Why do nipples become indented?

Under normal circumstances, it is relatively rare for women to have inverted nipples. Professional statistics have shown that the incidence of inverted nipples among women is only between 2% and 10%. When a woman has inverted nipples, there are some ways to correct them. After all, when feeding a baby, it is impossible to breastfeed with inverted nipples. Many women will correct them in order to breastfeed their babies.

In medicine, the phenomenon of "inverted nipple" is called nipple inversion. There are congenital and acquired causes of nipple inversion.

Congenital inverted nipple:

The developmental disorder of the mesoderm under the nipple leads to shortening of the fibrous tissue and mammary ducts, and lack of tissue support under the nipple, which prevents the nipple from protruding normally.

Acquired inverted nipple:

Contraction of tissue beneath the nipple and areola due to trauma, inflammation, tumors, and surgery, such as recurrent breast inflammation and after giant breast reduction surgery. In addition, ill-fitting bras during adolescence can cause long-term tight compression of the nipples.

There are two types of inverted nipples: umbilical type inverted nipples and folded type inverted nipples. The umbilical type inverted nipples can return to their natural protruding state through manual pulling or stimulation such as hot or cold; the folded type inverted nipples cannot return to their natural state no matter what the stimulation is, and can generally only be corrected through surgery.

1. Manual traction:

It mainly uses traction and massage methods to make the nipples protrude. If you find that your nipples are inverted during puberty, this method may be able to correct the inverted nipples, but it requires long-term persistence.

2. Negative pressure suction:

The main method is to use a negative pressure breast pump to help pull out the nipple, but it can only last for a short period of time and will retract quickly.

3. Surgery:

The latest minimally invasive nipple correction surgery is better for the nipples and milk ducts. The disadvantage is that the nipple may not be able to fully achieve a normal appearance after the operation, and may even retract. Therefore, this method is suitable for mothers who are worried that inverted nipples will affect breastfeeding. It is best to perform the surgery six months before pregnancy.