Dr. Wansbrough's Metallic Nipple Shields
Dr. Wansbrough's Metallic Nipple Shields
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- Blue and white cardboard box with a paper label (black print) on top. Box contains two metal nipple shields and paper insert. Label reads: "Dr. Wansbrough's / Metallic / Nipple Shields / Recommended by the / Medical profession / For the prevention / and relief of / Sore Nipples / Philadelphia [trademark] New York"
- T. W. W. Wansbrough of Chelsea (London) introduced his nipple shields to the medical profession in the July 23, 1842, issue of the Lancet. He wrote: "Among the modes of treatment published in The Lancet for this painful and distressing affection, I have been surprised that no mention is made of the leaden shield. I have recommended it for the last thirty years with invariable success, even where half the nipple has sloughed away before I saw the patient. It is moulded by the plumber from thin sheet lead, over a wooden nipple, and forms a receptacle for the natural one, which, from the oozing of the breast, is constantly immersed in a solution of lactate of lead, and speedily effects a cure."
- Wansbrough's shields were frequently advertised in England through the latter half of the19th century. Their distribution and popularity in the United States is less evident. However in the 1930s, the FDA seized and condemned numerous lots of Wansbrough's shields distributed by United States medical supply companies. The articles were judged misbranded and dangerous to health when used as described, particularly because of the "failure of the labeling to reveal the material fact that fatal lead poisoning might result in infants fed from breasts of mothers using the appliance." (See: FDA Notices of Judgment Collection, 1908-1966, https://fdanj.nlm.nih.gov/)
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- Nipple Shields
- date made
- ca 1910
- place made
- United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- Physical Description
- metal (shields(2) material)
- Measurements
- overall: 3.2 cm x 5.9 cm x 5.6 cm; 1 1/4 in x 2 5/16 in x 2 3/16 in
- ID Number
- MG.306964.03
- catalog number
- 306964.03
- accession number
- 306964
- Credit Line
- Gift of Bernard J. Dziedzic, pharmacist, Kadow Pharmacy, Milwaukee, WI
- subject
- Pediatrics
- Women's Health
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Medicine
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
