The case of the inverted nipple

Q: How can you breastfeed if you have inverted nipples?

It’s wonderful that you know you can still breastfeed even if you have inverted nipples! If the nipple does not protrude or become erect when pinched, then most likely it is flat. A truly inverted nipple is one that retracts or disappears when pinched around the areola. These conditions may present a challenge, but remember, we do “breast”-feeding, not “nipple”-feeding. To breastfeed, make sure the baby’s mouth takes a big mouthful of breast tissue, including part of the areola. Please review our video on the hamburger hold and pointers for a good latch. It might be helpful to see a lactation specialist to help you with this kind of deep latch. In some cases, we might recommend the use of nipple puller or a nipple shield, case-to-case basis. 😊

The question above was asked in our Bundle Of Joy PH online course community. And of course, this was answered by non other than my wife Raissa Paje-Bayawa.

This was not an easy question so I gave Raissa the honor to answer in the community page. 😅

It’s good to know though that milk is stored not in the nipple but in milk ducts which in most cases are behind the areola, and the baby needs to learn how to latch properly—including a part of the areola—to get a good amount of milk. In one of our course videos below, we can see that there are a network of milk ducts behind the areola.

You can also see here in this image where Raissa demonstrates how the baby should latch onto the breast and how the breast could be adjusted in the “hamburger” hold position as she mentioned in her answer.

For every breastfeeding problem, there is a solution!

This is something we always tell our students in our workshop. And indeed, for this concern, there is a solution!