Described herein are improved infant feeding systems that mimic the texture and appearance of a mother's breast via improved curvature and asymmetrical contour placement to encourage latch and improved suckling of infants, as well as bottle nipples, pacifiers, medical dispensing tools and kits for same.

According to a first embodiment, a feeding bottle comprises a vessel, collar, and nipple. The nipple comprises a base portion, a teat portion, an areola portion allowing movement of the teat portion towards and away from the base portion. According to a second embodiment, a feeding bottle comprises a vessel, collar, nipple and handle portion removeably secured to the vessel by the collar. The invention includes a flexible region or regions to provide a more natural feeding by closely mimicking the human breast.

A teat for use with a fluid container comprises a deformable mouthpiece for an infant to suck on during a fluid intake action and an inner core (20) disposed within the mouthpiece. An exterior surface (21) of the inner core (20) is spaced from an interior surface of the mouthpiece at the position of a fluid pocket guiding face (22) of the exterior surface (21) of the inner core (20) so that a fluid duct between the mouthpiece and the inner core (20) is defined which allows the infant to perform a peristaltic fluid intake action. At least one of the interior surface of the mouthpiece and the exterior surface (21) of the inner core (20) has at least one protrusion (23) that is designed to form a fluid barrier between the mouthpiece and the inner core (20) at a position for delimiting the fluid duct at the sides thereof.

A feeding bottle teat includes a body having an interior cavity and an exterior surface, an inlet including a flange for engagement within an aperture of a feeding bottle cap in use, and a nipple including one or more outlet apertures wherein the flange, cavity, nipple and apertures form a passageway for delivery of milk from the bottle in use, wherein a transverse dimension of the interior surface of the body at the inlet is greater than a transverse dimension at the nipple, and wherein the interior surface includes a plurality of concentric strengthening formations extending inwardly from the inner surface between the inlet and the nipple, wherein the strengthening formations comprise coaxial concentric spirals which rotate about a common central axis, wherein each strengthening member comprises a spiral having two to four rotations about the central axis.

A bottle teat (1) having a base portion (2), which has a connecting flange (3) and in which the bottle teat (1) is substantially circular in a cross section running perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis (9), having a lip-support portion (5) and having a nipple portion (6), which opens out in a teat tip (7), wherein, in a direction perpendicular to its longitudinal axis (9), the bottle teat (1) has, in the lip-support portion (5), a non-circular cross section with a longitudinal axis (10) and a transverse axis (11), which is shorter than the longitudinal axis (10), characterized in that the base portion (2) and the lip-support portion (5) have provided between them a flex portion (4), which has enhanced flexibility in relation to the base portion (2) and the lip-support portion (5), wherein the flex portion (4) has a circumferentially encircling depression (15) in the form of anindent (19) and/or of a smaller wall thickness than in the portions adjacent to the depression (15), and therefore, about an axis running substantially in the direction of the transverse axis (11), the bottle teat (1) has a level of flexibility, for the purpose of pivoting the lip-support portion (5) and nipple portion (6), which is enhanced in relation to a similarly designed bottle teat without a depression.

A teat for use with a fluid container comprises a deformable mouthpiece for an infant to suck on during a fluid intake action and an inner core disposed within the mouthpiece. An exterior surface of the inner core is spaced from an interior surface of the mouthpiece at the position of a fluid pocket guiding face of the exterior surface of the inner core so that a fluid duct between the mouthpiece and the inner core is defined which allows the infant to perform a peristaltic fluid intake action. At least one of the interior surface of the mouthpiece and the exterior surface of the inner core has at least one protrusion that is designed to form a fluid barrier between the mouthpiece and the inner core at a position for delimiting the fluid duct at the sides thereof.

A teat has a stimulation portion for stimulating the incisive papilla. The stimulation portion is located at a central region of the teat between a base region and a tip region.

A nipple for use with an infant drinking cup is disclosed herein. The nipple comprises a domed portion having a central region and an inner surface, a teat portion radially offset from the central region, and a radially-outer wall. The radially-outer wall is joined to the domed portion at a joining location and comprises an inner fluid-flow surface, defining a fluid flow direction. A region of the inner surface of the domed portion at the joining location is substantially parallel to said fluid flow direction, or the inner fluid-flow surface of the teat portion extends radially outwardly, away from said region of the inner surface of the domed portion at the joining location.

A valve assembly for a leak resistant drinking cup includes a tubular plug having an outer wall, an inner wall, and a web extending between and connecting the outer and inner walls. The web has at least one slit disposed intermediate the inner and outer walls. The valve assembly is configurable between a sealed position wherein liquid is inhibited from passing through the slit and an unsealed position wherein liquid can pass through the slit.

Apparatus and methods provide for a feeding bottle. According to embodiments described herein, a feeding bottle may include a container and a one-piece nipple assembly. The one-piece nipple assembly may include a ring substrate encompassed by a dome overmold with a nipple head. The nipple head and dome overmold may include a texture gradient and variable wall thickness to simulate a human breast. The interior of the nipple assembly 104 may additionally include an internal flow assist mechanism for assisting the fluid flow while the nipple head is bitten or pulled.