hormonal mechanism is triggered that causes milk to be produced. This is known as induced lactation.

The SNS works using a special bottle hung around the mother's neck. Two tubes are taped to her breasts so that the ends reach her nipples.

• The tubes are very small and soft and go unnoticed by baby
• Stimulates the production of your own breast milk
• Perfect when attempting to breastfeed an adopted baby (Always seek advice from your healthcare professional)

When the adopted or special needs baby takes the nipple and areola into his or her mouth, he/she also takes the soft silicone tube.

Breastfeeding proceeds normally, maintaining the stimulation to maintain lactation and the intimacy between mother and baby, as well as providing baby with important supplement from the SNS.

Before attempting to feed your adopted or special need's baby with the Medela Supplemental Nursing System one should note that these special feeders should be used under the guidance of a health care professional.

Not intended as a replacement for regular bottle feeding.

As can be seen in the picture below this product can enable mum to breast-feed even when her own milk has not come through properly (or perhaps not at all). By feeding in this way the production of ones own milk is greatly encouraged.

• Special feeding publications - click here