22 thoughts on “Inverted Nipples? (Kelly)

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 8:53 am
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    I had inverted nipples prior to having my son. They gave me a nursing shield and it worked wonders! I breastfed him for two and 1/2 years and I only used the shield for about a month.

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 9:32 am
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    Many women are able to breastfeed with inverted or flat nipples. Some need to use a nipple shield at first.

    Here are some links to get you started:

    https://www.motherandchildhealth.com/Breastfeeding/Becky/inverted.html

    https://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/flat-or-inverted-nipples

    https://www.babymoonboutique.com/Flat.pdf

    I’d also check out Mothering.com’s community breastfeeding forums. The women who post there are a wealth of information, and I’m sure there are tons of threads about inverted and flat nipples.

    Good luck!!

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 10:54 am
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    Hi Kelly! My nipples were also somewhat inverted when I nursed my first of 3 babies, and there are things you can do to help with nursing. I worked with the hospital lactation consultant and we worked on getting my son to latch on. We ended up using a silicone nipple shield in the beginning, which is just a plastic “nipple” that you put over your own to help baby latch on. Once my son became a more proficient nurser, my nipple was no longer inverted and did not need to use the shield anymore. You should be able to nurse your baby, but don’t be afraid to ask for help from the nurses or a lactation consultant! Take care!

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 12:48 pm
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    i have one nipple that is inverted and one that is not. It hasnt stopped me from breastfeeding, but i’ve experienced more pain from the breast with the inverted nipple, and all my children have favored the “normal” nipple.
    Not saying that you should have any problems, thank God we are all different.
    And you can still breastfeed.
    What you can do is to gently stroke your nipple to make it stiffen a bit and when it does, you carefully grab around it and pull it outwards a bit, if this doesnt work maybe you can get a fake breastfeeding nipple, at least that is what we can get here in my country, its made of safe plastic and you put it on top of your nipple and it helps, especially if you experience pain and have very sore nipples.
    Good luck and best of wishes and joy for the greatest gift one can ever get.

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 3:35 pm
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    Mine were not completely inverted, they were flat though, didn’t pop out at all. I successfully BFed (without a shield) for 2 years with my first and 2 months and counting with my second. You may benefit from a breast shield, my mom’s nipples were inverted and she had to use one, but she nursed all 4 of us.

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 5:31 pm
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    I don’t have inverted nipples, but when pregnant I know I read about this. I found this link for you, which seems to be comprehensive and suggests that you can indeed breastfeed your child:

    https://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/flat-or-inverted-nipples

    Also, talk to your doctor/midwife about it. They should be able to connect you with your local La Leche League (or just look them up on their website) or breastfeeding expert at the local hospital. Don’t worry; there is plenty of info about this out there AND plenty of people who can help you! Good luck with your pregnancy & breastfeeding :)

  • Monday, March 26, 2012 at 5:41 pm
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    So pretty!

    Lots of success with inverted nipples and breast feeding! The baby will actually compress the whole areole, not just suck on the nipple. Usually baby will actually encourage the nipple to
    Come out during breast feeding as well.

  • Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 10:28 am
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    Hi there,
    I have one inverted nipple and could not breastfeed my first child. I now have a three week old and am successfully breastfeeding my second with a nipple shield, I only wish I knew about this with my first! He definitely favors the non-inverted nipple though. But you can definitely breastfeed with inverted nipples. Good luck!

  • Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 1:26 pm
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    Hello! I had *one* inverted nipple (weird, I know… but what can you do?). I breastfed my daughter for 2 1/2 years and it “popped out” soon after nursing her. I never used a nipple shield, but I was prepared to (nipple shields are awesome for inverted nipples). I’m now nursing my son and he’s almost 5 months old. :) Congrats to you with your baby! Also, I suggest this website for breastfeeding information: https://kellymom.com Finding people and support groups (online and in the real world) who will support you in breastfeeding makes all the difference!

  • Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 5:22 pm
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    I have flat nipples (:

    SO I tried using a nipple shield and it worked decently for me, so I recommend it.

    However, it was still hard for me to breastfeed so i decided to exclusively pump and that worked better.

    You can feed breast milk – you do have options, good luck!

  • Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 10:37 pm
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    Hi there, I have one inverted nipple to, and it was just to use a silicone shield for it to work in the breastfeeding situation. Good luck:)

  • Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 4:15 pm
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    I think that my are plain! I send some pics in your email

  • Monday, April 9, 2012 at 6:05 pm
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    I had one inverted nipple prepregnancy, which progressed to being ‘flat’, before I birthed my son 12 months ago and was concerned for how our breastfeeding relationship would go. I won’t lie to you – it was difficult at first (despite help from lactation consultants) but with the help of a nipple shield for the first month it allowed my child to lacth on successfully. I feel that this *did* impact my milk supply and a year later have significant differences between the size of my breasts, however he has and continues to feed regularly and without any issues. When the nipple is being drawn out in the early days, the adhesions being broken do hurt a bit (lanolin is your friend) but once drawn out remain that way. Good luck. :)

  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 5:36 am
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    I have flat nipples and used a nipple shield for both of my babies until they were 6 months! I would definitely recommend it!!!

  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 11:57 pm
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    I had 1 inverted nipple and one “normal” nipple. I had to use a nipple shield for the first month because it was too painful. Then after that I nursed both my babies until they were 10 – 12 months old. Like others mine favoured the “normal” side. I would suggest finding a really good lactation consultant, mine was such a blessing the first few weeks.

  • Friday, April 20, 2012 at 10:10 pm
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    Yes! You can breastfeed with inverted nipples.
    My left nipple was inverted, and my right was “normal”. During the end of my pregnancy, I would massage and pull at my left nipple to try to train it to stick out…it didnt work. Then whe I had my daughter, she had a really difficult time latching on either side, but she could kind of get milk from my right side. My left just stayed inverted. I tried those nipple cup thingys that suction onto your nene and press the nipple out, but it would cause me to leak milk, and every drop was precious because we had to syringe feed her to supplement her since she wasnt latching properly to get what she needed.
    At week three, she all of a sudden latched, and it hurt really really bad. But her latch pulled out my inverted nipple, and she is able to nurse just fine with it and doesnt seem to have a preference. I think that she has just learned to work with it. It stays flat in between feedings, but pops out immediately upon a few sucks for her to drink from. She is now 13 months and still happily breastfeeding.
    I have to add that it took about 6 weeks for me to get past the pain of breaking in my left nipple. It hurt really really bad, I couldnt shower without covering them, my eyes rolled back when she would latch, and they would perk up and get super sore when the wind blew or it was cold. But it was all very very worth it.

  • Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 5:52 pm
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    I had 1 inverted nipple when I was pregnant, and my daughter had a hard time feeding off of it. It didn’t help that she was a preemie and was a lazy eater! The nipple shield helped a little bit, but it stayed inverted most of the time. I tried everything I could and even after I met with a lactation specialist I ended up having to pump off of that one, and letting her feed off the other one. My after birth dr suggested even adult stimulation, but it didn’t seem to matter. Sounds like lots have had success with it however! Good luck!

  • Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 6:53 am
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    NIPPLE SHIELDS!!! I used to have 1 inverted nipple and 1 flat nipple. They gave me Nipple shields in the hospital and it worked great! I have exclusively breastfed all 3 of my children (until they started solids at around 7 months) and kept breastfeeding even after they started food and plan on breastfeeding anymore children G-d gives me! I was told to use the nipple shields every day for about a month before I was due and they really brought my nipples out!

  • Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 1:31 am
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    Hello. I’ve had one inverted nipple. Yes I said had. I didn’t get plastic surgery. But let me tell u mine nipple story….
    I didn’t know what an inverted nipple was. I had my 10lb hungry baby and when my milk came in, I couldn’t express it to get her to latch on. I had to manually squeeze my whole breast into a mcdonalds cup to get the milk out enough for to even latch on. Once we started going, I had a breastfeeding nurse who was helpful, but I ended up using an electric pump n I bled from my inverted nip everywhere! It cracked in many places and the pink milk was tossed. I switched to a manual pump, which helped a lot! But I mask tried using the nipple shield, and I will never use them again!! It made the cracking worse and the diameter of my nipple was too big for the shield. After healing my nip, I was able to get her latched on. And eventually it worked out.
    I still had an moderately inerted nip, until last yr. When I read that nipple piercings can correct an inversion. So I did it. I don’t know what’s worse, the short term extreme pain from nipple piercing or trying to breast feed w an inverted nip. Now, even tho I still have my piercings in, they look beautiful!! Well, I wish I had a reduction, but the nipples themselves seem like they would be easier to handle if I were to have another kid. Good luck!!

  • Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 10:37 am
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    See the Philips Niplette as a nonsurgical solution to inverted nipples. It is a small pump device that reported works quite well.

  • Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 8:33 pm
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    I had inverted nipples before my daughter was born and once I discovered a nipple shield, breastfeeding was a piece of cacake BF for about six months. As I look at my nipples right now, I’ve noticed that they have popped out and are no longer inverted. Hang in there!

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