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Breastfeeding with Inverted Nipples

My baby is due in a little over 3 weeks. I am very keen to breastfeed but have have inverted nipples all of my life. I just wondered whether anyone else has had this problem and how it effected breastfeeding. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone

Clare

Hi Clare.

I had 2 inverted nipples - or so I thought. In fact, one is inverted, the other flat. You can tell if yours is really inverted if you squeeze it and it doesn't stick out at all. If it does try to poke out then it's flat.

I would recommend you get LOADS of help latching your baby on. If you are having your baby in hospital, don't be afraid to ask for help EVERY time your baby needs fed (and this could be every hour to start with). That's what the mws are there for. Some are more helpful/friendly than others, but try not to be put off. There is absolutely no reason why you can't bf with inverted or flat nipples - the baby BREAST feeds, not NIPPLE feeds, and should have a good mouthful of your breast, not just the nipple in his/her mouth. Try to resist the tempation to use nipple shields as this can cause problems with supply and doesn't really help longterm getting your baby used to latching on to you. (Sometimes short-term they can be OK, but I ended up with problems 1st time round mainly due to nipple shields). Just remember that your baby doesn't know what it's like to feed from anyone else - so you can both learn how to feed / feed from eachother.

Also, get some LANSINOH cream - it's quite expensive, but so worth it. Especially with inverted /flat nipples as your baby may slip about a bit to start off with until he/she gets used to feeding from you. And so you may end up with little sores. These don't last forever, don't worry. It only takes a few weeks and then you will be feeding your little one with ease.

There are bf helper telephone numbers in the folder below. I'd recommend you phone one/some of these before you have your baby so that you know a friendly face to call upon for help should you need it. They may be able to recommend some things to do before your baby is born. I tried Avent Nipplette, which would have worked I think if I'd stuck at it. Also, breast shields worn for 10 mins or so before a feed help to pull the nipple area out a bit so that baby has something to latch onto.

You can try Avent nipplette - I have an inverted nipple on one side, and flat on the other - they did help, but I didn't use them nearly often enough so can't tell you what kind of result you would get if you followed the instructions properly. Apparently they do work, though you're not meant to use them in some stages of pregnancy. If you are ttc then it's a good time to start using them apparently.

When baby arrives get lots of help positioning and latching your baby on to make sure you don't get sore - it's harder for a baby to latch onto inverted nipples, though totally possible as they take the breast in their mouth, not just the nipple (hence the reason it's breastfeeding, not nipplefeeding lol).

Look forward to seeing you here with your new baby.

hth

Merith

http://www.aventbaby.com/uk/products/catalogue/niplette/index.html

The niplette works best if used in pregnancy but can be used in the few days after the baby is born but before the milk comes in if need be.