What to do if the nipple is sunken in the middle?

Inverted nipples are a very common phenomenon in life. If inverted nipples occur, it is likely a developmental problem and does not represent any abnormal disease. Most inverted nipples will undergo certain changes after delivery. Therefore, you don’t have to worry too much about this situation. If you want to improve it, you can adopt conservative treatment methods, pull the nipples several times a day, and then pay more attention to observe the effects.

Although inverted nipples are invisible to outsiders, women feel uncomfortable when they admire themselves. More importantly, inverted nipples (retracted nipples) are themselves a type of breast deformity, and some are even external symptoms of malignant tumors in the breast. Before puberty, women's breasts do not develop and their nipples are very small. After puberty, as hormone levels in the body change and menstruation comes, breasts begin to develop and nipples gradually grow larger and more prominent. Although the nipples of unmarried women and non-pregnant women are smaller, they all protrude above the areola plane. If they are partially or completely below the areola plane, or even concave inward and sunken under the skin, resulting in a local crater-like appearance, this is called inverted nipple (retracted nipple). It should be pointed out that some girls are shy about their breast development, so they wear tight underwear to tighten their chests, or wear bras that are too small too early. The developing breasts will be squeezed and become flat. At the same time, the blood circulation of the compressed breasts is poor and the nutrition supply is insufficient, which affects the normal development of the breasts. The nipples are also squeezed and sunken in the breasts, forming inverted nipples (retracted nipples).

Causes of Inverted Nipple

The nipple is part of the breast structure. There are many mammary alveoli in the breast, and each mammary alveolus has a mammary duct that opens into the nipple. The milk secreted from the mammary alveoli of postpartum women can drip out of the nipple through the mammary ducts. Before puberty, girls' nipples will bulge out separately. After this, the nipple and breast develop into a small hillock. As the breasts grow larger, the nipple and areola become more prominent within the breast outline. When they reach maturity, most people's nipples protrude outward. The nipples of unmarried women and women without children are relatively small. Only after pregnancy, when the breasts and nipples are affected by the estrogen and progesterone in the pregnant woman's body, the mammary alveoli and mammary ducts proliferate, do the nipples gradually increase in size and become more protruding, preparing for feeding the child. A normal nipple is conical in shape, about 1.5-2 cm above the plane of the breast peak. Inverted nipples are not uncommon among girls before marriage and have no effect on their health. They can of course get married, have children, and build a happy family. Although inverted nipples are not a serious illness, if they are not corrected in time, they can often pose health risks to breastfeeding mothers and babies, and should not be taken lightly.

Two non-surgical methods for correcting mild nipple inversion

If an inverted nipple can be brought back out with a little squeezing or pulling, it is called mild inverted nipple, also known as reversible inverted nipple. This type of inverted nipple can be corrected through non-surgical conservative treatment, and the best time to treat it is before marriage or in early pregnancy. Specific methods include massage traction and instrument traction.

Self-massage will squeeze the nipple out of the skin. Use your thumb and index finger to pinch the nipple horizontally or vertically, and pull the nipple outward continuously or intermittently. Do this for about thirty minutes each time, alternating between the nipples on both sides. 3 to 5 times a day.

Physical traction method:

That is, through a manual or electric breast pump, using the principle of negative pressure, the nipple is sucked out. The nipple can also be sucked and pulled continuously or intermittently for thirty minutes each time, alternating between both sides, 3 to 5 times a day.

The above two correction methods can achieve better results after two months.

How to breastfeed with inverted nipples

1 Before each breastfeeding, the mother gently pulls out the nipple and puts it into the baby's mouth, waiting for the baby to hold the nipple and suck. If you persist in doing this, the shape of the nipple will change.

2 Go to a baby store and buy a nipple corrector. After using the corrector, the nipple will slowly bulge out. The effect will be slow and you need to do traction several times. This method must be persisted.

3 Apply a hot towel before each feeding, and then pinch the nipple with your hand. Pinch it a few times and the nipple will slowly protrude. Avoid hurting yourself by squeezing too hard.

4 Bend over and let your breasts droop naturally. Use your hands to push up all the flesh close to the nipples. This way, the entire breast will grow longer, and the nipples will grow longer as well.

5 Use a breast pump to suck out the milk and put it in the bottle and then feed it to your baby, or buy a fake nipple and let your baby suck milk. Through a breast pump, because the breast pump also has a corrective effect, the nipple will slowly change shape, and the sucked milk will not be inaccessible to the baby because of being sunken.

Pay attention to the cleanliness of the nipples and pull them out for cleaning regularly.

During breastfeeding, the nipples should be cleaned before and after each feeding to avoid secondary infection caused by residual milk and dirt around the nipples. If the nipple is severely inverted, do not pull or tug on the nipple forcibly. If you really cannot breastfeed, you should stop breastfeeding as soon as possible to avoid acute mastitis.