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INVERTED NIPPLES If your nipples point in when you stand naked in a cold bathroom then they are called inverted. With a willing baby this may make no difference to your ability to breastfeed. A much bigger portion of the breast is taken into the baby’s mouth during breastfeeding than just the nipple. So that once the baby is latched on, the nipple is pulled out and functions normally. Breasts do change during pregnancy, and sometimes the nipples visibly alter during this time. Some women have one nipple that is inverted, and once the baby has learned to latch onto the standard one it has no trouble with the inverted one. When the baby comes off the breast you can see the inverted nipple looking pointed for a while afterwards. Sometimes it takes longer to latch a baby on when both nipples are inverted, but it is perfectly possible. Remember that many babies take a while to learn how to latch on, whatever shape their mothers’ breasts are. People come in all shapes and sizes and if a body type really did not work it would have died out. Some women try specific exercises during pregnancy; there are some gadgets purported to change inverted nipples. Having met some women who have fed their babies successfully with inverted nipples, I suspect that it is more a matter of patience in allowing the baby to learn to latch on. An extensive research into treatment during pregnancy for flat or inverted nipples concluded that there was no benefit from wearing breast shells or doing nipple stretching exercises. It is certainly not true that having inverted nipples means that you cannot breastfeed, as used to be thought the case. Mothers used to have their breasts inspected during pregnancy and were told whether their nipples were suitable for breastfeeding or not. This did nothing to boost their confidence when they may already have been feeling uncertain, and shows the lack of trust that is generally felt about the human body. | ||
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CATHERINE HOLLAND Tel: 0701 7415310 Email: catherine@catherineholland.co.uk | |
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