Many women who suffer from invaginated nipple wonder what would they do when they will have babies and how will they manage baby breastfeeding with inverted nipples. The good news is that there are a lot of techniques available for them and, last but not least, there will always be the option of plastic surgery.

However, if they don’t have enough money to go for a plastic correction and choose to breastfeed their babies while having inverted nipples, women should know what complications to expect and what they should do in case something goes wrong.

What problems can appear while breastfeeding?

The most common issue for mothers that practice baby breastfeeding with inverted breast nipples is the predisposition to nipple soreness. When the baby draws the nipple, the adhesions are being stretched and that might cause discomfort. Moreover, if the nipple gets retracted during breastfeeding the moisture becomes trapped and that might cause chapping. The solution may be applying a 100% lanolin cream when the nipples dry. There are also some special designed devices that help keeping the dimpled nipple out between the feedings.

What if the nipple soreness is prolonging?

What actually causes the prolonged soreness is the tighten adhesions under the skin that produce a stress point and leads to cracks and blisters. The problem is that the baby compresses the inverted breast nipples instead of the milk sinuses, when the nipple is deeply buried. The solution for this situation might be an automatic electric breast pump, which can uniformly draw out the center of the nipple and might even break the connective tissues underneath it.

Baby breastfeeding mastitis is easier if the baby can at least grasp one of the breasts and he nurses well from it. The mother can use only this one for feeding the baby and gently pump the other one until the adhesions are released and the nipple is drawn out.

If none of the breasts is available for the baby, than the patient should pump them both, simultaneously, every two hours, for 15-20 minutes and feed the baby by using an alternative device. Once the baby can correctly grasp the nipple and nurse himself effectively, the mother can discontinue the pumping and she should be able to breastfeed comfortably. The cases in which the nipple inverts again are extremely rare and if occurring, the mother should pump it again for a few minutes.

However, having an inverted nipple should not be a burden for breastfeeding and ensuring the little baby with all the immunity and vitamins that only the mother’s milk contains.