{{Short description|System designed to supplement breastfeeding}} {{More citations needed|date=February 2018}} [[File:4 day old infant with SNS.jpg|thumb|4-day-old infant latched and nursing with supplemental nursing system]] [[File:Dr Jack Newman - Inserting a Lactation Aid.ogv|thumb|Video showing how a supplemental nursing system is used]] A '''supplemental nursing system''' ('''SNS'''), also known as a '''lactation aid''', is a device that consists of a container and a capillary tube. It is used to provide additional nutrients to a baby whose mother has [[low milk supply]]. During breastfeeding, the end of the tube is placed alongside the mother's nipple so that both the tube and the breast are in the infant's mouth.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://breastfeeding.support/supplemental-nursing-system/|title=Breastfeeding With a Supplemental Nursing System – Breastfeeding Support|date=2014-07-15|work=Breastfeeding Support|access-date=2018-02-17|language=en-US}}</ref>
The SNS container can be filled with pumped [[breastmilk]], [[Milk donation|donor milk]], or with [[infant formula]].
The tubing is usually attached with removable tape. When the newborn [[infant]] suckles on the breast, the infant is nourished both by fluid from the capillary tube and by the mother's breastmilk from the nipple. The mother's milk supply is stimulated by the infant suckling, and in most cases the use of the SNS can be discontinued in a few days or weeks when the mother's milk supply has risen to meet the infant's needs. Mothers usually obtain SNS supplies from a [[lactation consultant]].
==Images== <gallery> File:SNS (supplemental nursing system) supplies.jpg|Equipment for supplemental nursing system using syringe File:SNS attached.jpg|Equipment for supplemental nursing system using syringe, assembled File:Gavage feeding with bottle.jpg|Equipment for supplemental nursing system using a bottle. The opening of the teat has been enlarged. File:Paladai IMG 20210812 192837.jpg|Paladai is now used in prominent hospitals in India for premature babies, for supplemental feeding. </gallery>
==References== <references />
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050104053819/http://breast-feeding.adoption.com/nursing/nursing-supplementers.html Information on SNS for adoptive mothers] (Retrieved 2010-07-08) * [http://watanabe.fastmail.jp/sns.html How to use a supplemental nursing system] (Retrieved 2010-07-08)
{{Infants and their care}}
[[Category:Infant feeding]] [[Category:Breastfeeding]]